Fragmented Histories - Piecing Together the Harris Collection

On Tuesday 10th February members from places as far flung as Munich and San Francisco, as well as many from the UK, gathered online to hear a fascinating talk by Jessica Gasson, a Teaching Fellow at the Courtauld Institute.  As part of her PhD Jessica is studying an unusual and, until now, almost unexplored collection of more than 1000 textile fragments from the Courtauld Library.  These mainly Spanish religious artefacts were collected by Lionel Harris, a dealer in antiquities who opened the Spanish Gallery in Conduit Street, London in 1898, and they were later loaned to the Courtauld Institute by his son, Tomas Harris.  Most are small pieces of textile with some small garments, and are chiefly silks, velvets and damasks; there are many 'figurative silks' depicting extraordinary images and some stunning pieces of embroidery. 

The diverse nature of the collection fascinates Jessica - it consists mostly of small fragments of textiles which were obviously originally much larger; a highly unusual approach to collection in a European culture that has usually valued the 'completeness' of textile articles so highly.  Today the context of these fabrics has been lost and so we are unsure what to make of the collection, but Jessica posited some interesting theories about its purpose. There is evidence to suggest that Harris did sell small pieces of important fabrics to both private customers and museums, which may have been more lucrative than selling them complete, and she speculated that some may have been used to patch larger objects. However she also made more profound philosophical points concerning the nature of textile collections, drawing an analogy between these fragments and the mineral samples collected by geologists, possibly to provide a reference framework for further research, as well as considering the fact that such fragments may actually be more in the nature of a physical relic, prioritising the physicality of the object over the less 'real' nature of, for example, a photograph.

A group at the Courtauld Institute examining articles from the Harris Collection

​Jessica talked in detail about the exquisite workmanship of five small embroidered fragments, all probably Spanish, including depictions of three saints from the 1350s and a 1550s orphrey panel with a wider range of stitches and stunning ombre effect in its background.  She also showed us exquisite stitching in pictures of the apostles, depicted below.  The technical skill in these examples was superb, showing creative and varied methods of working.

Members were also provided with a lot of food for thought about the nature and purpose of this and other museum collections; Jessica suggested that that as well as being preserved as they are in order to provide a reference tool for researchers, the fragments could also be very useful in teaching both makers and historians about the technical construction of such textiles.  She also felt that they provided a fascinating insight into Harris himself, helping us to understand not only the approach and methods of a Victorian dealer in antiquities, and perhaps his individual character and attitudes, but also posing questions about the nature of collection and curation, and how attitudes towards these may change or develop. 

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Apostles (Harris Collection, Courtauld Institute)

 ​These fascinating questions led to a lot of useful discussion and many suggestions about ways in which the collection might be used in the future, and made many of us eager to see it for ourselves.  Jessica explained that although the collection has not yet been digitised, it is possible to go to the Courtauld Library to see items - anyone interested should contact them on [email protected] or can contact Jessica at [email protected] 

Christ on the Cross (Harris Collection, Courtauld Institute)