Length of upholstery silk
1771–72
Medium
Silk
Dimensions
L. 32 x W. 22 inches (loom width) 81.3 x 55.9 cm
Classification
Textiles-Woven
Culture
French, Lyons
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1938
Accession Number
38.182.6
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite length of upholstery silk, woven by the renowned Philippe de Lasalle in Lyons France, between 1771 and 1772, exemplifies the pinnacle of 18th-century French textile artistry. Measuring 32 by 22 inches—the full loom width—this vibrant piece was designed for luxurious furnishings, reflecting the opulence of pre-Revolutionary aristocratic interiors. De Lasalle, a master weaver from the epicenter of Europe's silk trade, crafted it using intricate Jacquard-like techniques on a drawloom, blending fine silk threads into a tapestry of playful motifs: frolicsome boys amid blooming flower...
About the Artist
Philippe de Lasalle · 1723–1804
Philippe de Lasalle (1723–1804) was born on September 2 in the small town of Seyssel in the Ain department of France, the son of a local finance official. Orphaned at just one year old, he was raised by relatives and moved to Lyon at age fourteen to live with an uncle. There, he began his artistic training as an apprentice to the painter Daniel Sarrabat, a prominent Lyonnais figure known for instr...