Water-lily panel
Designer Associated Artists American
Manufactured by Cheney Brothers American
Not on view
This water-lily panel is one example of Candace Wheeler’s (1827-1923) innovative and justifiably famous “shadow silks,” shown draped to fully display the fabric’s iridescent qualities. To make these fabrics a special warp-printing technique was employed: the warp (the vertical threads) was preprinted with the pattern beforehand, and when the solid-colored horizontal weft threads were woven in, the designs naturally fell slightly out of alignment. The twill weave creates a noticeable diagonal rib, and light reflects off the ribbed surface, further softening the printed design. These blurring effects, suggesting reflections on water, are heightened by the iridescence resulting from the use of contrasting colors for the warp and the weft—here, gold (warp) and pink (weft).
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