Jacquard Loom

The Jacquard loom was created to fabricate complex weaves. Invented at the beginning of the nineteenth century, it is the first industrial device able to work automatically. It was named after the Jacquard head mounted above it, which allows to automatically manage the movement of the warp yarns using punched cards. Thanks to this system, the entire frame can be operated by a single worker who takes care of the weft. The loom shown here is exceptionally equipped with two Jacquard heads, managing 12800 warp threads. The first, with 100 “Bolus” hooks, controls larger groups of threads via the harness, in order to create the base of the drawing. The second, with 400 “Bolus” hooks, moves the threads in smaller groups to create the finer details of the design. It was used from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century in Milan by the Schmid company, specialized in the production of furniture damask fabrics, with renaissance-like patterns. The loom is now newly exhibited after a conservative intervention on the wooden structure and on the harness and cordage, curated by Giuseppe Pellegrini; the dry cleaning of the fabric was curated by Piera Antonelli, from the Milan Soprintendenza Belle Arti e Paesaggio.