Nuts and bolts of wax resist

Vlisco

A comment from Renée reminded me that I had not explained the wax technique in my post, Wonderful Wax.

Vlisco

Wax fabrics are industrial products that were originally inspired by Javanese batik. The method of making them falls under the heading of resist dyeing techniques. As in printing, an engraved roller is used to apply pattern to the fabric, but in this case, it is melted wax that is rolled on to the surface. (Traditional batik calls for  a tjanting tool - a sort of pen filled with hot wax for drawing directly on the fabric.)

The fabric is then dyed and because the dye cannot be absorbed by the areas covered with wax, a negative pattern is created. The process of applying patterns of wax and dyeing can be repeated to make a design of several colors.

Vlisco

The Vlisco site explains :

The core element in Wax Print is of course the wax. Using two deep engraved copper rollers, with the mirror image of the design, the two sides of the cotton fabric are printed with a pattern of melted wax, hence the name Wax Print. The fact that the cloth is printed on both sides enables you to wear the product either side. This is the true sign of a quality wax print. Following this, the cloth is immersed in a bath of dye, often Indigo, that penetrates into the areas that are not covered with wax. After the wax as been washed off in varying stages, a negative image of the printed pattern remains on the cloth. This intricate wax printing process results in unique effects that makes the product so outstanding. In fact, not one single centimetre of fabric is identical to the other!

Vlisco

 I usually buy my "Wax Hollandais" at Toto where these fabrics are sold by weight, 

Vlisco

but much greater possibilities are offered on-line.

Vlisco

This post isn't an advertisement for Vlisco, but it's hard to resist the occassion to show more of their designs!

All these Op Art style patterns are from the new collection, Delicate Shades.

Pretty but prickly

 photo St Tyl

Appearing at the end of the 17th century, growing and trading of the chardon cardère or fuller's teasel counted as one of the essential activities of south Vaucluse and the northwest of the Bouches-du-Rhone until just after World War II. The Provencial teasel had a world wide reputation for quality and was exported all over - to the USA, Russia, and Japan.

photo St Tyl

Despite its French name, which translated literaly means 'carding thistle,'  the teasel never really was used to card wool but to modify the fabric's surface.  The purpose of carding is to untangle wool fibers before spinning; the 'carding thistle' was used to brush or nap a fabric after weaving, raising part of the weft fibers to make the cloth's surface soft and warm.

photo St Tyl

Weavers used the heads of teasels for centuries to make combs, then to cover the drums of brushing machines used for this important finishing operation.

photo St Tyl

After a long and lingering decline, teasel crops and trade in the region came to an end as recently as 1989.

Now mostly off duty - this pretty but prickly plant with a history can be seen growing wild throughout the countryside.

source: exhibit at the Musée Estrine, St Rémy-en-Provence

Fall color

photo St Tyl

photo St Tyl

 photo St Tyl

A mature beauty clings to its branch in the autumn of its life.

Hurrah!

Original Empire period stencilled taffeta curtains at the Trianon, Versailles

Wonderful Wax

Vlisco

The wax paradox: what could be more typically African than wax print fabrics made and designed for over 150 years in Holland or England?  How is it possible that Africa,  a country so rich in diverse textile traditions, has so strongly identified itself and been identified by other nations with these imported textiles? The wax prints we know today started out as mass-produced imitations of Javanese batiks in the beginning of the 19th century which ended up with West Africa as its strongest market.

Vlisco

Anne Grosfilley is an anthropologist whose thoughtful and informative book, Afrique des Textiles offers many insights on the subject as well as covering the whys and hows of locally made African textiles today.  She explains, "An understanding of wax fabrics leads to the discovery of how a fabric from abroad, from Europe in this case, became an essential element in the west African textile landscape. It also means recognizing how the history of relations between Europe and Africa has been recorded through fabric since the colonial period. Long before wax prints became identified with Africa, they were cloths of otherness, a white person's view of black populations, a Westerner's projection on the African world." 

Vlisco

 Once distributed in West Africa today, these prints fall into the hands of the  mostly female wholesalers who give each fabric a name to truly adapt it to local clientele. The right name can multiply the article's price up to 5 times, if the demand is strong enough. Anne Grosfilley says that relating a fabric to a political or television celebrity is a means of identification and cites a design with small ovals which was given the name "Z'ongles de Madame Thérèse" ( Mme Therese's nails), named for the then Ivorian president Boigny's wife.   A rumor at the time had spread that the president had a mistress and that Mme Boigny would surely claw her face if she caught her. Wearing this fabric became a way of showing oneself to be a strong woman who was not submissive to her husband.  The economic re-appropriation of these goods is no longer just a means to enriching certain women, but has become a social phenomena.

This recent design is named Michele's handbag.

Burberry Prorsum resort 2012
via IBTimes

These past few years, European high fashion has also adopted these prints with all their colorful creativity. I  recently spotted Franck Sorbier buying a roll of geometric wax prints, 

Vlisco

so  presumably we will see more of this trend on the horizon.

Vlisco

The manufacturer of  the most appreciated by the African diaspora today is the prestigious Vlisco,  whose site is always a joy to visit. The numerous designs take you into a world of unbridled fantasy that tend to make everything else feel humdrum. If you are not familiar with them, take a look at the great variety of designs and  remember that their scale...

Vlisco

is often much larger than you may realize. 

Vlisco

Vlisco

For an interesting article on wax prints, click here

Fruman collection: embroidered treasure

© Alain Rousseau

Above: Head covering with vase of flowers, France 17th century

Flowers, foliage, and gems are embroidered in satin stitch, in silk polychrome and accents of silver threads

After over 30 years of collecting embroidered liturgical ornaments, Josiane Cougard-Fruman and Daniel Fruman were able to bring together over 200 examples of these magnificent but largely over-looked embroidered textiles dating from the 15th to the 20th century. The collection is comprised of pieces specifically created for Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican devotional rites, unlike many other liturgical ornaments which were often re-created or 

re-cycled from precious silks formerly worn by their donners. The Fruman couple, with the contribution of the Zaleski Foundation, has recently made a donation of this unique collection to the Museum of the Treasure at the Cathedral of Puy-en-Velay, a UNESCO heritage site, were the setting is every bit as exquisite as these new and rare masterpieces. 

© Alain Rousseau

Choir hanging, Italy 18th century  

 Beating its breast with its beak, the pelican, symbol of Christ, feeds its young with its blood

The collection is on permanent display in the cloisters of the cathedral on a rotating basis in order to preserve these fragile materials. And if a trip to Puy-en-Velay can't be undertaken regularly, the Frumans have just published a beautifully illustrated book at Albin Michel with exceptionally detailed, close-up photographs by Alain Rousseau. 

© Alain Rousseau

© Alain Rousseau

Antependium or cloth serving to decorate the front of the altar, 

from the carmel de Chârtres, France 17th century

 The rose without thorns is a symbol of the Virgin containing all the beauty of the flower 

and the total absence of  its sting.

© Alain Rousseau

Chasuble Salvator Mundi, St Blaise and St Pierre, Spain and Italy 15th century 

detail: Figure of Saint Pierre

 © Alain Rousseau

The Pentecost (detail), France 17th century  

inspired by a painting of  Le Brun

© Alain Rousseau

St. Mary Magdalene penitent, France 17th century 

 corded 3 dimensional embroidery

© Alain Rousseau
Miter with the good shepherd,  France 17th century

© Alain Rousseau

The textures and colors of these sacred canvases are sheer sensual secular pleasure. 
Contradiction?

Tout cet appareil montre le soin qu'il faut prendre de ne point paroître devant le Seigneur, qu'après s'être paré intérieurement par toutes sortes de vertus: 

car les ornemens extérieurs ne doivent être qu'un signe sensible des vertus dont l'âme doit être 

intérieurement ornée.

All this raiment shows the care that must be taken to appear before the Lord only after having donned many virtues within: for these exterior ornaments must be only the visible sign of virtues with which the soul is internally decorated.

Père Pierre Le Brun 1716

More photos and information: La Vie 

Mater Admirabilis 20 october

photo: St Tyl

with distaff and spindle in hand

"Mater Admirabilis is a fresco depicting the Virgin Mary, at the Trinità dei Monti, a church in Rome. It was painted by a young French girl, Pauline Perdrau, and has been associated with several miracles.

Legend has it Pauline had been asked by the nuns at Trinità dei Monti to paint a mural of the Blessed Mother. After weeks of painting, Pauline finally finished her work. When the Mother Superior saw it, she said the colors were too bright and bold and immediately covered it with a large piece of fabric. Years later, Pope Pius IX was visiting the church and questioned what was behind the drape. The Mother Superior tried to distract the Pope from it, but he demanded to see it. When he drew back the fabric, it revealed the painting Pauline had created years before. The colors had faded and blended together to create a softer image than the years before. The Pope declared her Mater Admirabilis, mother most admirable. He told the Mother Superior to never cover this beautiful piece of work again."

text source and additional photos, including the original fresco: Wikipedia

Josephine's forgotten gown

photo: Picot-Brocard

The Figaro reports on a forgotten gown owned by the Empress Josephine which has recently resurfaced.  The dress was sent for restoration at the embroidery atelier of François-André Picot, official embroiderer of the Emperor in the beginning of the 1800s never to leave the workshop. It is now up for auction at Osenat in a sale of Empire objects and furnishings to take place December 4th at Fontainebleau. One assumes sufficient time has elapsed for the garment's perfect restoration.