So Happy Together

[18th-century painted and dyed Indian cotton chintz given by G. P. Baker to the V & A.]

The River Wild. That's what I've dubbed the design running through some extraordinary Coromandel Coast palampore fragments in the V & A's collection. Pictured above is a detail of the border with birds, blossoms and of course flowing water, all motifs inspired by themes in Japanese textiles or lacquerware.

Looking at the blues and reds, I thought it would be interesting to pair the antique chintz with one of Madeline Weinrib's new sumptuous silk-velvet ikats: handwoven Lucy in Sky. Note the hint of red threads outlining Weinrib's lighter blues? More on the artist-designer's softer-than-soft Central Asian textiles in an upcoming post.

[Lucy velvet ikat pillow]