TWO LOUIS XIV MANUFACTURE OF THE SAVONNERIE SEWN CARPET FRAGMENTS, DELIVERED IN 1677, WORKSHOP OF PIERRE DUPONT, PROBABLY FROM THE GALERIE DU BORD DE L'EAU, PALAIS DU LOUVRE |

woven with fallow dear heads, leaves scrolls and foliage

Probably fragments from the 43rd carpet of the Galerie du Bord de l'Eau, Palais du Louvre, Paris

J. Guiffrey, Inventaire Général du Mobilier de la Couronne sous Louis XIV. 1663-1715, Paris, 1885
P. Verlet, The Savonnerie. The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, London, 1982, p. 485 and p. 537

Illustration is too bright, clear and powerful. Made of 2 elements joined in the middle, certainly from a wider table carpet. Attractive piece with some extensive cuts. It is worn and torn in places. Traces of previous restorations (particularly in the brown background). Material quite dry. Additional provenance: from an house sale, sold Christie’s in 1999.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

These two fragments are part of the 43rd tapestry along the Louvre’s Grande Galerie, the so-called Galerie du Bord de l'Eau, described in these terms by the Garde-Meuble: "No. 184 La Chasse (The Hunt). The forty-third: a tapestry with a brown background, depicting a deer’s head and scrollwork at each of the four corners, on which there is a large white compartment and another smaller compartment with twelve canted sides in the middle surrounded by festooned ribbons, having in the middle a sunflower surrounded by flowers, at the side of mentioned compartment are two stag heads against a linen grey background with hunting tools, and two landscapes at both ends, 7a ½ by 2a 5/6 wide ". The 93 tapestries along the Grande Galerie that connected the Louvre to the Tuileries were designed by Charles Lebrun and Louis Le Vau, then woven by the manufacture Royale de tapisseries de Turquie et du Levant said la Savonnerie whose entrepreneurs were Simon Lourdet (Chaillot) and Pierre Dupont (Galeries du Louvre) between 1668 and 1688. During the French Revolution these tapestries became a bargaining chip for suppliers such as Bourdillon in An V, who obtained the 43rd one. It seems that it was taken by the Directoire, but removed from the collections for it was found in 1937, cut then re-assembled as often is the case with these tapestries.