Carpet assembled from fragments of a royal order
Five woollen carpet fragments assembled on a textile support. With large polychrome acanthus scrolls on a brown background and the body of a large griffon on a bracket. Trompe l'oeil gadrooned border in shades of yellow with blue foliate motifs between the fluting. Partially reduced pile, some torn areas with holes, old repairs. Mounted on black felt in a stretcher, H 178 cm, W 108.5 cm.
Paris, Manufacture de la Savonnerie, 1670 - 1685.
These fragments once belonged to a very large carpet that formed part of a sumptuous royal interior. We know of the existence of such carpets from orders placed by the French King Louis XIV. He commissioned several similar pieces for the Galerie d'Apollon and the Galerie du Bord de l'Eau (known as the Grande Galerie) in the Palais du Louvre, all of which were woven in the Manufacture de la Savonnerie from 1664 onwards. The aim was to develop a woven carpet to suit the European taste in interior design and mark royal territory. This fragment provides a glimpse into a unique design in which the size of the pattern correlated with the power of the king. Thirteen carpets were produced for the Galerie d´Apollon and, apart from the central one, all of them were produced in pairs. 93 carpets in total were produced for the Grande Galerie.
Pierre Verlet published a reconstruction of the border designs for the French royal orders in 1982. The broad gadrooned borders ("godrons jaunes et bleues"), reminiscent of cymation moulding, appear to correlate to those used in this large ensemble. The production of the carpets for the Grande Galerie ran from 1670 to 1685. The Louvre in Paris and the Mobilier National house three of the carpets that once furnished the Grande Galerie and these allow us to imagine the magnificent flooring concept which was probably based on designs by Charles LeBrun (1619 - 1690). Pierre Verlet conducted research into 93 of the carpets and published his findings in appendix A. Under “2nd carpet (No. 143)” in the royal inventory, we find a description that may correspond to the present fragments: “The design includes a griffin on a shield and acanthus scrolls in each of the four corners; the main panel has a brown ground with trophies of arms, cornucopias, acanthus scrolls and garlands of flowers. In the centre is a circular panel with flowers, within an oval panel with a white ground strewn with laurel branches. At each end is a horizontal rectangular landscape. Width 5 ½ a. (6.34 m). In an V was being used by the Minister of Marine. Present whereabouts unknown.” (p. 475 f.)
Provenance
Private collection, Copenhagen.
Literature
Cf. Verlet, The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor. Savonnerie, Paris 1982, p. 172 ff.
Cf. ibid. p. 474 ff, Appendix A, this piece there presumably listed under no. 143, 2nd carpet.