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Savonnerie workshop
France, early eighteenth century
After cartoons attributed to Blain de Fontenay (1653-1715) and François Desportes (1661-1743)
Wool
269 x 68 cm (each leaf)
Inv. no. 30
As from 1725, the inventories of the French royal gardemeuble record the entry of screens such as this one from the Savonnerie workshop, produced using cartoons with flower and bird motifs by Blain de Fontenay. Designed to stop draughts, these highly decorated screens were an integral part of palace and castle furnishings.
The six rich polychrome leaves of this screen woven using the Turkish knot technique for carpets are decorated using central medallions with birds surrounded by garlands of flowers and surmounted by musical and rural motifs. The lower section includes large vases of flowers set on rectangular plinths.
This type of composition was widely used by the Savonnerie workshop in the later years of the reign of Louis XIV. Similar screens can be found at the Mobilier National de France, the Stockholm Royal Palace and several other collections.
A selection of 18th century-pieces in the Calouste Gulbenkian Collection
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