On December 1836 Charles Sallandrouze de Lamornaix presented in his workshop on boulevard Poissonière what he termed as an ‘exposition de magnifiques tapis, commandés pour la France et l’Angleterre’. It consisted of an entirely new type of weaving, a group of portiéres woven on a low-warp tapestry loom by employing a technique borrowed from the flat-woven, Aubusson carpet weaving tradition, known as the point ras, and woven at Sallandrouze workshop in Felletin, in the Creuse region. Here the horizontal loom had to be adapted in order for it to be able to handle the heavier warps and wefts needed in order to weave a fabric which will sustain the wear of floor covering. A group of these portiéres had already been ordered to decorate the walls of the Palais-Royal and the Tuileries. Designed by Amédée Couder, these exquisitely fine tapestries are woven with remarkable perfection in wool, and embellished in silver or gold thread, decorated with an eclectic assemblage of Venetian, Ottoman and Hispano-Moresque motifs combined with botanical elements taken from the French tradition, typically on a black background. (The ornamental style is reminiscent of that seen on early Ottoman and Venetian silk velvets with metallic threads, combining elements taken from the shared domain of Islamic art (such as palmettes and arabesques) and that of 15th/16th Century eastern Mediterranean textiles.) The resulting complex tracery is in balance between the flowing, stylised floral forms originating from the iconography of Louis XIV and Louis XV Savonnerie carpets, and the rigid network, which seems to borrow from the art of the ferronerie, which are the architectural motifs we see in wrought iron works.

The black background is a characteristic choice for these type of portiéres, and is a result of the technical accomplishments in the art of dyeing at around 1840, as this colour was notoriously difficult to obtain in a rich and uniform tonality.

In developing these portiéres, Charles Sallandrouze and Amedée Couder had purposely chosen to employ wool and gold threads. During the day, these exquisite curtains would shine as the black wool fibres would absorb light and the colours would sparkle, while at night the metallic threads would reflect the light of the candles and torches.

In excellent condition, this museum quality textile can be used both as a tapestry as well as a precious cover. It was purchased from an important Italian private collection, where it had been displayed only during special occasions. The colours have the original richness and the gold and silver threads are pristine.