Blue Velvet

Step into the luxurious world of sumptuous fabrics and European nobility. Among the most highly prized fabrics of the Renaissance, velvet was considered a work of art and takes a journal form with our Blue Velvet series and design. Taking centre stage for this elegant cover, the fabric draws inspiration from a piece of a 15th-century dalmatic. The chosen garment of British monarchs during coronation services, the dalmatic also served as liturgical vestment in Christian churches. Velvet came primarily from Florence, Venice and Genoa, and competition between the weaving centres was especially fierce as individual styles, patterns and silk qualities began to develop. Initially owned by Hungarian financier art dealer Marczell Nemes until 1931, this piece arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art via the Rogers Fund in 1945. Italian in origin, the piece is patterned with a seven-lobed shield outlined with teardrop shapes. A motif popular at the time, each shield is decorated with an artichoke-like botanical shape created using brocaded gilt metal thread. Be inspired by this time of precious designs and opulent fabrics and create your own work of art within the sumptuous layers of this Blue Velvet journal cover.