The tumultuous years of the French Revolution left France’s prestigious decorative arts industries poised on the brink of ruin. It was not until after the fall of the monarchy and the ascendancy of the Consulat and Empire under Napoleon that they began to recover so that by the middle of the nineteenth century they stood at the pinnacle of their achievement. This book is the first in depth study of the renowned porcelain works at Sèvres during its virtual rebirth under the 47 year direction of the scientist, teacher, and administrator Alexandre Brongniart. Some 110 working drawings from the Sèvres Archive are reproduced here for the first time in color. They celebrate the high skill of the artists whose work often documented contemporary events in France. There are table services in the 'Egyptian' and 'Etruscan' taste as well as individual pieces that recall Napoleonic military campaigns. There are also exquisite Neoclassical decorations using motifs such as birds, butterflies, and insects that reflect the century’s early fascination with the natural sciences. The repertoire of nineteenth century eclecticism is evident in the output of Sèvres from the revival of Gothic and renaissance motifs to the outburst of naturalism. Eleven essays by leading authorities assess this dynamic period.

This is a catalogue of tapestries illustrating the history of tapestries in six countries.

Thirteen specialists on the history of tapestry offer a detailed survey of the lives and works of the Flemish weavers and of their relations with foreign patrons and artists.

"In 1927, the critic Rene Chavance identified carpet production as the most successful of the decorative arts in achieving 'the more visionary aims of the times'. Susan Day's book, a work of original scholarship accompanied throughout by illustrations both of the carpets themselves and of contemporary interiors, demonstrates that these Art Deco carpets have lost none of their decorative power. A significant number of the carpets are shown precisely as they were meant to be seen, within the rooms for which they were made." "The fruits of the remarkable Art Deco efflorescence throughout Europe form the first part of the book. In the second, the focus turns to the reaction against the artistes-decorateurs by the champions of modernism. In France, the designs of Sonia Delaunay, Eileen Gray and Jean Lurcat evoked collage and Cubism; the Bauhaus and Scandinavia provided different influences. The fashion for abstract and modernist rugs was further stimulated by limited editions of rugs woven from works by such artists as Picasso, Klee and Miro, while in the USA, designers developed a style that was distinctly American." "This visual feast, of appeal not only to carpet collectors and textile specialists but to anyone with an interest in 20th-century design, ranges from the supremely imaginative achievements of Paul Poiret's unique weaving studio, the Ecole Martine, to the Scandinavian folk traditions of Marta Maas-Fjetterstrom, the innovations of Frank Lloyd Wright and Donald Deskey in the USA and Gunta Stolzl's handwoven carpets in Germany. The book's invaluable reference section includes detailed information on artists, manufacturers and retailers, their signatures and monograms, and a glossary and bibliography." --Book Jacket.