VTG Lillias Mitchell Ireland Irish Wool Tapestry Hanging Textile Art MCM 77” L!

Description: VTG Lillias Mitchell Hand Loomed Irish Wool Tapestry weaving midcentury textile art Extraordinary mid-20th century weaving by the godmother of Irish handicrafts: Lillias Mitchell MRDS MRHA, the founder of the weaving department at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin whose career and books on Irish weaving were the basis for documenting and saving indigenous Irish crafts from extinction after the war. I have been unable to find any weavings by Mitchell even in public collections, and no auction records of any of her textile work. The tag attached contemporary to it is very old, and written in sepia ink with a fountain pen, so I think about 1955 is about right for the date. The price of £85 would translate to almost £3,300 in today’s money, so it was prohibitively expensive and precious at the time. The work is in vegetable dyed wool with linen homespun backing, and I’m sure it was all hand spun given the source; it’s still really soft and lofty. It’s a top tier piece of textile art even without the background info. It displays really well, with flat dowel inserts at both ends and only one flaw that I can see - one side of the linen needs to be whipstitched down again (I am a former auction worker and current appraiser so I am careful about looking over items). Its length is a bit over 77”, width is 20.5”. This will be shipped insured with signature confirmation to a daytime address; please make sure your address is one that is attended during business hours to receive an item shipped in this manner.

Price: 1749 USD

Location: Portland, Oregon

End Time: 2024-08-21T22:56:19.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD