Utrecht Velvet

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

This stamped furnishing fabric imitates, in design and technique, 18th-century velvets made in the Netherlands and known colloquially as “Utrecht velvet.” The city of Utrecht was a center of stamped velvet production. Manufacturers there impressed patterns into cut solid velvet with a heated copper roller. The compressed pile created the illusion of velvet woven with varying piles, which would have been more time consuming to produce. This reproduction catered to consumer desire for high-end, historically inspired furnishings.

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