Understanding 18th-Century Textiles with Annabel Westman

This presentation will commence with a lecture on the use of furnishing textiles in the British country house during the eighteenth century. The lecture will explain the different types of silk, wool and cotton fabrics available, and the importance of their designs, colours and textures on wall-hangings, upholstered furniture and beds.

It will be followed by an object handling session with reproduction fabrics from historic projects, including velvet and damask, moreen and camlet (popular contemporary terminology will be explained), and a discussion of simple weave structures, different finishes and techniques which were used to enhance the importance of the rooms and reflect the status and wealth of the owner.

Annabel Westman FSA is an independent textile historian and consultant based in the UK. For over 45 years she has specialised in researching textile furnishings in wide variety of historic houses, museums and royal palaces in the UK and abroad.