AFA Summer 2020

Summer 60 www.afamag.com | w ww.incollect.com period, but synthetic today to prevent pest infestation) to be sure that the rolls were tightly stitched and would not shift. TEXTILES The original London firm of William Gomm & Son & Company had upholstered the entire suite in “Saxon Blew Mixd Damask,” and fashioned curtains in the same fabric. Such a unified suite of furnishings spoke to the wealth and taste of the consumer and only existed in the most elite colonial homes. Mixed damasks, made from silk and wool, were common but expensive fabrics in the period. The wool weft made the fabric harder wearing than pure silk damask, and the matte effect of the wool created a strong contrast to the shiny silk. At Dumfries House, a backstool survives with its original damask, made within two years of the Fairfax suite. The f loral damask pattern perfectly fit the back and the seat, making it a likely choice for the Fairfaxes (Fig. 7). Determining what “Saxon Blew” was required documentary research, which revealed that it was a color invented at mid-century in Saxony. But what exactly was the color? For an answer, the curators turned for assistance to Nancy Britton of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Kate Smith of Eaton Hill Weavers. Through experimentation, a combination of indigo and sulfuric acid produced the electric color of Saxon blue. But the exact hue had still to be discovered. A Fairfax invoice survived for wallpaper at Belvoir, indicating that the furniture was first installed in a room with “plain verd[ite]r blue” wallpaper. The period reference brought to mind Johan Zoffany’s painting of Sir Lawrence Dundas and his grandson (1769-1770), (Fig. 8), in which the window curtains are Saxon blue and the walls are covered in blue verditer wallpaper. The painting provided the proper visua l correspondence between paper and textile, and the Humphries Weaving Company in Suffolk, England, provided Mount Vernon with sixteen possible color combinations to achieve this effect as seen in the painting. When George Washington returned from the Revolution, the furniture had been in use at Mount Vernon for eight years. Not remembering it had been a gift, he wrote to Fairfax offering to pay for it, saying “it seems we were under the necessity of using it.” I think in that passive reference we see Martha’s inf luence on the house, with the furniture elevating the standing of the parlor beyond an ordinary parlor; as side chairs that could be used interchangeably as a dining space, the room became decidedly more formal with more comfortable, Fig. 9: George Washington installed raised paneling as a bachelor between 1757 and 1759. He ordered his coat-of-arms for the broken scroll pediment and a “neat landskip” to hang above the mantel. Courtesy, Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. Photo, Gavin Ashworth.