Bizarre Silk Fragment

This bizarre silk fragment was made in France or Italy in the late 17th or early 18th century out of silk brocade. It is a small fragment with no selvages that has been mounted to preserve it.

Bizarre style fabrics were used for garments for a relatively short period. The are inspired by many sources- middle and far eastern designs, architecture, and the natural world, all combined in a fantastically designed brocade on top of patterned silk. When fashion changed these expensive fabrics survived as church donations and were utilized as religious garments and altar covers. The “bizarre” term was later attached because of the amalgamation of imagery they tended to have.