Threads of History

Hailstone muslin - what is it?

2010-01-19T18:36:00.003+13:00

The wedding dress exhibition at Expressions featured a simple depression-era dress in a fabric that the bride called 'hailstone muslin.'

1933 hailstone muslin wedding dress

A close-up of the bride's mitts and the dress fabric

I've never heard of hailstone muslin, and was quite intrigued.

My first impression was to call the fabric dotted swiss, but I did notice that the dots seemed to be constructed differently than I would expect for a true dotted swiss

In the fabric of the hailstone muslin dress, the dots were woven into the fabric, and then the extra threads cut away on the back of the fabric.

The true dotted swisses that I am familiar with have the threads for the dots wrapped from front to back, as occurs with the needle and bobbin threads of a sewing machine, or in hand embroidery.

The modern usage of 'dotted swiss' covers any light, crisp fabric with raised dots. The dots may be applied in any fashion. Does this mean that hailstone muslin is just another name for a slight variant on dotted swiss? I decided to research.

The 1930s wedding dress display at Expressions

The only references to hailstone muslin that I can find online or in reference books are from Australian and New Zealand sources.

The Brisbane Courier notes that on Thursday 4 Feb 1892 "Miss L Blakeney [wore] white hailstone muslin with pale blue and pink sprigs, black turned up sailor hat and pink sprigs" to a reception at Government House.

The fabric is mentioned in the same paper again on 16 Sep 1895 when "Mrs. L. Miller wore a dainty white frock of hailstone muslin, and a large Tuscan hat with upstanding bows and rosettes of white silk" to a race meeting.

On Feb 24 1899 the society pages of The Perth Courier mentions a wedding in which "[The bride's] little niece Alta Genevieve Hughes acted as maid of honor and carried on a pretty little tray the wedding ring. She was dressed in white hailstone mull trimmed with lace and wore a heavy silk sash caught up with a dainty buckle."

Is hailstone mull the same as hailstone muslin? This is the only mention of hailstone mull that I can find at all.

The Sydney Mail, on Jan 7 1909 features an illustration of a charming house gown in hailstone muslin

The Powerhouse Museum, in Sydney, has a baby's hailstone muslin short frock, ca 1900, a child's hailstone muslin dress with double cape, ca 1910, and a little girl's dress of hailstone muslin from 1950.

The New Zealand Railways Magazine has a number of mentions of hailstone muslin in its fashion section.

Volume 8, Issue 7 (November 1, 1933) gushes "The sight of dainty frocks in flowery prints, linens, hailstone muslins and zephers, with sunbonnets to match, makes one long for a little girl to dress."

Volume 10, Issue 8 (November 1, 1935) suggests in its 'Timely Notes and Useful Hints from Helen' "For a frilly summer dance frock what could be more charming than hailstone muslin with contrasting ribbons."

More mentions are made in Robin Hyde's semi-autobiographical account of being raised middle class in working class turn-of-the-century New Zealand, The Godwits Fly.

A Robin Hyde quote on the Wellington waterfront.

The book mentions her mother "… peeling potatoes, or making the old hand-machine whirr as she ran up hailstone muslin for Sandra's new best dress…". Later, Robin's own character, Eliza, now grown up, pregnant, and unmarried, decides, "...to go out shopping and buy things for her baby—lovely things, lace and hailstone muslin and little absurd caps".

Based on all of this information, I believe that hailstone muslin (or hail-stone muslin) is an Australian and New Zealand term for a fabric which is identical to, or at least very similar to, dotted swiss. It appears to have been used mainly for children's attire, and for summer frocks for young ladies, and was popular from at least the 1880s through the 1950s.

Any more information on hailstone muslin would be much appreciated!

A honiton lace table mat

2010-01-13T22:33:00.004+13:00

This beautiful table mat is made of Honiton lace, one of the most famous varieties of English lace.

Honiton lace is a bobbin lace, usually characterised by floral and natural motifs held together by net and a fine network of thread. Honiton lace is one of the finest and most delicate of laces, making it particularly fragile, but also particularly beautiful and suitable for wedding veils and delicate tea dresses.

A 1920s bride in a stunning Honiton lace veil

Lace making may have been introduced into the Honiton region by Flemish immigrants to England during the Elizabethan era. Like many Elizabethan immigrants to England, they came seeking religious freedom, and were welcomed for their skills. England's technology and arts, particularly in textile design and manufacture, benefited greatly from the country's willingness to accept religious refugees in the 16th century.

Whether Flemish lacemakers settled in Elizabethan Honiton, or whether a resident of Honiton brought the new skill back from other parts of England, by the beginning of the 17th century most houses in the Honiton region had at least one member who made lace, and in 1696 is was estimated that at least half of the residents of Honiton made their living as lacemakers. Lace making, in Honiton as well as in other regions around England and the rest of Europe, has traditionally been a craft that women and older members of a household could do around their other chores as a means of supplementing the household's income.

Honiton lace was one of the most desired and valuable laces throughout the 17th, and early 18th century, particularly in France, but the late 18th century saw the introduction of machine-made Honiton lace substitutes, and the industry went into a massive decline. Queen Victoria attempted to revive the lace industry by commissioning an enormous piece of Honiton lace for her wedding dress.

Queen Victoria in Honiton lace

As a result of the young and popular Queen's choice, Honiton became the most desired and sought after lace of the 19th century. Every bride hoped to have at least one set of handkerchiefs or a table mat such as this of fine linen trimmed with handmade Honiton lace in her hope chest.

Today table mats are rather unfashionable and superfluous, but in the 18th, 19th and early 20th century they were an elegant, decorative, and practical means of protecting a valuable table from water stains or scratches from ornaments, vases, candlesticks, tablewear and epegernes that might damage the delicate varnish of the table.

My table mat is probably late 19th or early 20th century Honiton lace. It appears to be entirely handmade.

Owen Jones on the internets

2009-10-09T09:32:00.001+13:00

The Textile Blog has a fantastic write up on Owen Jones' writings on Pacific designs. Do check it out!

Textile Design in the 20th Century: Design as Art

2009-09-23T19:25:00.002+12:00

Slide 1: Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Bauhaus and Beyond...

Slide 2: Arts and Crafts: design meets philosophy 1880-1910
Simplicity and honest use of materials negate historicism

"Artichoke" wallpaper, by John Henry Dearle for William Morris & Co., circa 1897 (Victoria and Albert Museum).

“Kennet” printed cotton, by William Morris, circa 1900, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Slide 3: Art Nouveau
Characterised by highly-stylised, flowing, curvilinear designs often incorporating floral and other plant-inspired motifs.

Slide 4: Art Nouveau in fashion

Evening dress, silk, House of Worth, 1898-1900, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Dress, silk crepe embroidered with silk floss and ribbon, Jeanne Hallée, 1907, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Slide 5: Art Deco: Pure decoration, 1920-1939

Furnishing fabric, F Gregory Brown, 1922, linen, Victoria and Albert Museum

Printed silk-satin, Paul Poiret, 1911-1913, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Slide 6: Art Deco in Fashion

Cyclone Dress, House of Lanvin (Jeanne Lanvin), 1939, silk, spangles Metropolitan Museum of Art

Dress, House of Lanvin (Jeanne Lanvin), 1924, silk, wool, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fancy Dress Costume, 1911, Paul Poiret, Green silk gauze and gold lamé with blue foil appliqué and celluloid-bead embroidery, Metropolitan Museum of Ar

Slide 7: Bauhaus

Textile sample, wool, silk, cotton, cellophane, Gunta Stölzl, 1927, V&A Museum

Design for a tapestry, Gunta Stölzl, 1927, V&A Museum

Tri-color arch, hemp and synthetic fibre, Claire Zeisler, 1983-1984, silk, wool, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Slide 8: Rayon and the rise of synthetic fibres

1940 – Nylon used in stockings as a replacement for silk

‘Utility’ dress, rayon, English, 1942, V and A

Dress fabric, screen printed silk and rayon blend, French, 1937, Victoria and Albert Museum

Slide 9: WWII, Rationing and Austerity

London Wall headscarf, printed rayon, Jacqmar, 1940s, Victoria and Albert Museum

Original No. 16 suit, wool, Digby Morton, 1942, Victoria and Albert Museum

Slide 10: The New Look in fabrics

Curtain, screen printed cotton crepe, Marian Mahler for David Whitehead Ltd, c. 1952, Victoria and Albert Museum

New Look dress, silk grosgrain, Victor Steibel, 1947, Victoria and Albert Museum

Slide 11: 1950’s: Prosperity and abundance

‘Lace’ printed cotton, 1950s, Design Collection at Bournemouth

Evening dress, silk organsa, Jacques Heim/Juenes Filles, 1959, Victoria and Albert Museum

Evening dress, silk organsa, Jacques Heim/Juenes Filles, 1959, Victoria and Albert Museum

Slide 12: 1960s – Bright abstractions and ethnic inspiration

Furnishing fabric, indigo-dyed and block printed cotton, Susan Boscence, 1960, Victoria and Albert Museum

1960s glazed cotton, Design Collection at Bournemouth

Trouser dress, printed silk, Emilio Pucci, 1968, Victoria and Albert Museum

Slide 13: Marimekko: Design as a complete lifestyle

Marimekko’s iconic ‘Unikko’ pattern

Resources for studying Asian textiles - a bibliography

2009-09-23T11:58:00.002+12:00

Resources

I'll be adding more all the time, so keep an eye on this page. New additions will be marked with an asterisk.

Books:

Zhao, Feng. Treasures in Silk: An Illustrated History of Chinese Textiles. Hong Kong: ISAT/Costume Squad Ltd, 1999

Menzies, Jackie and Judith Rutherford. Celestial Silks: Chinese Religious and Court Textiles. Sydney: Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2004

Jackson, Anna. Japanese Textiles in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Victoria and Albert Publications, 2000

Narasin, Rochelle M. and Sunny Yang. Textile Art of Japan. Tokyo: Shufunomoto Co. Ltd., 1998

Arthur, Liz and Nasreen Askari. Uncut Cloth: Saris, Shawls and Sashes. London: Merrell Holberton Publishers, 1999

Maxwell, Robyn. Sari to Sarong: Five Hundred Years of Indian and Indonesian Textile Exchange. Canberra: National Gallery of Australia, 2003

Crill, Rosemary (Ed.). Textiles from India: The Global Trade. Oxford: Seagull Books, 2006

Websites:

Metropolitan Museum of Art

In particular see the Timeline of Art History and its Thematic Essays

Wikipedia

Use with caution! Look for proper citations in the articles, and go to the original source if at all possible!

Victoria and Albert Museum

Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum

Tokyo National Museum

Te Papa: Collections Online

Reputable textile dealers:

Meg Andrews

Japanese Textile Art

A embroidered rayon robe

2009-09-22T18:32:00.002+12:00

A floral 'Spanish shawl'...

2009-09-22T18:18:00.002+12:00

...that isn't Spanish at all.

The reverse:

A souvenir of Tripoli

2009-09-22T18:10:00.002+12:00

The butterfly dress

2009-09-22T18:03:00.002+12:00

Machines and the Middle Class: The Textile Revolution

2009-09-20T22:42:00.004+12:00

A visual history of the impact of the industrial revolution on textile design.

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Slide 1

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Slide 2

The stocking frame – mechanical knitting machine

1585 – William Lee invents the stocking frame (known as framework knitting)

1598 – Modifies it to knit both silk and wool stockings

1663 - London Company of Framework Knitters granted a charter

1758 – Jedediah Strutt invents ‘Derby Rib’ attachment making it profitable to knit cotton socks on the machine

1812 – 25, 000 stocking frames in use
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Slide 3

The flying shuttle: new technologies lead to protectionism and mercantilism

1733 – John Kay develops the flying shuttle: larger widths of fabric can be produced by a single weaver

Countries try to maintain control of new technology through protectionism and mercantilism.

Width of brocaded silk, French, 1760
21.5 inches wide, Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Slide 4

The Spinning Jenny and productivity

c.1764 by James Hargreaves or Thomas Highs
One worker can spin 8 times as much yarn, later increased to 80 times
Often worked by children

Spinning jenny from a museum in Wuppteral Germany

Child labour, South Carolina USA, 1908
“She just happened in…she was working steadily”
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Slide 5

Water Power

1771 – Invention of the water frame, weaving powered by water

1779 – Invention of the spinning mule – strong thread on a massive scale

1785 – Power loom, initially powered by water, then by steam.

1823 – 10,000 power looms in England

Power loom factory, Finland, 1877
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Slide 6

The cotton gin, slavery, and cotton fabric

Cotton afternoon dresses, French, ca 1855, Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Slide 7

Block Printing

1700s - technique of printing from engraved wooden blocks developed

Can carry many colours, but are time consuming to produce.

Fine details created by adding copper borders to the blocks

Block printing with turkey red, 1840

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Slide 8

Engraved Copper Plates

1750s a new technique of engraved copper plates was developed-plates and designs were larger and could carry more detail.

1798 engraved plates became rollers-entire length of cotton could be printed continuously in single mechanical process. 500 pieces could be produced per day

Engraved plates can only carry one colour: additional colours are added through block printing

The activities of the factory, French, Jouy, 1784, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Colours added through block printing, French, Jouy, 1787, Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Slide 9

Bleach

Pre 1800 – bleaching takes up to six months
1800 – powdered chlorine and lime bleaching invented, bleaching shortened to days
Bleach can be used to create small, detailed patterns: bleach works with resists and mordants to preserve/create spaces for new colours

Persian Shah printing on cotton, Russian, 1896, Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Slide 10

The Jacquard Loom

1801 - invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard
Allows greater complexity of patterns and weaves

Jacquard loom, Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester, England

Day dress, French, 1845-1850, Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Slide 11

Tartan

1815 – Clan tartans registered (and invented)

1822 – King George IV visits Scotland, tartan becomes the national dress

1848 – Queen Victoria rents, and subsequently buys, Balmoral Castle

Tartan silk dress, American, 1857, Metropolitan Museum of Art

First colour photograph, 1861
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Slide 12

The Sewing Machine

1851 – invention of the sewing machine

1854 - embroidery machines: machine embroidery taken up in Ireland and Britain

1870 - marketable family sewing machine

1873 - Singer factory

Album quilt, New York state, America, ca 1860, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Borders applied with sewing machine
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Slide 13

Aniline Dyes

1856 – First aniline dye, mauveine, invented by William Henry Perkins
Late1850’s –Other aniline dyes created: Magenta and fierce purple-pink
1860 - aniline black, Manchester brown, yellow
1863 - first green not to go blue
1884 - Congo blue an indigo substitute

Shoe of silk decorated with aniline dyed embroidery, 1873, Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Slide 14

Taste and the rise of the middle class

Princess de Broglie, 1851, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Day dress, French, 1872, Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Slide 15

Evening gown, American, 1884-1886, Metropolitan Museum of Art

The letter of recommendation, Luigi Busi, 1874
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Slide 16

Day dress, American, 1883-1885, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sofa, American, 1860, Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Slide 17

Domestic textile arts

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Slide 18

The Great Exhibition of 1851

Italian print, Owen Jones, 1873, Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Slide 19

The Arts and Crafts Movement

Led by William Morris, believed designer should know how to create product
Small-scale craftmanship
Nothing in your home that is not beautiful
Linked to Pre-Raphealites and Art Nouveau

Wandle print, William Morris, 1884, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Allegorical figures, 1893, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Owen Jones

2009-09-20T22:35:00.003+12:00

The Textile Blog has done an excellent article on Victorian architect and textile 'reformer' Owen Jones which I suggest you check out.

You can also read more about Jones on Wikipedia.

Some images from The Grammer of Ornamentation and Owen Jones' other work:

A design for the decoration of the Great Exhibition building.

Geometric designs based on Islamic art.

Paisley: A visual history

2009-09-18T17:31:00.007+12:00

This post is based on my lecture Paisley and Print: yin-yang, boteh, paisley : introducing cultural exchange in design and the influence of commerce.

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Slide 1

C19 Woollen shawl cloth, brocaded with wool.
Northern India, Kashmir/Punjab

1840s white centred shawl and a later 1860s example,
Paisley Museum.

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Slide 2

The paisley design has been influenced by many cultures, but came to the west as a result of the trade in cashmere goods from the Vale of Kashmir, down to India, and thence to Europe.

Kashmir sits on the border of many cultures: it is close to China, the Middle East, and India, and all of these cultures influenced the development of the paisley design.

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Slide 3

Paisley first came to the west in the late 18th century, but it's origins, and the patterns of the shawls that would come to be called 'paisley shawls' are much older.

C1580 Kama shoots his arrow at Krishna, sporting a patka, tied at the waist.
Note patterning on Krishna’s uttariya with horizontal stripes close to the ends, and more decorative patterning close to them.
This type of decoration influenced later shawl designs.

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Slide 4

This is the first image of what is definitely a paisley shawl:

Abdullah Qutb-Shah of Golconda wearing a Kashmir shawl, ca 1680. British Museum
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Slide 5

And this is the first fragment of a paisley shawl, preserved as a scrap in the lining of another garment.

Fragments of white shawl, ca. 1680 Calico Museum of Textiles Ahmedaba

It is interesting to note the difference between this early design, a very naturalistic depiction of flowers, and later, highly stylised paisley designs.

It is also interesting to note the similarities between the root pattern of this flower, and other flowers on early paisley shawls, and Chinese calligraphy:

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Slide 6

The paisley design evolved over the centuries in reaction to internal and external political, economic, and aesthetic demands.

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Slide 7

As we have seen, very early designs were quite naturalistic. Later designs went through an awkward phase, becoming more geometric and blocky:

Shawl fragment, late 18th century, Bharat Kala Bhavan

Shawl fragment late 18th century, Weaving Art Museum

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Slide 8

When cashmere shawls were first brought to the west they were a status symbol, and worked well with the simple, linear neoclassical fashions.

Empress Josephine by Gros, 1809

Mother with two children by A.E. Chalon, 1812
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Slide 9

Early 19th century paisley shawls were characterised by plain centres in pale colours and wide borders at each end of the long, rectangular shawl.

Detail of both ends of a c. 1805 Kashmir shawl

Detail of early 19th century shawl from beginning of Paisley manufacture period
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Slide 10

When cashmere shawls with paisley designs were first exported, they went both to Europe and to the Middle East. The design of the shawls moved further away from naturalistic depictions, and became more geometric, reflecting the Islamic desire to avoid representational depictions of objects of people.

Two details of a c. 1825 Kashmir shawl. Note the Islamic design influence.
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Slide 11

While the Islamic world desired non-representational designs, the west also had it's own aesthetic demand: exoticism. Imitation cashmere shawls produced in Europe were particularly exotic, making up for what they lacked in quality authenticity with enthusiastically imaginative designs.

Paisley shawl European C1840
The design shows a long procession of turbaned figures, some on horses, suggesting it is a derivative design. Also, camels and strikingly placed elephant.
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Slide 12

In order to cut down on the price of shawls and the need for imports and to cater more directly to the European market, various centres in Europe began to produce their own shawls and designs for shawls. Some of the designs went back to India and Kashmir and were produced their.

Particularly notable European production centres were Norwich, in England, and Paisley, in Scotland, which gave its name to the design which was known in India as boteh.

While Europe could produce cheaper shawls, they did not have access to cashmere, so had to make do with silk and wool blends, and could not weave as many colours on to one shawl as their Indian counterparts.

C1840 striking design dates from middle period of shawl manufacture in Paisley. Note how there are not actually that many colours and shades used in the design.

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Slide 13

In order to protect the designs they were developing, shawl manufacturers pushed for patents on their designs, one of the first instances of patent protection for an aesthetic and creative design.

1843 Patent certificate and label with sample of woven wool
(1842 shawl designs patented)

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Slide 14

Changes in European fashion led to a change in shawl shape and design. They became much bigger, squarer, brighter, and busier, just like fashion.

The Reluctant Bride, Auguste Toulmouche, 1866

Untitled, Thomas P Hall, c. 1850

A shawl worn folded over a hoopskirt.
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Slide 15

Despite some changes in aesthetic, the emphasis on the exotic nature of the shawl remained.

Manufacturers tickets or labels for bundles of export cloth.

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Slide 16

Paisley pattern Kashmir shawl made in India for the European market about 1860. Note the subtle gradients of colours.

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Slide 17

Shawls were being produced in Europe and in India and roughly equal amounts by the 1840s and 1850s. Shawls from both places are patterned in large swirling paisley designs in bright, dark colours. However, Indian shawls generally had more colours because of advanced weaving technology, and thus softer gradients of design.

Indian shawl of tight weave wool/silk, ca 1860. Signed in centre field.

French shawl of loose weave wool, ca 1850
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Slide 18

Paisley shawls had remained a luxurious and costly but indispensible item of a woman's wardrobe for over 60 years, but manufacturers were constantly trying to think of ways to make them cheaper and more accessible to more people, in order to maximise their own profits.

Reversible jacquard double-weave shawl from Scotland, c 1860. This would have been a relatively cheap shawl to produce due to the repeated pattern.

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Slide 19

Boteh design of unusual colours in pattern book by Milton of Colquhoun, Scotland. Note the small mnumber of colours used.

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Slide 20

There were a number of reasons that Indian shawls remained popular despite the availability and relative affordability of European produced shawls.

One reason was the superiority of cashmere to the wool and silk mixes available in Europe, the other was the superiority of Indian and Kashmiri weaving technology. Indian weavers could weave shawls that were fully reversible, and they could weave many more colours into one shawl than was possible on European looms.

Some weavers in Indian still tried to take shortcuts, including weaving simpler reversible patterns, and then embroidering in the details

Fragment from a doruka (reversible shawl), c. 1870. The right portion of this shawl has not been embroidered.

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Slide 21

Weavers in India and Europe both faced challenges with the changing fashions in the 1870s and 1880s. Paisley shawls did not fit over bustles as easily as hoopskirts, and they had been popular for over 80 years, and were no longer a novelty.

Shawl-makers tried to maintain the market by returning to the rectangular shape, and adopting darker and more subdued colour schemes.

Three English shawls c. 1880. The middle shawl is a wool/silk blend.

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Slide 22

Old fashioned square shawls were cut up and fashioned into garments which fit with the new silhouettes of fashions.

Woman’s informal robe made from paisley shawl, c. 1890

Woman’s jacket made from paisley shawl, c. 1885

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Slide 23

The paisley design was also used in different contexts - moving away from its origins on shawls and into prints and embroidery.

Late 1800s detail of cotton muslin embroidered summer shawl mimicking Paisley shawl design.

Despite this, paisley declined in popularity, and a famine in Kashmir wiped out the shawl industry there in the 1880s, preventing a resurgence of the paisley decline in its original context.

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Slide 24

Paisley would not be fashionable again for another 70 years, until it was picked up as a symbol of rebellion and ethnic design by young radicals in the 1960s.

Cifonelli suit made from reverse of 19th century paisley shawl, 1960

Bill Blass paisley trench, late 1960s

Paisley ‘aloha’ shirt, 1970s

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Slide 25

Today paisley has multiple connotations: Victorian opulence, 1960s rebellion, and gang affiliation.

A New Years fukusa

2009-09-15T22:34:00.001+12:00

A silver Chinese jacket

2009-09-15T22:33:00.001+12:00

A silver runner

2009-09-15T22:31:00.002+12:00

Another textile for the Textile Design Students to research

The reverse:

Fragments of a Chinese collar

2009-09-15T22:28:00.003+12:00

So far my students have determined that these fragments are parts of a collar, that they are from China, and that they are post 1860s.

Textile prehistory gets more prehistoric

2009-09-15T12:51:00.001+12:00

The Textile Blog has a very interesting write-up on an exciting new discovery in the origins of textile design: the oldest fibre ever!

A Souvenir of Egypt

2009-09-14T18:57:00.001+12:00

An altered Chinese Textile

2009-09-14T18:52:00.002+12:00

I blogged about this textile a few months ago, and now some students are researching it, so here is a complete set of images for your enjoyment and their reference:

A textile mystery

2009-09-14T18:44:00.002+12:00

I know very little about this textile, so I can't tell you a lot about it.

However, I soon hope that we will all know a lot more about this textile, as some of the Textile Design History Students are researching it.

For now, we can all enjoy how beautiful this textile is.

Textiles on Thursday: A 1920s beaded bodice front

2009-08-20T16:45:00.002+12:00

For any woman with a figure that is less than perfectly slim and hipless, the thought of waist-obliterating, hip-conscious 1920s dresses is nerve wracking. Many 1920s dresses were baggy and unflattering, but talented dressmakers found ways to make the style cling to wearers figures in just the right way, so that the hips appeared slim and willowy, and the rest of the figure proportional.

One of the most popular techniques for making the straight 1920s cut more flattering was beading. Beads weighed down the light fabrics used for 1920s evening fashions, causing them to drape attractively. They also lent interest to the mainly plain, unpatterned fabrics that were in fashion.

This portion of a 1920s blouse or dress is a perfect illustration of the popularity of beading.

Matte black beads ornament the white silk chiffon in a pattern of geometricised flowers, adding visual interest and dimensionality to the fabric.

A close inspection of the reverse of the fabric reveals that the beads have been woven into the fabric, rather than being applied later. This is a fascinating and unusual detail.

The pattern of beads on the reverse of the bodice hem is a quirky and clever touch, which may also have served the practical purpose of adding additional weight to the hem to make it lie properly, similar to the chains which Chanel sewed into the hems of her jackets.

The beading also appears to have been woven en disposition, or with the cut of the dress in mind.

The neck and sleeves of the bodice front are bound in black silk bias tape.

A tag, probably for a cleaner, is attached to the bodice fragment.

Patterns, Colours, Forms, and Light

2009-08-13T15:34:00.001+12:00

Slide 1: Patterns, colours, forms and light: identifying the detailing of historically significant features in textiles

1821 Oberkampf printworks in Jouy-en-Josas Mignonettes

Slide 2: Flowering tree designs: dates show how motifs repete themselves, and change with time

1760 India pampalore
a set of four flowering-tree designs

Mezzaro: C19 an Italian block-printed imitation
of the Indian pampalore, but square,
whereas the pampalore was rectangular

Slide 3: Symbolism and iconography in design

Chasuble & Cope details © Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Slide 4: Fleur de Lis

Louis XIV of France

Slide 5: Indigos: dyes rather than design with a distinctive look-one of the most widely used dyes

3000BC plants of Indigofera were harvested in India
Dye patterns printed with resist and discharge techniques

Slide 6: Blue resists: popular in Europe and America until discharge became less costly

A resist-paste or wax resistant to dye-is printed on cloth.
Then cloth is dyed, then resist is removed.

Slide 7: Block print: cherished for traces of human hand

A carved fruit wood block is coated with pigment, and pushed into the cloth.
A range of colours can be achieved by repeating the process with different blocks

Slide 8: Turkey Red

1810-20 from Alsatian textile mill. Turkey red designs in gouache. A popular book of the period.

Slide 9: Pattern Books and fashion changes

Mid C19 Paris

Rapid demand for swatches of latest European fabrics
Businesses played a vital role in disseminating design by mailing envelopes of swatches by subscription

Slide 10: Floral

All gatherings of the flower garden including grasses, but fruit and vegetables are called conversational, as are
nuts and pinecones. All flowers in the floral family are to some degree abstracted from nature, for if they are appear in a scenic print they are considered conversational.

Slide 11: Consersational

Conversational: depicts some real creature or object; a whole scene (landscape)
which is more attention getting than a floral

Slide 12: Ethnic

Ethnic: a pattern or style with a foreign or exotic feeling

Slide 13: Geometric

Geometric: circles, squares, triangles, spirals, polka dots and plaids, etc.

Slide 14: Stripes

James Tissot, The Return from the Boating Trip, 1873

Pastoureau, M. 2001. The Devil’s Cloth: a history of stripes and the striped fabric

Slide 15: Dots

PANEL, 4th century; Coptic period (3rd-12th century), Attributed to Egypt, linen and wool. Metropolitan Museum of Art

Frank Lloyd Wright fabric with dots, 1947

Baroque, Rococo and Neoclassical

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Slide 1: Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassical

Madame de Pompadour at her tambour frame. 1763-64 Francois-Hubert Drouais

Slide 2: Baroque: Drama and Grandeur

Velvet panel, ca. 1700
Italian (probably Genoa)
Silk velvet, cut and uncut on satin ground. Metropolitan Museum of Art

Slide 3: Creating Awe

Costume Armor, ca. 1780–90
French; Made/manufactured: France
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Slide 4: Baroque and propaganda

The Crusaders Reach Jerusalem: Scenes from the Gerusalemme Liberata , 1732–39. Designed by Domenico Paradisi (active 1691–1721); Woven at the San Michele manufactory in Rome under the direction of Pietro Ferloni. Italian. Wool and silk; Met Museum

Slide 5: Baroque and the Catholic Church

Chasuble, 18th century Italian (Sicily, probably)
Silk, metallic thread; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Slide 6: Rococo: serpentine curves, three-dimensional ornamentation and clear, delicate colours

Slide 7: Rococo and the natural world

Les Perdrix (The Partridges), ca. 1771–72. Philippe de Lasalle (French, 1723–1804), designer. French (Lyon). Met Museum

Slide 8: Chinoiserie: Rococo and the east

Printed cotton, 1787
French (Jouy)
Cotton. Met museum

Dress (Robe à la Française), 1740s British; silk, pigment, linen. Met Museum

Slide 9: Anna Maria Garthwaite

Waistcoat, 1747; Textile designed by Anna Maria Garthwaite (1690–1763) and manufactured by Peter Lekeux (1716–1768) British; Made in London. Porcelain blue silk brocaded with silver-gilt foliate and appliquéd with polychrome silk. Met Museum

Brocaded silk, design dated 1748. Anna Maria Garthwaite designer; Thomas Brant, weaver

Slide 10: Neoclassicisism: Order, seriousness, and simplicity

Madame Raymond de Verninac Oil on canvas, 1798–1799. Jacques-Louis David (French, 1748–1825)

Slide 11

Young Ladies at Home", idealized classicized engraving of Regency women, by Henry Moses (probably originally made in 1812, published by 1823)

Slide 12: Patriotism and the Neoclassical style

Commemorative printed cotton, 1806. Attributed to John Burg
Lancashire, England. Cotton
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Slide 13: Neoclassical design and world exploration

"La Marchande d'Amours," ca. 1817. Designed by Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (French, 1782–1867); Manufactured by Oberkampf
Jouy, France. Cotton. Met Museum

Textiles on the Silk Road

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Silks and Spices: investigating the impact of geographic routes

Slide 1:

The origins of the Silk Road
Western origins and Eastern origins
Sericulture in China
The importance of silk in Chinese society
Impact of the silk trade in the East
Transfer of design and culture from West to East
Greco-Roman, Buddhist, Persian, Christian
Impact of the silk trade on the West
Transfer of technology from East to West
Political implications of the silk trade
The end of the Silk Road

Slide 2: The Silk Road

Slide 3: Alexander the Great goes East

329 BC – Alexander founds Alexandria Eschate

Ca 200 BC – First known contact between China and the West (Alexander’s heirs)

Sampul tapestry ca 300 BC. Xinjiang Museum, Urumqi, China

Slide 4: China goes West

Ca 130 BC -ambassadors sent to central Asia

27-14 BC – ambassadors sent to Rome

Abduction of a lady with her porcelains

Slide 5: Sericulture and the trade in Chinese silk

3,000 BC – Yellow Emperor and Empress bring silk to Chinese

1,600 BC – first fragments of silk found in Chinese tombs

2nd century BC – silk comes in to common usage in China, embroidered silk from China reaches the Mediterranean

2nd century AD - silk is a major element in Chinese economy

Women involved in silk production, ca 1200 AD

Slide 6: Silk in Chinese Society

The tomb of Lady Dai, 168 BC
Slide 7: Impact of the Silk Road Trade on the East

Culture and design moves eastward.
Greco-Roman
Buddism
Persian
Christianity
Towns along the Silk Road rise in importance.
Dunhuong

Chinese jade and steatite plaques, in the Scythian-style animal art of the steppes. 4th-3rd century BC. British Museum.

Slide 8: Buddhism travels on the Silk Road

Travelling monk, ink and colours on paper: on the silk road

Avalokitesvara as a guide of souls, ink and colours on silk: Woman being led to Amitabha (the Buddhist paradise) by the bodhisattava Avalokitesvara.

Both images from Mogao, near Dunhuang, Gansu province, China, Five Dynasties or Northern Song Dynasty, 10th century AD
Slide 9: Persian designs travel on the Silk Road

Slide 10: Christianity moves East

A Christian figure, ink and colours on silk (fragment)
From Cave 17, Mogao, near Dunhuang, Gansu province, ChinaTang dynasty, 9th century AD

Slide 11: Impact of the silk trade on the West

Technology move west
Crossbow?
Sericulture
Gunpowder
Silk in the West
Towns and cities along the Silk Road rise in importance
Constantinople

Monks bringing silk worms to the emperor

Slide 12: Eastern silk in the West

Maenad in silk dress, Naples National Museum.

Marco Polo at the Court of Kublai Khan, ca. 1280

Slide 13: Constantinople and the silk trade

Empress Theodora and her retinue, from the Basillica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy, 548 AD

Slide 14: The end of the Silk Road

1250-1360 – Mongol Empire expands to take over most of Central Asia

1405 – Fall of Mongol Empire

Sea routes carry trade around India

Rise of silk industry in the west – Constantinople silk weavers move to Italy

Economic isolation in the east

Cities and towns along the Silk Road loose their importance

Loom-width piece of velvet, late 15th century. Probably Bursa, Turkey, possibly Venice. Silk velvet pile and voided areas brocaded with silver-gilt-wrapped silk wefts. Metropolitan Museum of Art

Lords and ladies

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A presentation on medieval textile design

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Slide 1

Investigating the effects of power, status and wealth on textile design

Dark Ages:400-1000

Early Gothic 1000-1200

Late Gothic 1200-1400

Renaissance 1450-1600

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Slide 2

Imperial Ottoman silk velvet kaftan associated with Sultan Mahmet II, the Conquerer (1451-1481)

Elephant silk C11 1st 1/2

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Slide 3

Bayeux Tapestry

-Created shortly after Battle of Hastings

and Norman conquest

-79 scenes accompanied by Latin

Inscriptions & showing battle scenes

-600 figures, 700 animals with scenes

of farming, cooking, feasting, boat-building,

and hunting

-Many levels of society and is an excellent source for costume, furnishings and buildings

-260 feet long by 28 inches high

-Not a true tapestry – two kinds of embroidery

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Slide 4

Decline in wealth and civilisation: society is unstable

Most decorated textiles are ecclesiastical

Belief in the coming of Christ/end of the world

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Slide 5: Effects of Crusade on textiles

Left: Chuasuble, England, 1330-1380, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Right: Chasuble of Archbishop Willingis of Mainz 1000-1100

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Slide 6

Growing personal wealth and the rise of ornamentation

Madonna and Child Enthroned , 1396, Museo Civico Correr, Venice

Woven silk, Spain, 1300s

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Slide 7: Case Study: Venice

Doge of Venice , 1457-1470s

Sermon of Saint Steven , Carpaccio, 1540, Louvre

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Slide 8: Venice and the east

Sultan Mehmet II , Bellini, 1480, National Gallery of London

Sultan’s Favorite , from a costume book, 1590

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Slide 9: Personal wealth, pattern, and fashion

Ladies weaving, Flemish 1490

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Slide 10: Northern Europe - Fashion without pattern. Imitation

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Slide 11: Patterns in Renaissance Textile

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Slide 12: Renaissance Motifs

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Slide 13:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Slide 14: Case Study: The Hunt of the Unicorn, ca 1500

Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cloisters Collection

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Slide 15: Tapestry

The Triumph of Fame , 1502, Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Drowning of Britomartis