Silk Velvet - Age and Identification

A

Anthony PvR

Registered Guest
Hello everyone. I recently acquired just over 3 yards of silk velvet upholstery that was listed for sale as vintage. I had originally bought it at a steal to use for covering the seats my dinning room chairs. However, when I received the fabric, I immediately knew it was something special and suspected that it was much older than vintage. I do not want to take scissors to it until I am certain what I am dealing with. The pictures do not do it justice at all. There is no doubt that it is silk velvet, (voided velvet). The sheen in person is gorgeous and the white background from the opposite knap looks taupe. The fabric is very heavy and the width is 50" including the selvedge. The cut length is currently 113 inches. My guess is that it is Italian, silk velvet. It could also use a professional cleaning which also makes me nervous. Any thoughts, suggestions, comments all welcomed. Silk Velvet 1.jpeg Silk Velvet 2.jpeg Silk Velvet backing.jpeg
Silk Velvet 1.jpeg
Silk Velvet 2.jpeg
Silk Velvet backing.jpeg
Silk Velvet 1.jpeg
Silk Velvet 2.jpeg
Silk Velvet backing.jpeg
Silk Velvet backing.jpeg
Silk Velvet 2.jpeg
Silk Velvet 1.jpeg
Silk Velvet backing.jpeg
Silk Velvet 2.jpeg
Silk Velvet 1.jpeg
 
Silk velvets like this could be from any time after the weaving pattern was created. It's a bit like a piece of music - it may have been written in 1750 but it's still performed... It looks narrow, which suggest an earlier date of manufacture.
 
Thank you, Jonathan!! The seller guessed that it was 1960s, but I could immediately tell it was older when I received it. I dont believe it to be older than 19th century though. I no longer feel that I can use it for dinning chairs. I have a phobia about cutting such material but I may turn it into sofa pillows. I purchased this for only 100 dollars.
 
Here are better photos that show the true Venetian red color along with the dinning chairs that I originally wanted to use it for. Any ideas on professionally cleaning such upholstery without going to a regular dry cleaner?
 

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Lovely fabric: you can date by width, as (Jonathan mentioned) older fabrics are narrower. Soft furnishing fabrics tend to be wider than dressmaking fabrics but it all depends on the technologies available. As Jonathan mentioned, a lot of older designs were reproduced for a long time and in some cases, are still being made.

My advice is to a) measure the width), b) determine fibre (snip a little and try a burn test). Silk is a wonderful material but for your dining chairs you might be better off with something more robust and hard wearing. I can see this used for curtains but it would be lovely for seat coverings.

As to cleaning, I concur about dry cleaning. Especially as you think it might be older: the red dye might run if you launder.

Nicole
 
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