After the destruction wrought by the wars of religion, embroidery lavishly rose from the ashes under the impetus of royal power, which aimed to make the art form its own preserve. It didn't take much to arouse interest.
c. 1630, red velvet cape with three pendants and flap embroidered with silver and gold thread, scalloped edges embellished with guipure, blue silk lining with the monogram of Cardinal Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu in gold and red, l. 168 cm/66.14 in. Hôtel Drouot, July 7, 2022. Binoche et Giquello OVV. Mme Fligny. Result: €78,000
From the foundation of the Order of the Holy Spirit (1578) to the French Revolution, the unchanging embroidery on a knight's mantle had the same meaning: pomp, solemnity and an expression of the political power of the Ancien Régime. Secular motifs now outnumbered religious ones, both among professional embroiderers and upper class ladies. In the early 17 th century, naturalistic depictions of flowers came into vogue. Those cultivated by the king’s botanist, Jean Robin (1550-1629), were the favorite subjects of Pierre Vallet, the embroiderer of Henri IV and Louis XIII. They were also fashionable in the first quarter of the 17 th century in England, where crewel embroidery, in colored wool on linen or cotton, took inspiration from Indian palampores. Engraved motifs and fabrics pre-marked with embroidery patterns were popular with the aristocratic British women, who used them to embellish…
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