FABRICS

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 149, 14 September 1927, Page 7

FABRICS

TAPESTRY AND BROCADE. SOME HISTORICAL FACTS. The question of curtains, hangings and covers is one which is very important in the successful furnishing and decorating of a home. The wrong materials or colours can mar an otherwise harmonious scheme, and the exterior of a house be ruined by a bad choice of window curtains. The range of materials and patterns from which to choose is wide, and before entering a shop one should have a fairly good idea of the material and type of design required, as well as the colour. In the midst of scores of lovely chintzes, brocades and nets, one’s eyes and brain become dazzled and one’s judgment impaired, writes Jocelyn Brown in the “Architecture and Builders Review.” Two questions to ask oneself in choosing designs are: (1) Are they permanently good, or do they belong to a passing craze or an out-worn fashion? (2) Are they in harmony with our modest home life and with our climate? Patterns which were beautiful in Italian palaces of the time of Raphael are absurd in a suburban bungalow. Life is much simpler now than it used to be, and the ancient fabrics which have come down to us—tapestries, brocades and so forth—were made for home surroundings more splendid than our own, for they appealed to the rich at a time when dress was very costly and luxurious. In selecting a design try to determine the period at which it was produced, and choose only those which come from a time when the standard of art was high. For instance, most of the designs which have come down to us from the Renaissance are good, whether they be English or Con tinental. In the second half of the nineteenth century, William Morris did great work in raising the standard of design in fabrics and wallpapers. He used to say that householders should go to the South Kensington Museum to studj tuffs woven in Syria and Sicily in the i3th and 14th centuries, or equally jeautiful webs of Persian design which are later in date, but instinct with purest and best Eastern feeling. The splendid stuffs produced in ltaiy in the middle ages are unsurpassed for .’ichness and effect of design. These should be compared with later work •vhen art generally was on the decline. The early 17th Century was a period of transition ending in corruption, and the art of the time shows a restlessness and vacuity of mind, while the 2arlier work is obviously the result of irrepressible imagination and love of oeauty. Some kind of tapestry was in use occasionally by the Saxons and Normans, frequently used over doorways or to divide one part of a chamber from another. Real tapestry, however, was not made until the 14th Century, although the looms of Arras were famous for two hundred years before this time for making line cloths for church vestments and wearing apparel. Tapestry as an English manufacture produced in sufficient quantity to afford opportunities for its use by but a few, can hardly be said to have existed in England prioi to the 17th Century. In the king*a palaces and in those of his wealthy ministers and nobles, this form of de coration was undoubtedly in use in remote times, perhaps as early as in those of other nations, but small interest was taken in its production in comparision with that by foreign countries, ever those so contiguous as France and thi Netherlands, until the close of the 16fb Century. But one manufactory is known to have existed in England namely that of Burchester, founded to wards the end of the reign of Henry VIII. by William Sheldon. In 1620 Janies I stimulated by the example of Henri IV, of France, enlisted in ilia service a number of workmen anc established at Mortlake a factory which quickly attained a success that was rivalled only by that of the Gobelins The industry on the Thames developed rapidly and soon secured European re cognition, thanks to the interest take by James I and still more so by Charle.-. I who was aided by the valuable co operation of Rubens and Vandyck Tapestry made under the Royal patron age soon became the fashion, and though under the Commonwealth it.continuance was threatened, it recalled fresh favour under Charles 11. It was luring this reign. however, that it gradually declined and practicallv ceased to exist. In regard to the scale oi a pattern i is well to remember that many of th( brocades and damasks with their elabor ate designs were intended for use ii rooms much loftier than our own, anc curtains hanging in folds from 10 tr To feet long could afford to have bold designs, whereas we aie apt to use the same sized design on a curtain half a.» long. The result is frequently disastrous to the apparent size of hot* - window and room Stripes and horizontal bands look well in some mater ials, hut make a room look lower, and should only be used for long curtains or hangings and then in narrow rather than broad masses. Cretonnes and chintzes have tliei' origin in India and Portugal, when calico was first printed with designs and while speaking of India I wouk •*kf. to mention the cheap and beautifr ndiari printed cotton bedspreads whicl one sees from time to time. They an aboriouslv hand printed and dyed witl he aid of wet desert sand, and traceof this sand can usually be found on th' new article. The sand is used in thi same wav as wax is used for Batik dyeing. One rarely sees two of these spreads in the same colour or design ind they make excellent hangings also, provided they are not put in direct sunlight. Brocades wen first woven in the Orient, though very little or no evidence of their origin is seen in their designs to-day.

A BEDSIDE LIGHT JUST WHERE IT IS WANTED Most users of electric light have come to consider a bedside light as among those luxuries that are as important as necessities.

OUCH a light is not only extremely convenient;,it is cheerful and companionable, remarkably so during illness or a phase of sleeplessness. But how difficult it has often been in the past to get that, friendly light fixed just where it was wanted! The table standard lamp and the pendant light, though adjustable, were not sufficiently so, and often necessitated an awkward position or the straining of eyesight for the reader in bed. Now comes the perfected bed light in silk shade, which is simply placed on the rail at the head of the bed. It can be slid along the rail to any position that is most comfortable to the posture of the body and convenient to the focus of the eye. It gives an even, diffused, restful illumination, and its eye-preserving value is considerable. It does not need fixing, as it maintains its position automatically by means of weighted tabs with which it is provided. For the divan or a bed with a very low rail there is a special fitted-in-an-instant bracket type for the wall. A hanging switch enables you to switch the light on or off without exposing the arm to the cold. The new lamp may be obtained in various shapes and designs, all of which are charming and decorative.