Textile, printed

Description

This is a printed silk fragment, printed in black with the image of a female figure. Here we see just the head and shoulders of a woman wearing a turban-like headdress with feathers and a beaded band. She is also wearing a beaded necklace and a ruffled collar. Her face has been cut out, possibly for use in a silk needlework picture. In the 19th century, the patterns for silk embroideries were drawn or painted by hand by students or professional artists who were usually copying another work of art, and rarely producing original designs. Very little information exists regarding an alternative technique, rather than painting, of applying imagery cut from printed fabrics to fill in faces and other features in needlework pictures, although it has been done.