Indian Quilt – Alsace For Provence End Of 18th Century

Circa 1790-1800 Provence Imposing Quilt or quilted blanket made up of three Indian fabrics printed on a wood block with a glazed finish dating from the same period. Background in white cotton canvas possibly from India or the Levant with a very high printing ratio. Directory of flowers, fruits, roots and artichokes treated naturally in a strong polychromy. Double diamond-shaped stitching with running stitch. Reverse canvas in cream cotton canvas printed with brown stripes. Provenance André-Jean Cabanel collection, quilt catalogued and exhibited at the Villa Rosemaine in 2020. Clean and excellent condition of color and conservation. Dimensions: 275 cm x 263 cm This quilt is made by an attractive assembly of three cotton canvases printed on a wood block in similar tones where red dominates. As is often the case, the harmonious and precise composition of this type of work responds to a reuse: three strips in the same fabric, a background full of bouquets of red roses with a yellow heart, lilacs and blue morning glories with six passages of color. At the head, the cover, three strips assembled with a print, always six colors and a solid background where we find four kinds of bouquets, one of the most remarkable: a bouquet with roots, composed of an artichoke in shades of yellow and two blue clematis flowers. We notice that the leaf of the artichoke is imaginary. Two other bouquets of red flowers, tulips in bloom and bud with their roots and a bouquet of three other red flowers with a very developed heart. The last one bears burst fruits resembling small pomegranates as well as a type of blue clematis similar to those of the previous canvas. In this drawing all the leaves are similar. The third fabric used is a small strip on the left outer edge of the quilt that resembles toile de Jouy. The quality of the composition, the elegance and nuances of the design, the finesse of the engraving and printing, allow us to think that we are in the presence of a renowned manufacturer, without having enough elements to name this manufacturer that follows the naturalist fashion launched by Jean Jacques Rousseau. Evoking the quality of this quilt is for me the opportunity to remember the quality of the pieces that André-Jean Cabanel was able to "hunt" everywhere between Provence and Languedoc to arrive at an exceptional collection. I discovered it on the occasion of the exhibition "sewn by hand, sewn by machine" that I had the pleasure of organizing at the museum of old Nîmes in 1997. Martine Nougarède