Browse Exhibitions

June 26, 1929: Following its policy of being of service, to those interested in textile designing and manufacturing, there is now displayed in the Decorative Arts Department on the second floor of the Museum a special exhibition of textiles arranged to show the influence of time and place on certain pattern designs. This will be on view until the first of October.

The collection is arranged in several cases so that they are easy to study. Each case contains several fragments of a typical example of textile of the principal European countries dating from Italian 16th century through French 19th century work. For example, in some cases a well known design shown in its early application and traced through its development by country and period. One instance of this is a flower, pattern with medallions done in a heavy, pompous, rich manner in the 16th Century in Italy and carried through its development to its adaptations in France at the time of Louis XVI when it became a design of delicate flowers set against dainty stripes and tied together with ribbons. The collection is also well supplied with richly decorated fabric in which gold and silver threads are worked, one example of which is an Italian 16th century fragment of crimson satin with an elaborate coat-of-arms worked in with gold thread. This collection is from the Museum's permanent possessions and represents a combination of connoisseurship of three authorities on the subject of textiles.

This is the beginning of an education series of textile exhibitions which ,will be arranged from time to time. The classifications under which this one is shown are as follows: geometric and conventionalized patterns; animal and bird patterns; floral patterns with stripes, scrolls, etc.; floral patterns enriched with gold and silver thread; '''vase of flowers" patterns and floral patterns of the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. These patterns are shown in rich brocades, velvets, satins, silks, taffetas, and cloth of gold.

Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1916 - 1930. 04-06/1929, 074. View Original