Floral Jem 77 fp research information.
For those interested in the Floral Jam and the origin of the fabric. I have been in touch with many of the textile and fabric official sites to find the origin of the fabric, It was thought that this was a William Morris creation put into fabric but this not the case
From the various contact through the William Morris Society with out a doubt this is not his work.
There reply was;
The fabric on the guitars looks interesting; if it Is a William Morris, it is unlike anything I have ever seen by him -it Doesn’t have his signature 'look" of depth of dense pattern...maybe you Could navigate your way to asking someone at the V&A in London, or the British Museum...I regret I don't have their addresses at hand - there are
Morris sites on the web, too.
So I dug Deeper and contacted “Heidi Brittain” of the Museum of London
Her reply was;
Thank you for your enquiry. I'm afraid we can't offer any help with identifying the fabric of the guitar, beyond saying that the style of the flowers is almost certainly Chinese, Japanese or Korean. We do not have experts in Far Eastern art and design so can't really help beyond that
My last contact was with: Anna Jackson Deputy Keeper Asian Department, Victoria and Albert Museum.
Her reply was;
Thank you for your unusual textile enquiry which has been passed to me by colleagues in the Furniture, Textiles and Fashion Department. This is certainly a very striking guitar. I checked the Steve Vai 'official website' where I read that the floral print 'matched' the curtains in Steve' bedroom - I'm not sure whether this implies that it was the same fabric or that it simply was similar too, or went well with. I would say that the fabric was Japanese (and I note that the guitar manufacturer was Japanese which would follow). The motif of peonies is very Japanese - these are auspicious flowers in Asia – and the general style and feel of the design also suggests a Japanese origin. The stylised pattern and the bold colours are reminiscent of 1930s design, but I suspect that the fabric dates to the period of the
guitar's manufacture
If you have any information on where next to go please drop me an email at longwing@shaw.ca
longwing