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Textile Design Conversational Birds England, c.1830, RP cotton chintz, HFYG D256 04

Title: Textile Design Conversational Birds England, c.1830, RP cotton chintz, HFYG D256_04
Design Library Classification: Conversational
Design Library Sub-classification: Birds
Media Type Textile Design
Identifier:
Creator(s): Unknown
Publisher:
Contributor: Design Library
Country England
Language
Subject(s)
Publication Date: c.1830
Image Description: England, c.1830, RP cotton chintz

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Notes

"BIRDS HAVE BEEN a constant theme in fabric design since its beginnings. Small, brightly colored, and daintily formed, they are a convention of feminine imagery and often appear in patterns for spring women's wear. They have always been an important motif in home-furnishing patterns, where they add interest and elegance. A series of printed furnishing fabrics based on John James Audubon's Birds of America, which was published in London between 1827 and 1838, was printed in England in the early 1830s. The birds in number 8 may well have been inspired by Audubon's plates. The rooster in number 2 appears often in French textiles, as the cock is a national symbol of France. The larger game birds conjure up a more masculine image of the sporting life. In parts of eastern Europe, birds depicted on cloth are thought to bring bad luck - an idea perhaps stemming from the folkloric interpretation of the bird as symbolic of the soul. The superstition was imported to the American garment industry, where bird patterns were often shunned. In recent years, however, this taboo has begun to fade."

Source: Design Library