Furnishing Fabric
maker
Unknown
Date1700-1725
Place MadeGenoa, Liguria, Italy, Europe
MediumSilk ciselé voided velvet
Dimensions129.5 x 51.1 cm (51 x 20 1/8 in.)
ClassificationsTextile Arts
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberT17w12
eMuseum ID718283
Alt. No. 2 (Cavallo)151
EmbARK ObjectID11885
Alt. No. 4 (Old Cavallo)193
Alt. No. 1 (Siple)029
TMS Source ID1043
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryAmong the most luxurious silk textiles produced in Europe, velvets are fabrics woven with an additional warp, which creates a plush pile surface. Patterns are made by leaving portions of the design free of pile (called voided velvet). Combining cut and uncut pile loops produces contrasts in both color and texture. This technique (called ciselé velvet) embellishes the design since cut pile appears darker than the uncut pile.
Velvets made in Italy during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries displayed unusual colors and interesting textures. Decorated velvets were often used for garments and interior furnishings such as drapery and wall hangings. In these situations, velvet catchs light in various ways, revealing subtle gradations of color.
Source: Kathy Francis, "Velvets," in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 118.
Velvets made in Italy during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries displayed unusual colors and interesting textures. Decorated velvets were often used for garments and interior furnishings such as drapery and wall hangings. In these situations, velvet catchs light in various ways, revealing subtle gradations of color.
Source: Kathy Francis, "Velvets," in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 118.
BibliographyNotesGilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 134. (as Italian)
Adolph S. Cavallo. Textiles: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1986), p. 180, no. 151. (as Italian, probably Genoa, 1700-1725)
Kathy Francis in Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), pp. 118-19, ill. (as Italian, possibly from Genoa, 1700-1725)
Adolph S. Cavallo. Textiles: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1986), p. 180, no. 151. (as Italian, probably Genoa, 1700-1725)
Kathy Francis in Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), pp. 118-19, ill. (as Italian, possibly from Genoa, 1700-1725)
ProvenanceNotesPurchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner, possibly in Florence or Venice, probably by 1903.
