Length of Woven Silk
1730s
Medium
Silk, gilt-metal-strip-wrapped silk, warp-float faced 7:1 satin weave with supplementary brocading wefts and self-patterned by ground wefts; two selvages present
Dimensions
112.4 × 78.7 cm (44 1/4 × 31 in.); Repeat: 50.4 × 39.6 cm (19 7/8 × 15 5/8 in.)
Classification
weaving
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
35431
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Chinoiserie—a European interpretation of East Asian art—held special appeal in the Netherlands. Dutch weavers in Amsterdam developed a singular style of chinoiserie patterns for silk weaving. Their highly detailed compositions of figures and flowers were sometimes mistaken for Japanese textiles, and this may have been the desired effect.
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...