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Lot Essay
Although the Savonnerie workshops are most renowned for the magnificent carpets produced during the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV, the factory also produced other forms of furnishing fabrics in the woven-pile technique. These objects included upholstery for furniture, panels for fire-screens, panels for room screens and, in at least one instance, coverings for a small casket (see Pierre Verlet, The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor: Savonnerie, London, 1982, p. 86). It must be noted, however, that these other products are extremely rare, even within the already rare group of 17th and 18th century Savonnerie carpets, as the production at the Savonnerie was mainly devoted to the weaving of carpets.
Despite the popularity of furnishing silk woven at Lyons or Paris and tapestry-woven covers from Beauvais or Gobelins, there was a demand for a more durable material to furnish benches and tabourets for royal ante-rooms (Verlet, ibid., p. 84) and the Savonnerie with its sturdy pile weavings met this demand. Although 531 bench covers were woven between 1686 and 1791, very few are extant perhaps due to use and the fact that many benches were probably reupholstered if the covers were faded or too worn.
The ten different patterns for Savonnerie bench-covers are listed and described in Verlet (pp. 293-295). This bench-cover, the fourth pattern, was woven from 1704 onwards and the design is attributed to Belin de Fontenay, the elder. Known for his depiction of flowers in Savonnerie weavings, Fontenay is thought to be the originator of the rose Moresque design element found on this example and other Savonnerie weavings from this period (Verlet, ibid., p. 297). An identical Savonnerie bench-cover is in the Musée du Louvre (Verlet, ibid., p. 329, fig. 202). A bench, stamped JANSEN, with a Savonnerie bench-cover of the same design was sold at Christie’s, New York, 18 October 2002, lot 352 and a pair of Louis XVI style benches sold Christie’s, Paris, 26 May 2020, lot 140, are also covered in Savonnerie panels of this exact design.
Despite the popularity of furnishing silk woven at Lyons or Paris and tapestry-woven covers from Beauvais or Gobelins, there was a demand for a more durable material to furnish benches and tabourets for royal ante-rooms (Verlet, ibid., p. 84) and the Savonnerie with its sturdy pile weavings met this demand. Although 531 bench covers were woven between 1686 and 1791, very few are extant perhaps due to use and the fact that many benches were probably reupholstered if the covers were faded or too worn.
The ten different patterns for Savonnerie bench-covers are listed and described in Verlet (pp. 293-295). This bench-cover, the fourth pattern, was woven from 1704 onwards and the design is attributed to Belin de Fontenay, the elder. Known for his depiction of flowers in Savonnerie weavings, Fontenay is thought to be the originator of the rose Moresque design element found on this example and other Savonnerie weavings from this period (Verlet, ibid., p. 297). An identical Savonnerie bench-cover is in the Musée du Louvre (Verlet, ibid., p. 329, fig. 202). A bench, stamped JANSEN, with a Savonnerie bench-cover of the same design was sold at Christie’s, New York, 18 October 2002, lot 352 and a pair of Louis XVI style benches sold Christie’s, Paris, 26 May 2020, lot 140, are also covered in Savonnerie panels of this exact design.