Toile de Jouy c 1790

Last Summer early at a brocante my torch caught a glimpse of a tiny morceau of toile peeping out from an old suitcase on the ground.

I opened the case and saw it was a quilt so passed the torch to Mark to shine it on the textile whilst I opened it out.

My heart sank when I realised how badly timeworn it was and I couldn`t really see it properly. I made the sneaky move of tucking it back into the case so it couldn`t be seen, closed the case up and put the suitcase to the bottom of the pile. I was going to wait until it was light and hope that no one opened that case before then!

As soon as dawn broke I was back in the suitcase pile pulling out the quilt. In the daylight it was even more damaged than I had initially thought but it was an early one with lots and lots of vignettes that could be cut and used, so after some haggling I soon had it tucked in into my bag.

I placed it on a shelf in my studio with the intention of unpicking the vignettes and gently laundering what could be used.  It has stayed there untouched until I re-discovered it last week when I tidied the shelves. I did a little investigation and discovered it was designed for the Jouy factory by Jean Baptiste Huet in the 1790s and is titled LES QUATRE PARTIES DU MONDE.

I have listed it for sale this evening as I will let someone else have the pleasure of saving the vignettes. They would be amazing for cushions, framing or any vintage textile work.

It is a wonderful feeling to re-home a timeworn treasure so that it can go on to a new life!

Here is the link :-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380835880600?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

A la prochaine mes belles
xxxx