Brocade

Chair seat
MFA# 51.253

Description

A heavy fabric, with an elaborate, raised design interwoven on a satin or twill weave background. Brocade originated in France and was usually made with a Jacquard weaving mechanism. The embossed fabric, usually made from Silk or Cotton, can have Gold or Silver interlaced threads. It is used for upholstery, draperies, and wall coverings.

French brocade fragment
MFA# 96.363

Synonyms and Related Terms

brocado (Esp.); brocart (Fr.); Brokaat (Ned); lamé; brocatelle;

Additional Images

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  Japanese silk brocade with gold thread overall

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  Japanese silk brocade with gold thread detail

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  Japanese silk brocade with gold thread detail on obverse

Resources and Citations

• Hermann Kuhn, Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art and Antiquities, Butterworths, London, 1986

• Hoechst Celanese Corporation, Dictionary of Fiber & Textile Technology (older version called Man-made Fiber and Textile Dictionary, 1965), Hoechst Celanese Corporation, Charlotte NC, 1990

• Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1982

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "Brocade." Accessed 10 Aug. 2004.

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000

• Edward Reich, Carlton J. Siegler, Consumer Goods: How to Know and Use Them, American Book Company, New York City, 1937

• Website: www.fabrics.net