Yellow silk damask fragment

Status

Not on view

Datec. 1750

Medium/TechniqueSilk

DimensionsOverall: 4 1/4 in. × 3 3/16 in. (10.8 cm × 8.1 cm)

Credit LineGift of Miss Chapman, 1890

Object numberW-544/D

DescriptionThis yellow silk achieves a damask effect through a lampas weave: on the obverse, the motif shows the plain woven side while the ground shows the satin woven side, while on the reverse the opposite is true. The plain weave is warp faced, as is the 3/1 satin weave. The yarns are S-spun, and a slight ribbing is achieved by the use of thick warps.

The design features semi-naturalistic florals with geometric motifs, such as zig-zags and triangles, filling in the petals and other elements. The ground between the motifs is filled with a diaper patterning in imitation of lace.

This fragment shows a selvedge along the right edge with two green stripes running the length. There is a crease 1 1/2" from the selvedge edge with pinholes that line up when the piece is folded. There is possible evidence of carefully removed stitches along the selvedge in a row of what appears to be stitch holes, but they are so close together that they appear to be machine made. It could be caused by a broken warp yarn.

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