Mise-en-carte and Sample for Velours Miniature with Flying Angel and Garland of Flowers and Leaves

Anonymous, French, 18th century French

Not on view

Mise-en-carte (weaving pattern) for "velours miniature" (a), a type of velvet that was often decorated with sewing points and repetitive small ornaments with contrasting colors, which was particularly fashionable towards the end of the 18th century and during the reign of Louis XVI, often decorated with colorful garlands of flowers and leaves, as well as other naturalistic motifs and garden trophies. This design contains a garland of black leaves and alternating black-and-yellow and green-and-purple flowers, which hangs below a flying angel that holds in with his hand. The angel is rendered with pink and the mantle that partially covers his body and the wings with purple; the shadows in his body are colored with blue. Above him, a zig-zagging pattern colored with orange can be devised. The design is rendered over a printed squared paper that would provide the guidelines in the weaving process.

Placed below the mise-en-carte is a small velvet sample (b) with a fragment of a thin garland of pink flowers and green leaves, which would have corresponded to the finished textile presented in the design.

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