Velvet panel
Dorothy Marshall Hornblower American
Tiffany Studios
Not on view
Designed and printed by Hornblower, this velvet panel features pink lotus flowers blooming above the surface of a pond. The stencil design used for the pattern is apparent in the uncolored outlines of the lotus petals and lotus pad veins. The motif is strikingly similar to a stenciled textile showcasing water lilies in the 1914 publication The Art Work of Louis C. Tiffany. This book conveyed Tiffany’s desire to create fabrics that would "express his particular color sense" and "exhibit changes of tint as they fall in folds and catch the light." The reflective quality of this velvet’s silk pile and mottled layers of colors demonstrate these visual effects in changing light. Hornblower worked for Tiffany until her marriage in 1907 and credited him with "open[ing] [her] eyes to things of beauty and…show[ing] [her] techniques of crafts."
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