KAPRIFOL

Repeat:ca 29 x 29 cm. Width 145 cm.

The original, from a private collection, is a lining in a woman’s short gown found at Kallfors mannor, Södermanland, Sweden. When the house was sold and refurnished a costume historian happened to pass by and rescued the last bag of old textiles – ten bags was then already burnt as rubbish... The garment was made 1780-90 from a small patterned cotton print, but the lining is linen and could be dated to the mid 18th century. The fabric is reused; it was joined and patched before it was remade into the lining. Judging from the joints it was originally a piece of clothing, maybe a lining in a cape or a peignoire. The fabric has a typical rococo design: pink and red, blue and brown flowers and scrolls on white ground. The design is block printed on hand spun linen, but the blue colour was painted after the other colours were fixed.  The blue pigment was not compatible with the chemical mordants used for the other dyes. The place of manufacture is unknown, but probably the fabric was made in Sweden.