Italian
Medium
Silk
Dimensions
L. 17 3/4 x W. 18 1/2 inches (45.1 x 47 cm)
Classification
Textiles-Woven
Culture
British, Essex
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Friends of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Gifts, 2000
Accession Number
2000.46
Art Historical Context
This exquisite woven silk panel, titled *Italian* and created around 1873, exemplifies the refined textile traditions of Victorian Britain. Produced in Essex by the firm Warner, Sillett & Ramm to designs associated with the influential architect and ornament theorist Owen Jones, the fabric measures just under 18 inches square. Its luminous silk threads highlight the technical precision of 19th-century British weaving, where intricate patterns were achieved through sophisticated Jacquard looms. The title *Italian* likely refers to the design’s evocation of Renaissance motifs, reflecting the er...