Magasin des demoiselles – red valance
A-MH135 Magasin des Demoiselles – Red valance
Red valance with yellow writing that Google translates to Thank God or Al-hamdulillah, yellow vines, blue flowers and green leaves, with a green and blue border. Apparently the writing as shown is upside-down, indicating that the meaning of the writing was unknown to the publishers.
Single sheet 16×7,25 inch, cream paper, litho print. Typographie Ernst Meyer, rue Verneuil 22, Paris.
From the collection of Marleen van Horssen, edited and charted by Sytske Wijnsma.
Just to make sure I got the definition right:
NOUN
- An ornamental drapery hung across a top edge, as of a bed, table, or canopy.
- A short drapery, decorative board, or metal strip mounted especially across the top of a window to conceal structural fixtures.
- Hanging drapery for a bed, couch, window, or the like, especially that which hangs around a bedstead, from the bed to the floor.
I don’t see those often, especially the ones made for a canopy. Canopies themselves are in short supply in modern furniture. This pattern will probably not be used for its original purpose, as embroidered textiles hanging down to the floor will get dirty and dusty, and those high above will get spider webs and dust all over them. We have a valance around the living room drapes, made of wood and those already need dusting.
In older times the entire room was furnished with textiles, swags, bedcovers, bed curtains, table and chair leg covers, and to keep all that clean and dusted people would certainly need household staff. In photos of farm houses and houses of not-so-rich people all those extras are obviously lacking.
So, how do we use these out-of-fashion patterns? If you like a decorative strip along the top of the wall, this might be suitable. You wouldn’t even need to embroider it, if you can paint it based on this pattern. If you want to showcase your embroidery skills and patience, bug spray against moths and maybe hair spray to prevent the dirt and dust from getting into the yarn might be advisable.
The valances with smaller repeats might still be useful to line the edges of cupboard shelves, but this one is so wide that you’d need to embroidery it on super fine cloth. It could be done – ebay offers 40 count silk gauze – but in my opinion this pattern will remain in the past. If you have other ideas for use, please let me know. There are more valance patterns and it’d be such a pity that they will be only for looking at and never for use.