Faced with increasing foreign competition, especially from France, Genoa’s weavers created a niche specialization by weaving silk furniture upholstery. This decorative, polychrome velvet, achieved using multiple differently colored warps, is a fine example. Glorious velvets like this proved exceedingly sought after throughout Europe for embellishing suites of upholstered seating. This satin velvet was displayed in European Textiles and Costume Figures, on view at the Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences (visible at center left in the photograph of 1938), and at Walton High School (visible at center right in the photograph of February 9, 1939)[Elizabeth Cleland, 2020]