DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.62931#0119
CHANGES IN DESIGN
Towards the end of the 16th century further changes took place
in the patterned fabrics of Italy, owing to the introduction of the
Spanish type of dress, with its narrow folds and slashings. The
patterns were usually small and well adapted for the short dark
coloured cloak worn at all the courts in the time of Raphael and his
contemporaries. Differing from the preceding patterns with their
pronounced formal and continuous construction, the pattern is now
frequently arranged as a symmetrical spotting or semi of floral forms.
Some representative examples in silk and wool are given on plate 47.
No. 1 has a well-distributed floral pattern with birds and animals
that are Sicilian in character. Nos. 2, 3, and 4 are variants of these
distinctive floral spottings.
Representative examples of the smaller velvets of this period,
beautiful in technical qualities of weaving,
and in the arrangement and distribution of
pattern, are given on plate 48.
The doublet of green velvet given on
plate 49 has another variant of these small
patterns. This example is said to be of
English manufacture of the early 17th cen-
tury; if so, the distinctive Oriental floral
form and stripe show that it was probably
the work of Italian weavers, many of whom
were engaged in England during the 16th
and 17th centuries.
Plate 50 is from a painting by Frans Hals
(1584-1666). The child’s dress is clearly
painted from a patterned fabric, having a
seme of pomegranates, probably woven on a Flemish loom.
In addition to the more sumptuous silken fabrics of the Italian
looms, many mixed fabrics of linen and wool were produced
contemporaneously at Florence, Milan, and Venice. The patterns
of these, usually in blue and white, or red and white, vary con-
siderably in scale, from 5 to 22 inches in width. The patterns,
consisting of a semi of pomegranates and conventional flowers, are
distinctly Eastern in character. These fabrics, which must have
been produced extensively in Florence and Milan, are admirable in
the ornamental detail and planning, and show considerable skill and
economy of means in weaving.
Contemporary with these Italian fabrics, similar ones were
produced in large quantities on the Flemish looms at Bruges, Ghent,
Ypres, and other weaving centres.
Plate 5 1 gives a very beautiful silken robe, said to be of the
69
Towards the end of the 16th century further changes took place
in the patterned fabrics of Italy, owing to the introduction of the
Spanish type of dress, with its narrow folds and slashings. The
patterns were usually small and well adapted for the short dark
coloured cloak worn at all the courts in the time of Raphael and his
contemporaries. Differing from the preceding patterns with their
pronounced formal and continuous construction, the pattern is now
frequently arranged as a symmetrical spotting or semi of floral forms.
Some representative examples in silk and wool are given on plate 47.
No. 1 has a well-distributed floral pattern with birds and animals
that are Sicilian in character. Nos. 2, 3, and 4 are variants of these
distinctive floral spottings.
Representative examples of the smaller velvets of this period,
beautiful in technical qualities of weaving,
and in the arrangement and distribution of
pattern, are given on plate 48.
The doublet of green velvet given on
plate 49 has another variant of these small
patterns. This example is said to be of
English manufacture of the early 17th cen-
tury; if so, the distinctive Oriental floral
form and stripe show that it was probably
the work of Italian weavers, many of whom
were engaged in England during the 16th
and 17th centuries.
Plate 50 is from a painting by Frans Hals
(1584-1666). The child’s dress is clearly
painted from a patterned fabric, having a
seme of pomegranates, probably woven on a Flemish loom.
In addition to the more sumptuous silken fabrics of the Italian
looms, many mixed fabrics of linen and wool were produced
contemporaneously at Florence, Milan, and Venice. The patterns
of these, usually in blue and white, or red and white, vary con-
siderably in scale, from 5 to 22 inches in width. The patterns,
consisting of a semi of pomegranates and conventional flowers, are
distinctly Eastern in character. These fabrics, which must have
been produced extensively in Florence and Milan, are admirable in
the ornamental detail and planning, and show considerable skill and
economy of means in weaving.
Contemporary with these Italian fabrics, similar ones were
produced in large quantities on the Flemish looms at Bruges, Ghent,
Ypres, and other weaving centres.
Plate 5 1 gives a very beautiful silken robe, said to be of the
69