First Basin Bath Towel Signed Vj - France 18th Century

Louis XVI period France First basin bath towel, woven and shaped with warp thread and white cotton weft, dating from the 18th century. Woven on a hand loom in a single width, the two ends are hemmed in the period, including one corner with a red VJ embroidered monogram. Following my research for the bathroom of the Hôtel de la Marine in Paris, I was able to identify the ancestor of our bath towels (the loops of bath towels only existing from the end of the 19th century) which was made of basin or bazin in absorbent fabric, here shaped with honeycombs and zig-zags. Very fine, peulucheux and prepared sheet, clean and cleaned, to be used directly for an 18th century decoration and for informed amateurs. No defect apart from a micro rust stain (last photo). Beautiful condition of conservation. Dimension: 106 cm x 76 cm We will quote Chateaubriand in the French literature concerning this enigmatic Basin or Bazin: The tenants of the coast are of a beautiful Norman race; the tall, thin, agile women wear corsets of gray wool, short petticoats of callemande and striped silk, white stockings with colored corners. Their forehead is shaded by a large basin or batiste headdress, the legs of which are raised in the shape of a beret, or float like a veil. Chateaubriand, Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe, t. 1, 1848, p. 205.