Description:
A fragment (8 2/3 yards) of a drawloom-woven silk. The ground is made of a tissue or lampas silk, where by there are two sets of warps; one for the ground weave and another binding warp to help create the designs. One of the warp sets (the binding warp?) is light blue. Certain weft threads extend across the entire fabric width. Possibly a furnishing silk. Patterned silks such as this example were some of the costly fabrics availabe for dress and furnishings in the 18th century. It could take many months to design, prepare the loom, and weave them. English and European centers of 18th-century silk weaving included Spitalfields (East London), Lyon (298 miles from Paris), and Amsterdam and Haarlem in Holland. There is evidence that these costly fabrics were imported and worn in New England, but in far fewer numbers.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+F.028 |
