Textiles

Textile design includes tapestries and quilts as well as smaller pieces of embroidery like samplers, conceived to demonstrate a variety of stitchwork.

This form has attracted modern artists such as Picasso, Matisse and Henry Moore but antique examples by both named and unnamed hands are also a popular collecting area.


img_13-3.jpg

Early dated Scottish sampler draws bidding six times over estimate

25 September 2023

Prices for embroidered samplers can vary hugely depending on what specific features are involved as well as factors such as condition and provenance.

img_24-1.jpg

An auction format that proved to be the right time, right place

18 September 2023

Specialist Bleasdale says his sewing antiques and Tunbridgeware timed online sales are working out well

img_28-1.jpg

Hand-embroidered pannier dress flies over expectations

04 September 2023

By the mid-18th century, as the fashion for the pannier dress reached its peak, some women wore dresses measuring 7ft (2.13m) wide.

img_8-3.jpg

Pick of the week: Lessons pointed the poor towards job skills

28 August 2023

Well known for pottery, Sally Tuffin (b.1938) is also renowned for pioneering 1960s fashion as part of the Foale and Tuffin firm.

Figure of Mercury

Summer scorchers: Trio of big prices blows away August cobwebs

14 August 2023

A usually quiet August was dramatically awakened by a series of sleepers that emerged at three UK regional auction houses.

img_10-1.jpg

Unusual styles at the sharp end: needlework pictures and paper cuts

07 August 2023

Do embroidery and cut-paper pictures count as art? Bidders certainly appreciate their expertise

Henry VIII

Rich tapestries: fundraising plans for historic textiles

25 July 2023

Fundraising is under way at two museums and a third has just finished a lengthy conservation project.

Tapestry

Funds needed to buy Henry VIII tapestry to return it to UK

24 July 2023

A previously lost tapestry, commissioned by Henry VIII for Hampton Court during the turmoil of the English Reformation, is a step closer to returning to the UK for public display.

img_1-1.jpg

Stitch in time: embroidered sampler makes 35 times estimate in Newcastle

15 May 2023

The best needlework samplers continue to bring prices far above more routine examples.

img_42-6.jpg

Pressing engagement in Essex

01 May 2023

The oshi-e technique, meaning ‘pressed picture’, involves folding and pressing scraps of fabric, such as kimono cloth, and washi paper to create an image.

img_51-1.jpg

Textile fair hopes to encourage fresh talent to the trade

10 April 2023

Textile Society’s annual fair is part of a drive to help fund ways of bringing in fresh talent to the field.

img_12-1.jpg

Surrealist carpet designed comes with heart and sole

27 March 2023

Footprint design telling a story of lost love stars among a selection of ‘out of the ordinary’ collectables lots sold at auction

img_43-3.jpg

Gallery shows unite Big Apple residents and visitors

06 March 2023

Around 26 specialist dealers are taking part in the 2023 edition of Asia Week New York (AWNY) from March 16-24.

img_39-3.jpg

Auction marks end of an era for textiles dealer Peta Smyth

27 February 2023

Peta Smyth has been dealing in antique textiles since 1976 and her shop at 42 Moreton Street in Pimlico, west London, is renowned for its extensive array of fine textiles, attracting a loyal and diverse clientele of interior designers, antiques dealers and collectors.

img_22-1.jpg

Somerset saleroom reaps rewards from series of auctions in the new year

13 February 2023

Lawrences of Crewkerne kicks off 2023 with an extensive £1m (premium-inclusive) series of sales over several days

img_27-1.jpg

First-timers and stalwarts all welcome at LARTA

09 January 2023

Two new dealers join the latest London Antique Rug & Textile Art Fair (LARTA) this month.

img_37-5.jpg

The web shop window: late 19th century Welsh quilt

19 December 2022

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

img_9-1.jpg

Yard sale from the Bower Ismay home

05 December 2022

More than 20 yards of Morris & Co fabric and two Howard & Son chairs were among a group of lots consigned to auction in Wiltshire with a provenance to Haselbech Hall, Northampton, and the Bower Ismay family.

img_57-1.jpg

Flemish tapestry hunted down after wartime wrongs

21 November 2022

A rare early 16th century Flemish tapestry that was part of an impressive imperial commission is coming up for sale in France in early December.

img_39-1.jpg

Super sampler selection in Oxfordshire

21 November 2022

Oxfordshire dealership Witney Antiques’ latest exhibition features early example of band samplers.

Categories

News