Panel (Furnishing Fabric)
c. 1815
Medium
Cotton, plain weave; block printed
Dimensions
a: 33 × 60.3 cm (13 × 23 3/4 in.); b: 63.5 × 98.4 cm (25 × 38 3/4 in.)
Classification
textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
6652
Art Historical Context
This vibrant furnishing fabric panel produced by the Bannister Print Works around 1815, exemplifies early 19th-century British innovation. Hailing from a renowned Lancashire printworks, these cotton pieces—comprising two panels (one 13 × 23¾ inches, the other 25 × 38¾ inches)—were designed for home interiors like curtains or upholstery, reflecting the Regency era's growing demand for affordable, stylish domestic goods amid post-Napoleonic prosperity. Crafted from plain-weave cotton and block-printed by hand, the fabric showcases a labor-intensive technique where wooden blocks, carved with int...