Sash 1778 - 1789

François Selimand made this sash without a specified date using silk in Lyon, France. The city of Lyon was a center for silk weaving beginning in the 16th century, with its products used by the French nobility and exported across Europe. The sash would have been worn by a man as a sign of wealth and status. The designs woven into the silk are indicative of their time, and include floral patterns and geometric shapes. The creation of silk was a highly skilled and specialized trade. The silk industry was controlled by guilds, which regulated production methods and prices. These guilds also played an important social role, providing support for their members and families. To fully understand the sash, we can look to guild records, fashion publications, and historical documents about the silk trade. These allow us to comprehend its social and institutional context. We start to see how the sash is not simply an object of beauty, but a product of the economic, social, and political forces of its time.