On the last day of January, and for our first Object of the Month of 2026, a little rambling on altering silks, politics, and bees in the 19th century.
We recently acquired this imperial brocaded gros de Tours, designed in 1808 by Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, architect and then Inspector at the Mobilier Impérial (today the Mobilier National), and woven in Lyon by the firm of Lacostat & Trollier, for use in the second salon of the grands appartements at the palace of Meudon.
Already a rare survival as a commande impériale, this silk is more unusual for what it lacks. The original design contained two bees flanking the central design of symbols representing the arts and sciences (like the lyre), war, and commerce, woven in yellows and browns in imitation of gold ormolu. All that’s left here, however, are the pinpricked outlines of something vaguely apian, the wefts that formed their image having been meticulously unpicked. (No quick or easy feat! A pastime of European ladies known as parfilage or drizzling, usually reserved for removing metallics for reuse or melting down. Click here for a set of drizzling tools on p. 8.)
While we don’t know who clipped these bees’ wings, the iconic symbol of the First Empire may have been removed during the Restauration (r. 1814–1830). After all, the Bourbons made good use of Napoleonic silks sans abeilles, and it probably would have been less costly to unpick and reinstall existing silks than to commission the design and of weaving of new ones. Lyonnais silks without imperial and royal motifs were also reused under Louis-Philippe (r. 1830–1848).
This silk was formerly in the collection of the costume and textile collector Helen Larson (who loved a royal provenance!). A second length from Larson's collection, also missing its bees, is now at the Royal Ontario Museum.
