All in Bloom

Floral fabrics have been staples of textile design for centuries, and while styles have evolved, the appeal is everlasting, says Celia Rufey

- Celia Rufey

The marriage of flowers and textiles is so longstanding, no one quite knows when the match was made. The visual language of this pairing across embroidery, weaves and printed fabrics offers an alternative relationship with nature, and has things to say about love and eternity. Over centuries, flowers on textiles have shared messages with a personal meaning or been chosen for what they symbolise.

The flowers that a nation adopts for its textiles usually reflect the kinds that grow naturally in that country's climate and environment. In Japan, it's cherry blossom, peony and the chrysanthemum, whose long petals mimicking the sun's rays became associated with royalty. In Chinese textiles, it's the peony again and magnolia held in high regard, together with the lotus flower, symbolising purity. The flower of Persia and the Ottoman Empire was the tulip. Textiles depicting these blooms from Asia began to appear in Mediterranean Europe, by various routes, from the 15th century.

For all European countries, improvements in trade routes throughout the 17th century also brought colourful printed calicoes from India known as 'chintz' to the English and 'indiennes' to the French. They featured a bewildering array of flowers, none of which were recognisable by name.