Chef de piece
Medium
printed, dyed & painted textiles
Classification
printed, dyed & painted textiles
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Cora Ginsburg
Accession Number
1994-80-20
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
**Chef de Pièce** *J.P. Meiller et Cie., ca. 1795* Printed, dyed, and painted textiles Smithsonian American Art Museum into the elegant world of late 18th-century French with *Chef de Pièce*, masterful example from J.P. Meiller et., a firm active from 1792 1826. Produced 1795, this exemplifies the height of printed cotton innovation during the French Revolutionary era. "Chef de pièce," meaning "head of the piece," refers to the principal panel in a set of furnishing fabrics, often designed to anchor larger ensembles for curtains, upholstery, or bed hangings. Gifted by noted textile c...