British Imperialism and its Legacies: Imported Manufactured Textiles and Dress

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Glasgow Museums has a collection of a significant number of items in the European Dress and Textile collections that were manufactured abroad for European markets, including Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

For many centuries the vast majority of imports of manufactured textiles and dress came from Europe. These included tapestries from France and the Southern Netherlands, woven silks from Italy and France, and lace from Italy, France and the Southern Netherlands. However, as the Scots and British began trading further afield and colonising other peoples' countries, manufactured textiles, dress and accessories were increasingly imported from other continents. The majority of early imports were from Asia, traded initially overland via the Silk Routes, and later by sea by the British East India Company and its officials. Printed chintz from the Coromandel Coast of south-east India was first imported during the late 1700s and a hundred years later luxurious Kashmir shawls and finely woven muslin from Bengal became one of the major cargoes.

Clipper ships bringing back tea from China were also laden with silks and Chinese fans. During the late 1700s and early 1800s large numbers of very basic bone or wooden brisé fans that served as ballast were imported alongside the more exclusive carved ivory fans. In the mid-1800s colourful painted feather fans, expensive Hundred Faces fans and embroidered silk shawls were fashionable imports, with the majority of those made for the British market manufactured in Canton. Japan re-opened its borders after it was forced to sign the Treaty of Kanagawa with the United States of America in March 1854, followed by treaties with the United Kingdom in October 1854, Russia in 1855, and France in 1858. As a result, luxury items such as Japanese fans, kimonos and silks began to be imported into Europe and North America.

Broader term

British Imperialism and its Legacies: Textiles & Fashion Industry