A small open tulip in dusty red on warm tan, scattered across an open four-inch repeat. The two colours sit close in value, so the surface reads as warm colour with a rhythm in it rather than as sharp pattern. The tulip emerges rather than announces itself, and up close the soft edge is plainly visible.
The design was translated from drawing 4608 in a volume of French textile designs held at the Clark Art Institute Library. The drawing is a watercolour record of a printed cloth, not a piece of fabric. The motif is small and the scatter is open, so the pattern holds its place beside a larger design rather than competing with it. Available as wallpaper and fabric by the yard.
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The Source
Drawing 4608 comes from a volume of nineteenth-century French textile designs with no title page and no publisher named. The drawings are mounted watercolours, each on its own sheet. This one is worked in a single colour, with a numbered list of twelve colours written down the right margin in ink — nine for the motif and two for the ground, in the same hand that numbered the page.
A label inside the front cover identifies the firm as Maison Robert, with Victor Ducroquet listed as son-in-law and successor. The label gives an address in Paris and names the firm as a depot for papers made by another manufacturer. Two medals on the label are dated 1844. The library catalogues the volume to about 1863.
The volume is part of the Mary Ann Beinecke Decorative Art Collection at the Clark Art Institute Library, a collection of over 1,200 volumes on textiles and decorative art assembled by the weaver and textile artist Mary Ann Beinecke. The small floral motif and open scatter hold their place beside a larger design rather than competing with it.
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The Specifications
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Source: Watercolour drawing of a textile design, number 4608, mounted in a bound volume of French textile designs. Maison Robert, Paris. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute Library, Williamstown, Massachusetts, call number NK8849 M28. Mary Ann Beinecke Decorative Art Collection
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Date: Catalogued by the library as approximately 1863. The trade label carries two medals dated 1844
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Label: Mounted inside the front cover: Maison Robert, Victor Ducroquet, gendre et successeur, no. 78312
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Volume: 169 pages, 220 mounted colour illustrations, designs numbered 4495 to 4735. No title page, contents page or copyright page. Title from the spine
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Repeat: 4 in. square, straight match
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Motif scale: 0.31 in
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References: Internet Archive frenchtextiles00unse, page n99. OCLC 1045562508
The Fabric
Decor Chenille
A short, dense pile with a velvet-like surface on a firm woven ground. Fine striations catch the light as it moves across the room, deepening the colour. Substantial weight keeps a clean line on upholstery and gives tailored drapery a decisive fall.
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Composition: 100% polyester
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Width: 56 in printable (57 in full)
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Weight: 400 gsm
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For: Upholstery, cushions, headboards, heavy drapery
Cotton Linen
A fine, even linen-cotton weave. Colour prints cleanly while the woven surface remains visible, keeping solid grounds from going flat without softening fine linework. Light in the hand, it falls in narrow, supple folds and filters light rather than blocking it.
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Composition: 55% linen, 45% cotton
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Width: 54 in printable
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Weight: 250 gsm
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For: Upholstery, curtains, table linens, pillows
