British Galleries:
SILK FURNISHING FABRICS FROM JAPANESE DESIGNS<br>
Motifs in both of these silk designs were taken from a book illustrating crests (mon), similar to this one, that were used by individuals and businesses in Japan. They were popular and widely available in Victorian Britain. E.W.Godwin, who designed 'Butterfly Brocade' and was probably also responsible for the 'Dahlia' pattern, is known to have owned a copy. [27/03/2003]Furnishing fabric of Jacquard woven silk. The red satin ground is covered with small stylised flower heads. Superimposed on these, woven in yellow and bound in twill, is a bold design of clusters of three dahlias surrounded by leaves. Between these clusters, also in yellow, are three butterflies centred on a stylised flower head in the Japanese style.Furnishing fabric 'Daliah' of Jacquard woven silk, possibly designed by Edward William Godwin, woven by Warner and Sons, London, 1874-1876This highly fashionable, expensive woven silk furnishing probably appealed to only a small number of rich clients with avant-garde tastes. Despite a lack of documentation, there is strong circumstantial evidence that this pattern was designed by E. W. Godwin. Between 1874 and 1876 the designer sold designs to the silk weaver Benjamin Warner (1828-1908), whose firm, Warner & Ramm, manufactured it. Furthermore, the motif of a stylised chrysanthemum flower head surrounded by three butterflies is taken directly from Japanese crests published at the time. A book of crests now in the Hunterian Collection, University of Glasgow, is known to have belonged to Godwin's wife, Beatrice.
As contractor weavers, Warner & Ramm would have sold their furnishings through a fashionable London shop rather than directly to the public. Benjamin Warner, the founder of the Warner firm, was trained at the Spitalfields School of Design. In 1870 he set himself up as a silk designer at 451 Bethnal Green Road, in the heart of the London silk industry. By 1874 he had opened a factory nearby. Known at first as Warner Sillett and Ramm, the firm soon became one of the leading manufacturers in the field.