Brocaded Silk Textile
Dateca. 1740
OriginEurope, France, Lyon
MediumSilk and metallic threads
DimensionsOHl: 34 1/2 × Selvage OW: 21 1/2in. (87.6 × 54.6cm); irregular shape
Credit LineGift of Helen Scott Townsend Reed
Object number2022-159
DescriptionThis is an irregular shaped silk and metallic brocaded silk textile in shades of brown, white, yellow, green, pink, fuchsia, melon, and puce on a blue ground with supplementary floral sprigs. The design consists of a metallic meandering (fur) ribbon with scattered sprigs and boughs of flowers in generalized shapes. The textile is made up of four pieces.Label TextLyon, France, was one of the largest producers of luxurious silk textiles in the eighteenth century. About one third of the population was involved in the silk industry, which involved spinners dyers, printers of paper for the patterns, designers, weavers, and the merchants who sold the final products. French designs for brocaded silks often consisted of generalized floral shapes with the addition of expensive metallic threads. Whereas English designs were usually based on actual botanical specimens.
ProvenanceNo known provenance other than donor.
ca. 1755
1780-1795
ca. 1750 textile; ca. 1770 gown
ca. 1750, altered ca. 1775
1760-1770
1700-1750
1750-1775
1770-1780
ca. 1775, textile; quilted later