plate-printed cotton, depicting Greek War of Independence, ca. 1825

Furnishing fabric, plate-printed cotton. Four scenes printed in red on a white ground; left-facing female figures each in an architectural setting.
Upper left: young woman in Tyrolean-type dress with short sleeves and laced bodice stands outside a small building. Her outstretched hands rest on a bag which is on a table. Behind her is a musket leaning against a low wall; there is a group of people in the background against a wooded hill.
Upper right: seated woman in what looks like a velvet dress, clutching a small book to her bosom as she gazes at a hanging portrait of a man. Her feet rest on a cushion on the floor. Behind her a stringed instrument leans against the wall or her chair. To the right of the scene there is a small dog lying on a cushion and through the window there is a distant group of people and a sailing ship. the woman's dress looks Spanish.
Lower right: The woman is standing by a curtain, or portiere, and is listening intently. In front of her there is a chair over which is draped a cloak or other loose garment and against which leans a stringed instrument. She is on a balcony and the scene beyond depicts a coastline with three sailing ships. The woman's costume look Italian.
Lower left: Woman dressed in Greek or Albanian style with long robe over trousers. Her left arm is in a sling and she grasps a curved sword in her right hand. A dead Ottoman solider lies at her feet. There is a picture or carving of St George and the dragon by her right foot. she stands on a terrace and the scene behind her is of a massacre of women and children by Ottoman soldiers. There is a fortress with a classcial Greek temple on a hill and a domed mosque in the far distance. there is what looks like a bridge over a river.

Although Jouy is the best known of all the French printworks - to the extent that the name 'Toiles de Jouy' is often used to describe all French printed cottons - there were other printing centres of great importance. Nantes produced a large number of excellent prints such as this, which depicts four heroines, seemingly associated with various wars. Only the scene in the lower left has been identified with confidence: it is from the Greek War of Independence (1821-1832) and a massacre of Greeks by Ottoman Turks can be seen in the background. French naval units were deployed to help the Greeks in their struggle for independence and French military assistance may also have been associated with the other scenes. If this is so, this design may be a celebration of France's identification with the concepts of Liberty, Fraternity and Equality and with struggles against tyranny.

T.496-1919