Piqué

Description

1) A medium weight, tightly woven fabric with a raised geometric design. Piqué was originally made in cotton, but has also been produced in silk and synthetic fabrics. An example of piqué fabric is bird's eye. It is used for skirts, dresses, children's coats, purses, and neckwear.

2) An ornamental design made by inlaying metal, tortoiseshell, ivory, or mother-of-pearl with gold or silver dots or pins. Piqué was used for small boxes, jewelry, and other small items in France the 17th and 18th centuries. It was introduced into England at the end of the 17th century and by 1770, Mathew Bolton had developed a machine to produce piqué decorations.

Synonyms and Related Terms

pique; piqué work; piqué (Esp.)

Sources Checked for Data in Record

• Rosalie Rosso King, Textile Identification, Conservation, and Preservation, Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, NJ, 1985

• Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "Pique Work." Encyclopædia Britannica. 10 Aug. 2004 .

• 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

• Tom Rowland, Noel Riley, A-Z Guide to Cleaning, Conserving and Repairing Antiques, Constable and Co., Ltd., London, 1981

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