Pelmet
Category
Textiles
Date
1911
Materials
Silk
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Attingham Park, Shropshire
NT 609545.6.2
Summary
One of four pelmets of blue, ivory and gold silk lampas jacquard woven in a neo-classical design. The design from an 18th century neo-classical source shows Neptune and either Amphitrite or Amymonie above their respective attributes amidst flowers, trees and garlands. The curtains for the Drawing Room were made in Lyon, France, in 1911, at the order of Thomas Henry Noel-Hill, 8th Lord Berwick (1877-1947). In early 1923 a Miss Newnes, an upholstress, was paid for 50 days to make the silk comissioned by Thomas, 8th Lord Berwick, into new curtains for the Drawing Room to match the furniture. The pelmet has a dropped passementerie, gimp braid and a cream satin weave cotton dressed interlining. Much of the pelmet has been hand sewn and is lined and interlined throughout. The pelmet has three self fabric rolls as box pleats, edged with trim at the bottom edge. The fabric has been tacked to a pelmet board at the top. The Jacquard weave of the fabric has ivory and mid blue (faded to aqua) silk warp and ivory and gold silk weft. The loom width is 60.5cm. The fabric has a straight drop repeat of 159cm x loom width. The bottom edge of the pelmet is fringed with passementerie braid and drops 12cm. The tassles are of blue, ivory and gold silk parchment loops, with a striped centre, looped to the braid. This gimp braid is 3cm and of ivory and blue silk. The pelmet also features blue braid with a flowerhead motif, which is 2cm.
Provenance
Lord Berwick (1877-1947), before his marriage in 1919, had the silk woven in Lyon, copying an earlier silk introduced by the 3rd Lord Berwick (1773-1842) between 1827-1842 also woven in Lyon. Attingham collection; bequeathed to the National Trust with the estate, house and contents of Attingham by Thomas Henry Noel-Hill, 8th Baron Berwick (1877-1947) on 15th May 1953.