A skirt length of this beautiful and typical Spitalfields woven silk dress brocade of the 1760s. The silk was probably designed by Anna Maria Garthwaite(1690-1763), but unless one can actually find an identical design, one cannot say for sure. By the time this silk was designed, A-M would be in her 60s? Did she carry on working?
From the collection of the late Mrs June Jeffreys (1928 – 2016) who married George William Eyre Jeffreys (1931 - 2019) in 1960. The house Newhouse, Redlynch, near Salisbury, Wiltshire, has been in the family for 400 years and many of the dress collection was inherited through Mr Jeffrey’s family.
The ivory ground woven with small sprays of pink flowers shded in two different colourways, a background of self coloured brocade with satin stripes, coloured and self coloured flowers and leaf meanders. A skirt length.
40 in x 19 in; 1 m x 49 cm selvedge to selvedge.
The silk is crisp and fresh looking. This length is in very good condition. One tiny 1/4 in; 50mm slit to the left hand side 8 in; 20 cm from top. There is a slightly marked fold line near the hem of the skirt 6 1/2 in; 16 cm from the bottom. It is 260 years old and have had a life!
This one has a similar sprig and stripe:
collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O78727/dress-fabric-anna-maria-garthwaite/
collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O92739/design-garthwaite-anna-maria/
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