Panel
1860/80
Silk and cotton, satin weave with multi-color supplementary pile warps forming cut and uncut voided velvet
158.9 × 65.8 cm (62.6 × 25.9 in)
SEE IT IN PERSON
Not currently on view
In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026
Discussion
FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG
This 19th-century velvet demonstrates the fashion for historical furnishings. The silk textile firm of Mathevon and Bouvard produced these velvets using designs and patterns from earlier eras. In comparing this particular design to the smaller and earlier example to the right, similarities in color palette as well as pattern become apparent. Anxieties about the inferiority of modern manufacturing contributed to the popularity of textiles such as these, in which works from the past seem to have been replicated.
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