Chintz Carnations large flowers light blue 18th Century 56 x 50 cm

Colorful, thin fabrics with gloss. Cotton 135g/m2, laundery 30° C "Chintz" means cotton in Hindi. The exclusive hand-printed fabric was imported via Dutch and Portuguese merchants to Europe in the 17th century. It was a success among the richest ladies who had beautiful dresses sewn from it. In Europe, they found out the secret behind the colors in the fabric and started their own production. The technology went from block printing to metal rollers in the factories. This made the fabrics cheaper and the upper class of the common people in Sweden could buy the Swedish so-called "Kattun" during the 19th century onwards. Patterns were developed and copied between countries.