Indiennes are French interpretations of Indian hand-painted cottons. Originally introduced into Europe by the East India trading companies in the seventeenth century, the foreign cottons grew to be in such demand they threatened local weaving industries and were banned. In France from 1686 to 1759 and in England from 1700 until about 1764, they could be neither imported nor worn. Accordingly they became immensely popular, even though in France the punishment for breaking the laws included the death penelty. In the French free port of Marseilles, which was protected from the import laws, Indian cottons were both traded and copied, and then smuggled throughout the country. Since they could not be worn publicly, they were worn in private, lending domesticity the pleasure of the illicit. Even after they were legalised they remained in great demand. Indiennes became the specialty of the Christophe-Phillipe Oberkampf mill in Jouy and survived the French Revolution to endear themselves to Napoleon and Josephine - and to the public ever since.
Extract from:
Textile Designs: 200 Years of Patterns for Printed Fabrics Arranged by Motif, Colour, Period and Design by Susan Meller, Joost Elffers, and Ted Croner. Published by Thames & Hudson Ltd.
