Imperial silk orders are in focus. More than two hundred years after they were delivered to the Imperial Storehouse in 1813, here they are majestically displayed in the Grand Trianon.
In 1810, when Napoleon I decided to rebuild Versailles, he thought and ordered 80 kilometers of fabric from the silk mills of Lyon. It was also a way to support a sector in great difficulty at the time, to which he allocated 2 million francs, or a third of the castle’s reconstruction budget. Of these silks, which were never used due to the decline of the empire, the National Furniture and the Palace of Versailles today display a complete panorama.
An amazing discovery that allows us to review both the historical and economic context of the order, the know-how and the world of these factories during the First Empire, as well as the architectural developments planned by Napoleon. The fourth element (politics) therefore led to the great slumber of this luxurious order, which returns to our eyes today, represented by a unique collection of 120 silks. And to top off this nod to history, an exclusive visit to the Emperor’s apartment at the Grand Trianon is included in the exhibition tour.
“Imperial Silks for Versailles, National Mobilier Collection”,
until June 23 at the Grand Trianon in Versailles. chateauversailles.fr:
Source: Le Figaro
