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FILO FORME anno 1 n. 0

The funerary treasure of the Patriarch Beato Bertrando of Saint Geniés
Maria Beatrice Bertone

The textile treasures buried with the Patriarch Beato Bertrando of Saint Geniés (1265-1350), now held at the Museum of the Duomo in Udine, and restored in 1998, include a dalmatic, a chasuble, a surplice, an amice, a maniple, a mitre, a vexillum, a cushion and a shroud. They are made from 13th, 14th and 15th century textile, mainly of Italian origin. Most garments are entirely original in style and manufacture and represent remarkable examples of embroidery and textile, and of the religious sartorial style of the period.

An overdoor woven in Florence representing a coat-of-arms of Antonius Álvarez de Toledo Beaumont, duke of Alba de Tormes, and his wife Mencía de Mendoza
Lucia Meoni

The overdoor can be attributed to the Florentine tapestry works between the end of the XVI and the beginning of the XVII century, as numerous references to the figurative language of Alessandro Allori and his workshop reveal. The painter produced cartoons for the Medici manufacture during a thirty year period until his death in 1607. Some stylistic innovations, introduced by this artist in the last decade of his life, date this tapestry to this later period, certainly after 1599 when Antonius Álvarez de Toledo became a knight of the Golden Fleece. According to recent studies the overdoor could be the first heraldic tapestry where the landscape has a primary role in the composition, probably representing the family estate. A similar composition can be found in the Portiera representing the Barberini coat of arms and the sight of Palestrina, woven in 1630 by the Roman tapestry works, recently created by Cardinal Francesco, and in the Portiera representing the Medici coat of arms and a garden with the villa of Pratolino, which can be dated between 1633 and 1637, woven by the Florentine manufactory.

Court fashion. The dress collection of the Napoleonic Museum in Rome
Isabella Campagnol

The dress collection of the Napoleonic Museum in Rome is a prime example of the historical and documentary value of our textile heritage. The imposition of an habit de Cour, a style of dress for each category of courtier, as well as for the Emperor himself and his family, is in itself a statement of Napoleon's strategy to place the French court on the same level as the other European monarchies. The richness of dress and the elaborate ceremonial were to contribute to the recovery of the manufacture of luxury goods, which was badly damaged by the Revolution, as well as persuade the other monarchs of the power and solidity of the French court. The Napoleonic or Empire fashion, characterised by the military style of men's court dress, glittering with decorations and embroidery in precious yarn, and by the simple elegance of white high-waisted women's dresses, indelibly marked the fashion of the first quarter of the 19th century, whose influences can still be seen to this day.

"Stories of the Virgin and of the childhood of Christ". Nine tapestries in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo
Annamaria Morassutti

The series of tapestries exhibited in the Basilica has been under restoration since 1997. The characteristic weaving of these tapestries is due to the uniformity of the yarn used (wool for warp and weft) and to the need to cover the large surfaces of the tapestries. Common to the whole series, signs of decay are particularly apparent in the accumulation of surface dirt and in the decay of the brown woollen yarn in the borders and in the selvedge. The former has been caused by exposure to high levels of air pollution in the city, while the latter is due to the original treatment of the yarn with iron sulphate. The methodology of restoration adopted has allowed the weaving to be strengthened without adding any external support to the back of the tapestries or any reinforcing seams that were not envisaged at the moment of creation.

The world of the carpet
Giovanni Curatola

The world of the carpet is extremely rich but also full of contradictions. The field is little known, and commercial interests permeate the industry publications. We will endeavour to approach this field with clarity and open-mindedness, taking into account the cultural and artistic complexity of the oriental world.

Andrea and Lorenzo Foramitti's textile works in Cividale: a recently discovered pattern book of the Napoleonic era
Gina Morandini

In 1807 the Napoleonic government started a collection of data on a variety of topics, with the aim of investigating the characteristics and the volume of production in its new territories. The survey, sent by the government to the Prefects of the Departments in the summer of that year, was among other things intended to assess industrial, manufacturing and commercial activities. In it eleven questions are grouped under the heading " Arts, trades and commerce", and the answers to those questions give us a picture of textile production in the Friuli area. A pattern book of great documentary interest, belonging to the manufactory of Andrea and Lorenzo Foramitti, was discovered attached to the questionnaire. The pattern book confirms the findings of the survey, its 318 samples, in perfect conditions, offering evidence about both techniques and raw materials.

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