Rare, unusual and interesting antique costumes and textiles; for museums and collectors looking for that extra special piece, for new and established collectors and for those with a modest budget who want to adorn their person or home.

SOLD

Venetian Brocade
1710-20

Luxurious, stunning and wonderful quality. It is extremely rare to find the end of a piece , showing the striped end. During the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries there was a huge interest in the Far East and India, which influenced Euorpean woven and printed textiles and called the Bizarre period.



Expensive to weave with gold and silver wrapped silk threads. Perhaps this piece was left over after a gentleman's waistcoat or a lady's robe was made. The gold thread is spun round a silk core at intervals, then woven to achieve a texture.  The silver has three finishes, achieved by different thicknesses of the silver spun around a silk core, to give three completely different finishes.


Cataloguing

With a vertical design repeat with C scrolls, with Bizarre design elements including a winged orb or fruit at centre bottom and exotic fruit and flowers, all in coral, pink and mid-green silks, silver and gold wrapped round silk cores, one end with ivory striped silk, fringed.



20 x 21 in wide selvedge to selvedge ; 52 x 53 cm



There is no pattern repeat in the length.


Condition

A little tarnishing down the right hand side 2 cm wide.



My thanks to Silvija Banic, Curator of Textiles at the Victoria & Albert Museum for the identification of this piece.