Eighteenth-century French upholstery is the “least understood and least researched aspect of French furniture studies.” [1] in part due to the lack of upholstery textiles that exist today. However, proper time should be devoted to the study of eighteenth century textiles because many of the most popular 18th century European textiles are still in fashion and frequently appropriated in interior design today.
CHANGEABLE UPHOLSTERY
The upholstery on new 18TH-century types of furniture could be changed. This allowed the adjustment of furniture to the seasons, expressing a desire for the domestic interior to be in harmony with the natural cycle of the year. Warm weather upholstery tended to be lighter in color and less formal in design than cold weather fabrics. Changeable upholstery also made seating adaptable to a wide range of incomes. Prices of upholstery textiles varied more than ever before, ranging from precious tapestry to silk to wool to newly available and relatively inexpensive imported cotton.
In the residences of the French elite, furniture upholstery fabric was often changed according to season. The most expensive furniture “often had two different types of covering fabrics. They were designed so that the upholstery fabric could be changed seasonally or twice a year.”[2] The textiles used in the warmer summer months were “lighter in color and less formal in design than the silk damask coverings preferred for winter; cottons, printed with chinoiserie designs, were especially popular.”[3] Among the most vivid visual evidence we have of 18th century upholstery is the comparison between two seasonal scenes of the same room on “a gold and enamel snuffbox made in 1770 and decorated with painted miniatures by Louis-Nicolas van Blarenberge.”
[1-3] Cooke, Edward S. Upholstery in America & Europe: From the Seventeenth Century to World War I. New York: Norton, 1987. Print.
