Panel

The production of early European velvets was restricted by the complex and labor-intensive machinery needed to create patterned velvet. The weaver, however, was able to produce a variety of designs with only small areas of cut-pile velvet (cut loops of surface yarn), leaving the textile dominated by flat-woven ground. Technological advancements allowed the cut-pile velvet to form most of the surface, leaving only thin lines of ground weave, as with this panel’s sinuous lines of abstract floral and pomegranate motifs outlined with delicate ogees, or double curves. As it became desirable for both clothing and furniture, the demand for patterned velvet increased. These luxurious and expensive textiles were often recycled and pieced together for new purposes, extending their lives.