Bees-and-honeycomb textile

Cheney Brothers|Candace Wheeler|Associated Artists

ca. 1883 · Silk and wool, woven · The American Wing

Quite similar in design to Candace Wheeler’s prizewinning bees-and-honeycomb wallpaper (1987.1074.1), this fabric was most likely meant to be used for coordinating upholstery. The piece seen here a is a loom trial, woven to find out how the pattern would read in a combination of silk and wool (right side) and in silk alone (left side). The colors employed here are not what the designer intended for the finished product; a trial run simply combined the silk thread of any color already warped on the loom with whatever weft yarns were readily available at the mill. Contemporary sources indicate that this textile pattern was produced in several colorways, including deep blue and brown, throughout the 1880s.

Artist

Cheney Brothers|Candace Wheeler|Associated Artists

Date

ca. 1883

Medium

Silk and wool, woven

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. Boudinot Keith, 1928