Skein of Raw Silk, Italian, Cheney Brothers, 1913. Yellow. 1 skein. Part of gift illustrating all the steps in making silk textiles at the Cheney Brothers mill in South Manchester, CT. Sales offices: 4th Ave. and 18th St., New York City
Javanese batik tea cosy for the western market, 1915. A cotton rectangle with two mirror image trapezoidal panels, long edges toward the center. Meant to be cut out and stitched with a lining into a western style tea cosy. Design of scrolls and plant forms. Dark blue border, to be cut away in the making, surrounds the trapezoids. One of 22 finished batik textiles, together with 14 process samples, made by prisoners in Java for exhibition at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. Purchased by the US National Museum for the Division of Textiles from the Netherlands East Indies Commission at the close of the Exposition. An example of the use of traditional Javanese technique and patterning for a form meant for the European or Western trade.Approx. 14" x 19". Original cataloging identifies the design as "Pisang bali." in brown and indigo; Price listed as 4 F. or $1.60
Draft used as a guide for 4-harness overshot hand-weaving of plain weave (tabby) foundation, overlaid and underlaid by the pattern weft which is bound into the fabric by every fourth warp.
This cap crown is of Point de Venise de Reseau needle lace. The ground has been restored and the fine quality needlepoint motifs are now applied on machine made net. The lace dates originally from the early 18th century, and was remodelled in the late 19th to early 20th century. It compliments a matching lappet TE.L7693 and and border TE.L7694.
Length of Cheney Brothers all silk 'Grisaille' apparel fabric. A balanced plain weave with slightly irregular weft. Yarn dyed, with white warp and black weft giving a changeable gray surface effect with a medium sheen. (W. 32 in., L. 1-1/2 yd.). Similar color effect to another Cheney piece, titled Bengal Pongee, but without the warp strie and in a slightly heavier weight.
Netted mitts - Netting is created by tying knots over a gauge called a mesh stick. A double pointed knitting needle can be used as a mesh stick. A needle with an eye at both ends is filled with thread and then loops/knots are made around the mesh stick.
This black machine knitted net fingerless glove is embellished with embroidered flowers on both the front and the back. The flower spray is backed with fabric inside the glove. Pink silk thread is used for the French knots and bud centers, while coils of gold and silver laminated threads are couched onto a background fabric for flowers, stems and leaves. Every flower center is decorated with a cut green glass bead. The glove has probably never been worn.
This blue and white, Jacquard double-woven coverlet has a center seam and fringe at the bottom end and rolled hem at the top edge. The centerfield design is composed of two and one-half pairs of floral wreaths or scalloped roundels made up of roses and stylized thistle and six pointed stars between them. The border is composed of grapes and groups of leaves, with a sunflower in each corner block. It is quite likely that this corner block design is an unidentified weaver’s trade mark. The two sets of warp and weft are made of 2-ply, S-twist, Z-spun indigo wool and 3-ply, S-twist, Z-spun natural cotton. There is a self-fringe at the bottom edge and a hem at the top secured with 2-ply, s-twist, Z-spun yarn. This design matches an image of a rug design that can be found in the object file. The coverlet is likely either a product of Ohio or Indiana and made sometime between the years 1830-50.