Textile Design with Alternating Rows of Ellipses Containing a Stylized S-Shape Framed by Horizontal Undulating Garlands of Branches with Pearls and Rosettes 1840

This textile design, of unknown origin, is rendered with gouache and graphite on paper. The materials themselves – modest, portable – suggest a context of industrial production. The design is a repeat pattern, perhaps intended for fabric or wallpaper. Note the rows of stylized ellipses containing ‘S’ shapes, alternating with garlands of branches bearing pearls and rosettes. The drawing’s small size speaks to its function as a prototype; the textile itself, if ever realized, would have been made by machine, one unit multiplied across potentially endless yardage. The anonymous artist may have been a staff designer in a textile factory, or a freelancer hoping to sell their idea. Either way, they were participating in a system predicated on a division of labor: a single creative idea translated into a commodity by way of industrial processes. This small, delicate drawing offers a window onto the vast landscape of 19th and early 20th century consumer culture.