Artifact: Brocaded wool damask panel
Materials: Damask
Dimensions: 38 x 18 in. (96.52 x 45.72 cm)
Date: Mid 18thCentury
Origin: England, Norwich
Collection: LACMA
License: Public Domain
Ledger Entry: Damask
Department: Textile
Customer: Mrs. Elizabeth Broadwater
Ledger Page: 195
Imported From: Most of the textiles sold in the Ramsay store were either produced and imported from England, or imported to the colonies through England.
Product Description
Patterns are created in damask fabric by alternating between warp- and weft-float faces of a weave. This contrast can be between two tones of silk, or silk and another fiber. The pattern appears raised off of the background creating a textured fabric, this is particularly pronounced when the silk is woven with a thicker fiber. Damask was used for clothing, drapery, and upholstery. When used in upholstery, it was often paired with covers of a sturdier fabric for daily use in order to preserve the damask for special occasions.
Citation: Florence M. Montgomery. Textiles in America, 1650-1870 : a Dictionary Based on Original Documents : Prints and Paintings, Commercial Records, American Merchants' Papers, Shopkeepers' Advertisements, and Pattern Books with Original Swatches of Cloth. (New York :Norton, 1984), 212-214.;
Historical Price: 18 shillings, 4 pence per yard; Modern USD: $206
Product Variations
There is only one sale of damask priced at one shilling eight pence per yard.
