Length of woven silk in the so-called bizarre style, with fantastic vegetal forms on sinuous branches in gold brocade with touches of red, on a cream-colored satin damask ground.

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Object Timeline

1902	We acquired this object.
2011	We photographed this object.
2014	We exhibited this object.
2015	We photographed this object.
2021	You found it!

Textile (France), ca. 1700

This is a Textile. It is dated ca. 1700 and we acquired it in 1902. Its medium is silk, metallic and its technique is 4\1 satin damask with discontinuous supplementary weft patterning (brocade). It is a part of the Textiles department.

Silk designs of 1695 to 1715, commonly termed ‘bizarre,’ were characterized by sinuous lines, strong diagonal movement, and motifs in strangely juxtaposed scales, which might include architectural elements, chinoiserie, and fantastical fruits and flowers. The seventeenth century was the age of exploration, and fashionable novelty was found in the rare and strange. Botanical gardens such as the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid were established to cultivate exotic new species being brought back from expeditions to the tropics, and extraordinary specimens of all varieties were displayed in cabinets of curiosities of the well-to-do.

This object was donated by John Pierpont Morgan. It is credited Gift of John Pierpont Morgan.

Length of woven silk brocaded in gold and silver yarns with pale blue, violet, green, coral and touches of magenta silk. 'Bizarre' style design of feather-like scrolls and geometric frets composed into large curving shapes.

Textile (France), late 17th–early 18th century
silk, metallic yarns (metal foil wrapped silk-core yarns).
Museum purchase from Au Panier Fleuri Fund.
1960-72-6

Length of white silk brocaded with three types of gold metallic yarns, with large C-shaped curves and exotic leaves and flowers.

Textile (England), ca. 1740
silk, metal-wrapped silk-core yarns of three types.
Museum purchase through gift of various donors.
1990-150-2

Length of printed cotton with a large scale design of curving bamboo-like stems with pineapples and feathers as foliage, in blue on a white ground.

Textile (England), 1760–80
cotton.
Museum purchase from Au Panier Fleuri Fund.
1960-55-1

Our curators have highlighted 7 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

Fragment of silk composed of several pieces sewn together. Yellow and salmon damask showing design of exotic fruits and vegetation in the ‘bizarre’ style.

Fragment, 1706–09
silk.
Museum purchase from Eleanor G. Hewitt and Smithsonian Institution....
1999-44-1

Two side-by-side repeats of exotic foliage within a curving border in gold metallic brocade on a plum-colored ground. The repeats give the impression of a central vase or columnar form, but the design is not symmetrical.

Textile (France), 1690–1710
silk, metallic yarns.
Gift of John Pierpont Morgan.
1902-1-414

Scalloped valence with one seam. Chintz fabric features pineapples and exotic botanicals in brown, purple, greens, yellow, pink and red on a white ground.

Valance (India), 18th century
cotton.
Gift of Josephine Howell.
1973-51-61

Its dimensions are

H x W (a): 91.4 x 48.3 cm (36 x 19 in.) H x W (b): 29.2 x 49.5 cm (11 1/2 x 19 1/2 in.)

Cite this object as

Textile (France), ca. 1700; Previously owned by Francisco Miquel y Badía (Spanish, 1840–1899); silk, metallic; H x W (a): 91.4 x 48.3 cm (36 x 19 in.) H x W (b): 29.2 x 49.5 cm (11 1/2 x 19 1/2 in.); Gift of John Pierpont Morgan; 1902-1-900-a,b

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Hewitt Sisters Collect.

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/2AWyx/
Accession Number 1902-1-900-a,b
Object ID 18133847