Bizarre silk

Bizarre silk of circa 1715 features a geometric, diagonal design overlaid with stylized flowers and leaves. Silk satin with supplementary weft patterning bound in twill (lampas). Detail of a sleeved waistcoat, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, M.2007.211.40.

Bizarre silks are a style of figured silk fabrics popular in Europe in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Bizarre silks are characterized by large-scale, asymmetrical patterns featuring geometrical shapes and stylized leaves and flowers, influenced by a wave of Asian textiles and decorative objects reaching the European market in these decades. Bizarre silks were used for both clothing and furnishings.[1][2] As a description, the term was first used by Dr. Vilhelm Sloman in the title of a book, Bizarre Designs in Silks published in 1953 in Copenhagen.[3]

  1. ^ Takedo and Spilker (2010), p. 209
  2. ^ Takedo and Spilker (2010), p. 52
  3. ^ Museum studies, vol. 18 (1992), p. 92. Art Institute of Chicago.