Recovered Antique Damask Ticking Fabric
These antique damask ticking fabrics have motifs that reproduce patterns of flowers, baroque baskets and vases, bucolic or courtesan scenes, exotic birds, oriental settings, but also schematic designs or stereotypical flowers.
History
Damask fabrics use threads of two colors: white for the weft and a vibrant and sometimes neat color for the warp which produces a shiny surface on many fabrics. These fabrics are all very resistant, of different density and weight and even different appearance and brightness. Some of these precious old textiles tell us “stories”: different scenes are distributed throughout the fabric in the same way as was done with the impressions of the Indianas. Thus we find palatial, Moorish, oriental or bucolic stories.
It is curious that this complex fabric with such a colorful and varied color was used for such a prosaic use, hidden from view: the mattress. Especially noting the similarity in his drawings with the motifs used in other fabrics such as the Toile de Jouy, or the brocade silk Lamps.
What Makes Them Special
These antique fabrics are special for their quality. They are made of 100% cotton, resistant and moldable at the same time. With their varied colors and their multiple designs and patterns they do not leave indifferent to whoever sees them. The designs are always according to the fashion style of the time since the late 1800s.
That is why you will find: Flower motifs set to form garlands and bouquets inspired by brocade lanterns to the taste of the French Empire. Stereotypical flowers and leaves that run through the fabric with geometric shapes inspired by the arabesques of romanticism along with allegorical motifs such as angels, cupids, shells, etc ... loose or framed in variegated medallions of flowers and ribbons. You will also find a clear influence of Modernism or Art Nouveau with flowers of oriental origin, such as Dahlias, Chrysanthemums, Peonies, ... And also with inspiration from oriental prints: Japanese characters, architectures, cherry blossoms, etc. The motifs occupy a large part of the textile surface because the more "full" the pattern was, it was considered of greater value. Sometimes these fabrics have a patina that transmits the passage of time, other times the color and texture remain unchanged.
Uses and Inspiration
These recovered fabrics, after use and multiple washes, have become very moldable and with wonderful drape. They are great for many uses, from practical bags and colorful cushions to beautiful kimonos. We can also use them to upholster chairs, line boxes or cute cards.
In our store we have hundreds of these old reclaimed fabrics. Many come from a “lanero” (wool man) who broke the mattresses "mercilessly" to remove the wool. That is why we find pieces of various sizes. This is an advantage because this way you can get enough fabric for a cushion of one color and make another of a different color or pattern. But we also have large pieces, many of them intact, to reproduce a mattress in the old way. Also the textile collector or researcher will find at Ticking Depot pieces to frame or to study a part of textile history.