Tapestry thumbnail 1
Tapestry thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Tapestry

1878 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Gobelins Manufactory was founded in Paris in 1662, assembling numerous different workshops under one roof, its sole purpose to supply Louis XIV's palaces. Along with Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Louis XIV's Minister of Finance, the King began a sustained campaign to elevate the standards of luxury goods produced in France and eliminate imports. Having centralised the site of production, the very best artists and craftsmen were then sourced from across Europe to provide the manufactory with the sound foundation it needed to supplant its foreign competitors. The name Gobelins has since become synonymous with high-warp tapestries.

This tapestry sample is one of eight pieces worked by pupils of the National Manufactory of the Gobelins in 1878. They were presented to the V&A Museum by the French Minister for State Education, to demonstrate the continued skill of the celebrated French workshop.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Tapestry woven with coloured worsteds on string warps
Brief description
Tapestry panel, woven with coloured worsteds on string warps, depicting a cartouche, made by the pupils of the National Manufactory of the Gobelins, France (Paris), 1878
Physical description
Tapestry sample, woven with coloured worsteds on string warps, depicting a blue scroll with a woven inscription commemorating the Ecole de Tapisserie et de Tapis at the Gobelins, on a maroon ground bordered in navy blue .
Dimensions
  • Height: 45cm
  • Width: 65cm
Marks and inscriptions
'France Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins 1878 Ecole de Tapisserie et de Tapis' (Woven inscription in the centre)
Credit line
Given by His Excellency Monsieur Bardoux, Ministre de L'instruction Publique, des Cultes, et des Beaux Arts
Object history
This exhibition piece returns to the curled-paper origins of the cartouche. It was given to the Museum of Monsieur Bardoux, French Minister of Education, Religion and Fine Arts.
Subjects depicted
Summary
The Gobelins Manufactory was founded in Paris in 1662, assembling numerous different workshops under one roof, its sole purpose to supply Louis XIV's palaces. Along with Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Louis XIV's Minister of Finance, the King began a sustained campaign to elevate the standards of luxury goods produced in France and eliminate imports. Having centralised the site of production, the very best artists and craftsmen were then sourced from across Europe to provide the manufactory with the sound foundation it needed to supplant its foreign competitors. The name Gobelins has since become synonymous with high-warp tapestries.

This tapestry sample is one of eight pieces worked by pupils of the National Manufactory of the Gobelins in 1878. They were presented to the V&A Museum by the French Minister for State Education, to demonstrate the continued skill of the celebrated French workshop.
Collection
Accession number
30-1879

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Record createdJune 8, 2005
Record URL
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