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.
This story is from the June 2023 edition of Homes & Antiques.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2023 edition of Homes & Antiques.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
48 hours in FUNCHAL
Jenny Oldaker discovers Madeira's capital to be an elegant, artistic place with wide open spaces, verdant beauty spots and a picture-perfect sea-facing location...
LUKE HONEY'S Enthusiasms
On an autumn day in 1783, a sheep, a duck, and a rooster became the first living creatures to fly in a hot air balloon.
Collecting NUTCRACKERS
Not just for Christmas, these nostalgic keepsakes come in an abundance of novelty shapes and styles, offering character and affordability for budding collectors
WHY I COLLECT Medals
Oliver Miller, managing director of Bishop & Miller Auctioneers and Valuers, is fascinated by medals - for him it's all about the preservation of stories for future generations...
Fashionably CURATED
Roni Lang's home in Deal, situated above her clothing store, is every bit as creative and stylish as you'd expect from a fashion designer
Work life balance
Lucy and Guy Rutter - a ceramicist and artist respectively - have found the ideal place to live and work: a Victorian property in Faversham attached to a once-neglected studio...
Farm FUSION
A farmhouse near Cape Town has been given a rustic-meets-industrial makeover, using found materials and objects, as well as treasures brought back from afar
SAVVY Sophistication
Affordable and intriguing charity shop and eBay finds are teamed with statement pieces in this impressive Victorian home in West Yorkshire
DARREN APPIAGYEI
The wood artist talks to Dominique Corlett about seed pods, creative reinvention and the life-enhancing feeling of turning a lathe
Collecting Dioramas MINIATURE WORLDS
From elaborate taxidermy museum displays to humble folk art creations, a diorama can transport us to another time and place