Textile Design with Undulating Horizontal Strips of Rosettes Framed by Undulating Horizontal Ribbon Strips
Medium
Gouache
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 5/8 × 2 1/2 in. (6.6 × 6.4 cm)
Classification
Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Museum Accession, transferred from the Library
Accession Number
1978.671.5(18.2)
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
This delicate textile design, created around 1840 by an anonymous Alsatian artist, features undulating horizontal strips of rosettes framed by matching ribbon motifs. Painted in gouache on a tiny sheet measuring just 2 5/8 2 1/2 inches, the work served as a practical pattern for fabric printing. Its compact size and precise execution reflect the working methods of 19th-century designers who produced such studies for manufacturers. Alsace, straddling the French-German border, was a thriving center of textile production during this period. Patterns like these, with their rhythmic, flowing lines...