1880s Parisian Silk Velvet Green and Cognac Pillows

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Description

This 20 inch square pillow was made from an original 1880 Parisian silk panel with an integrally woven velvet motif … Read more This 20 inch square pillow was made from an original 1880 Parisian silk panel with an integrally woven velvet motif in cream and cognac on a deep forest green ground. The velvet pile and silk ground were woven together as a single textile on a specialized Jacquard loom, a technique that is not embroidery, applique or applied cut velvet and that cannot be reproduced today.

The silk comes from three pairs of drapery panels commissioned during an American couple’s honeymoon in Paris in 1880 and hung for more than a century in the library of their Arkansas home, where interior blinds protected them from the sun. Heather Kearsley Wolf acquired the panels directly from the estate. One pair has been placed with a private collector, and the remaining pair of 1880s Parisian silk drapery panels is available separately in the Kearsley Home shop on Chairish. This pillow was made from a panel that had minor water damage, preserving the best of the historic textile.

The silk and velvet face is stabilized with a discreet backing, and the reverse is Kearsley Essentials 600 thread count sateen in Chestnut, forming a quarter inch frame on the face. The pillow has a down and feather insert and was sewn in the Kearsley atelier in Sonoma. The velvet retains its full depth of color, and the silk shows age-appropriate character for a 145-year-old textile.

This pillow is best thought of as a work of textile art rather than a functional cushion. Even with its backing, the 145-year-old silk is delicate, and pressure from a hand or an elbow can strain the weave. It is ideally suited to a formal sitting room or a dressed bed where it will be admired rather than leaned on, and it should be kept out of direct sunlight to protect the silk and preserve the color.

Price is per pillow. Two are available now, and enough of the original panel remains to make two to four more similar pillows to order. Please allow 6 to 8 weeks for additional pillows, or 2 to 4 weeks with a rush fee of $500 per pillow. Because each is cut from a different area of the panel, motif placement varies slightly from pillow to pillow. See less