Decorative details
Antiques Roadshow specialist Marc Allum delves into the origins of toile de Jouy and its enduring attraction throughout the centuries
Marc Allum looks at the history and popularity of toile du Jouy
European fashions in the 17th century were fuelled by printed and painted cottons from the East. The trade had existed since the 16th century, but gained in strength with organisations such as the East India Company helping to create large markets. The fabrics, known as toiles peintes, or calicoes, found favour with a European clientele looking for versatile, light fabrics both for clothing and furnishings. In collaboration with the Eastern manufacturers, the trading companies were quick to exploit their customers’ tastes by producing export patterns that were skilfully tinged with the right mixture of Eastern exoticism.
Imported Indian cottons were known as Indiennes, a word that later became synonymous with the actual clothing into which it was made. Eventually, the inevitable ‘home-grown’ copies started to emerge, and by the mid-17th century, Marseilles had become a centre for the production of domestic Indiennes. As demand soared, the French producers of other fabrics, namely silks and wools, saw their livelihoods threatened and pressed for a total ban on the import, production and even use of printed calicoes. This came into effect in 1686 and remained in place until 1759. (A similar ban existed in England between 1701 and 1774.) The ban was fairly unenforceable, however, as France had a system of free ports that were exempt from the edict, and the importation and use of the fabrics continued ‘underground’.
The lifting of the ban in 1759 heralded a new era for the production of printed cottons in France, and
with it, the opportunity for new entrepreneurs to enter the market. One such person was Christophephilippe Oberkampf, the man to whom we owe the true origins of the name toile de Jouy.
Born in Germany in 1738, Oberkampf came from a family of dyers. In 1758, while working in Switzerland, he was recruited by the agent of a Parisian manufacturer and moved to Paris to work as an engraver and colourist. Within a year, he left and joined forces with a civil servant and businessman named Tavannes, and was offered a directorship of his fabric company.
One necessity for large-scale fabric production was a good, clean water supply and also a large outside area to dry the cloth so, with this in mind, they moved the factory from Paris to the village of Jouy-en-josas, served by the river Bièvre, but also close to Versailles and the French court, which was a highly important factor, too.
DECORATIVE STORY-TELLING
In 1760, the first printed cotton was produced at the factory, and the name of toile de Jouy became synonymous with the distinctive prints of this genre. Other major centres of production included Alsace, Rouen, Marseilles and Nantes.
Many think of toile de Jouy as a humble French floral or pastoral patterned monochrome cotton printing technique, but in many ways it is also a record: a wonderful story-telling insight into the beating heart of history and style – encapsulated on a decorative fabric.
The techniques and philosophy behind the designs are decidedly more interesting and
complicated than one might imagine. Historical, literary and architectural subjects feature widely, with many interesting themes and narratives flowing through the patterns and pictorial prints.
The designs were originally reproduced on the fabrics using carved printing blocks and details such as fine flower stems added with strips or sections of brass. Background decoration could be added with a technique using small brass pins in the wooden printing blocks, known as picotage.
In 1776 the Americans declared independence but the trade with Britain still remained strong and British manufacturers were quick to put their political sensibilities aside and supply the United States with all manner of goods that reflected their new status. British-produced toiles were called ‘copperplates’ and patriotic patterns were manufactured for American consumption, such as The Apotheosis of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, featuring George Washington riding a chariot with Lady Liberty.
ROYAL FAVOURITE
As technology improved, the use of engraved copperplates became more popular and in 1797, Oberkampf, who was not shy of technological advances, installed a copperplate roller printer producing monochrome prints on cotton of almost equal quality to those printed on paper. The machine could produce 5,000 metres of printed fabric in a day, a phenomenal output. Despite this move to an industrial scale, it was still important to maintain the traditional block-printing techniques due to the necessity for polychrome designs.
Woodblocks were generally used for up to four colours. The size of the repeat and design would also be affected by the technique being used.
Oberkampf’s success spanned a period of great upheaval in France. The proximity of the factory to the French court at Versailles paid enormous dividends and toile de Jouy was a favourite of
Marie Antoinette. Trianon, showing the queen as a shepherdess in the grounds of Versailles with Le Petit Trianon and L’hermitage in the background is a well-known pattern. Producing skilful and artistic designs was of paramount importance and Oberkampf employed some of the best artists and engravers of the day to execute his copperplates. These included Horace Vernet, Louis-hippolyte Lebas and Jean-baptiste Huet. In 1783, Oberkampf was honoured with the title of Manufacture Royale.
At its height in 1790, the factory employed over 2,000 workers, but as with all businesses, there were many factors which influenced its output and profitability. Despite surviving the turmoil of the Revolution, foreign blockades of French goods in the early 19th century and the Napoleonic Wars of 1814 forced the factory to close for some periods. Under the old regime, prior to the Revolution, Oberkampf owned the second largest business in France, but it was also during this unpredictable post-revolutionary period that some of my favourite toile de Jouy designs were produced, such as Les Monuments d’egypt, circa 1808, and Temples des Souvenirs, produced in the first quarter of the 19th century. The factory finally closed in 1843.
HISTORY REINVENTED
Toile is a very versatile medium; it can be used throughout the home for upholstery and soft furnishings. Its adaptability as wallpaper gives rise to some stylish possibilities in interior design terms and, luckily, many historical patterns are reproduced or reinvented by companies such as Marvic Textiles, and through Christopher Moore, known as the Toile Man.
Yet the joy of toile is also its amazingly anachronistic identity, which allows it to be constantly reinvented for whatever age, still cleverly chronicling history and changing styles. Timorous Beasties is a company that very adeptly designs toiles for the modern era, and its designs include London, which features The Gherkin skyscraper designed by Sir Norman Foster, as a central part of the pattern, and New York with scenes of Central Park, The Empire State Building, and helicopters.
Having lived in France for eight years, I often bought examples of antique toile, at vide greniers
– attic sales – and brocantes - fleamarkets - but also found wonderful examples still in situ in châteaux and old houses. Auctions, too, have always been a favourite hunting ground, with sections of toile turning up in boxes of old fabrics.