Aubusson Tapestry.— The origin of this factory is in doubt, but the Duchess of Valen tinois' will (dated 1507) mentions the *tap picerie de Felletin,' and Felletin is a town near Aubusson. Henry IV (late 16th century) lent the Felletin and Aubusson ateliers assistance by forbidding Flemish tapestry imports. Savary's (Dictionnaire du Commerce' (1641) says: •There are also two other French tapestry fac tories, one at Aubusson in Auvergne, and the other at Felletin in La Marche.* In 1637 Au busson had about 2,000 operatives, but both material and designs were of a low order as well as the dyes, and weavers were leaving. Colbert promised a talented artist and an ex pert dyer. But they never came. The king permitted the use of the title *Royal Manufac ture' and promised a good painter, who did not appear. Financial conditions at the Court were bad. However, the factory continued. But in 1685 the revocation of the Edict of Nantes set the best weavers in flight, for they were Protestants, much to the injury of the factory. Louis XV in 1731 sent the efficient dyer (Sieur Fizameau from the Gobelins) and the promised painter (Jean-Joseph Dumons). Dumons' designs were a success. Fizameau was soon succeeded by Pierre de Montezert. An ordinance of 1732 enforced the weaving of the initials of the town and weaver into the blue border. The Revolution closed the factory, but ever since it has been running with suc cess. Aubusson looms are all low warp. The product is furniture tapestry.
Savonnerie Tapestry.— The 'textile pro duced at this factory is not what is known gen erally under the name of tapestry because it has a velvet-like pile. It is a decorative ma terial which originated in the East and had been called longue laine (long wool) or d /a loon Perse, also after the fashion of Turkey. Pierre Dupont and Simon Lourdet started looms for this work in 1627 in the Louvre with royal license *to weave carpets in the style of the Orient; with gold and silver.• The plant was moved in 1631 to the old soap works (savon nerie) at Chaillot. Louis XIV permitted (1712) the works to assume the title *Manu facture royale des Meubles de la Couronne et des Tapis facon de Perse et du Levant' They gained the same privileges as the Gobe lins. The king and his successors, Louis XV and XVI, patronized the industry and gave ex tensive orders. While the process was that of knotted work cut to pile, it has ever been classed as tapestry. Much of the product has been used on furniture as upholstery though prop erly being a carpet textile. Designs run to branched foliage and architectural motifs with a medallion or other centre.
Other French factories were as follows: Fontainebleau; a tapestry atelier was started here (about 1535) by Francois Premier with Philibert Babou as manager and Sebastian Serlio (Italian architect) as art director. Le Primatice drew the cartoons. It was discon tinued as unprofitable while under the direc tion of Philibert Delorme during the reign of Henry II. A factory was opened by Raphael de la Planche (son of Frans van den Planken) at rue de la Chaise, faubourg Saint Germain, Paris, on the death of his father. An atelier at Vaux (17th century) had the honor of having to work on the *Story of Constantine' and *Hunts of Meleager' designed for it by Le brun, director of the Gobelins.
English Tapestries.— An existing piece of tapestry containing the coat-of-arms of the first Earl of Pembroke proves that the industry was established here already in the 16th cen tury. It was woven by Richard Hyckes of Barcheston, who had another atelier at Weston. There are two tapestry maps from this weaver's hands in the Oxford Bodleian Library. The Sheldon family continued the work into the next century. William Benood (1670) had an atelier at Lambeth, London, of whose work Haddon Hall holds the *Vulcan and Venus' set (four pieces). Glenham Hall owns four *Indo-Chinese* pieces from the loom of John Vanderbank (end of 17th century), *manager of the King's Wardrobe,* who also produced *The Elements* (three pieces) at Burley House; his atelier was in Great Queen street, Soho, London. Early in the 18th century Stephen Demay wove the *Hero and Leander' panels and *Acts of the Apostles,' still extant, and Peter Parisot, in the same period, had an atelier at Fulham, London. The name Brad shaw is woven in a sofa covering of this cen tury at Belton House.
Mortlake.— King James I smuggled into England 50 expert Flemish weavers and es tablished, in 1619, a tapestry factory at Mort lake. Sir Francis Crane was the instigator of the movement. Orphans from the *Foundlings Hospital' were apprenticed under the superin tendence of Philip de Maecht, a Fleming. His productions were marked P. D. M. often. De signs were done by Francis Clein (or Cleyn) from Denmark. The king's promised financial assistance was not forthcoming and Sir Fran cis, having sunk all his capital, made an appeal to his sovereign for cash to pay overdue wages of his weavers. The Prince of Wales gave financial assistance and obtained some funds from the king. On the king's death (1625) his successor, Charles I, aided further (as when Prince) and Crane was repaid his cash losses and given lands, while the factory became a financial success. England produced the finest wool ever used on tapestry work (it was always in great demand in Flanders and France), and now with Italian art designs and Flemish oper ators Mortlake, for 10 years, brought forth the grandest tapestry pieces the world ever saw. Capt. Richard Crane, on the founder's death (1636) carried on the work unsuccessfully; civil war and the beheading of the king injured the quality and quantity of the work. Sir Gil bert Pickering, under the Commonwealth, be came head of the factory. A Hampton Court copy of Mantegna's "Triumph of Caesar' was duplicated. Cheaper and poorer tapestries from France and the Netherlands were more popular with a war-impoverished people, however, and the factory closed in 1703. Mortlake repro duced Raphael's great "Acts of the Apostles' with border designs by Van Dyck; Rubens' "Story of Achilles' in six pieces; Cleyn's "Story of Vulcan' and "History of Hero and Leander.' °Vulcan's Complaint to Jupiter' is in an American collection (loaned to the Metro Museum of Art, New York); the Swedish Royal collection owns "Hero and Leander' (five pieces) ' • "Vulcan and Venus' pieces are in the French National Collection and in America; "Naval Battle of Soleby' (three pieces) is in Hampton Court; three sets of Mortlake "Acts of the Apostles' are in the French collection.