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Textile Production in Europe, 1600–1800
Lace border [Italian] Box depicting the Five Senses [English] Designed by Robert Jones; Manufactured at Old Ford: Hunting and Fishing Scenes Philippe de Lasalle: Les Perdrix (The Partridges) Jean-Démosthène Dugourc and Camille Pernon: Wall panels


Before the invention of mechanical techniques in the late eighteenth century, the production of all textiles was dependent on time-consuming manual labor. Coupled with the high cost of raw materials, this ensured that textiles were a luxury item and an important commodity in the international marketplace. In high society, textiles were an indication of status in dress and furnishings, while in humbler circumstances, even the simplest fabrics were prized and carefully conserved. The linked texts—Silk Weaving, Embroidery, Lace, Printed—provide an introduction to the principal European textile industries between 1600 and 1800. (For tapestry production, see Baroque Tapestry.)


Europe, period, Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Art, Textile, Silk, Textile, Wool, Embroidery

Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

American Needlework in the Eighteenth Century, Asante Textile Arts, Eighteenth-Century European Dress, Interior Design in England, 1600-1800 A.D., Textile Production in Europe: Embroidery, 1600-1800, Textile Production in Europe: Lace, 1600-1800, Textile Production in Europe: Printed, 1600-1800, Textile Production in Europe: Silk, 1600-1800, European Tapestry Production and Patronage, 1600–1800, Trade Relations Among European and African Nations, Carpets from the Islamic World, 1600-1800 , The Decoration of Arms and Armor, Indian Textiles: Trade and Production, French Furniture in the Eighteenth Century, Empire Style, 1800-1815, American Quilts and Coverlets, Nineteenth-Century European Textile Production, The Kilt, Orientalism in Nineteenth-Century Art, Abridged List of Rulers: Europe,

Florence and Central Italy, 1600-1800 A.D., France, 1600-1800 A.D., Low Countries, 1600-1800 A.D., Rome and Southern Italy, 1600-1800 A.D., Venice and Northern Italy, 1600-1800 A.D., British Isles, 1600-1800 A.D., Balkan Peninsula, 1600-1800 A.D., Central Europe (including Germany), 1600-1800 A.D., Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, 1600-1800 A.D., Iberian Peninsula, 1600-1800 A.D., United States, 1600-1800 A.D.,

Europe, 1600-1800 A.D.