17th-Century Velvet Textile

Timeline

1. 1641–1645Genoa and Venice workshops · GenoaIn the 1640s workshops in northern Italy wove sumptuous velvets with gold and silver thread and multicolored pile, featuring pomegranate, vine, and heraldic motifs, supplying the papal court, Spanish royal weddings, and episcopal vestment commissions across cathedrals.
2. 1646–1650Lyon and the port of Antwerp · LyonIn the late 1640s the silk weavers' guild of Lyon, France, expanded velvet production to supply the court of Louis XIII and the nobility; the fabrics entered Iberia, northern Europe, and the American colonies via Mediterranean and Atlantic trade routes, becoming a signature commodity in the early modern global luxury circulation network.