Fabrics in shimmering colors, incredibly fresh and modern.
Here, a damask, there a brocade, a little further away a gourgouran or even a velvet, all signed by the greatest Lyon silkies of the time... The salons of the Palace of Versailles (Yvelines) would certainly have a completely different appearance if Napoleon had carried out his project to the end.
This was without counting the fall of the Empire.
This is what the exhibition produced by the royal estate and the Mobilier national at the Grand Trianon on imperial silks offers to discover.
In 1811, Napoleon placed an exceptional order of 2 million francs to Lyon factories in great difficulty for the redevelopment of the castle and the furnishing of 40 apartments.
The following two years, the silk workers delivered 80 km of fabrics to the Imperial Furniture Guard.
They will ultimately never be used but have been carefully preserved.
And for the first time, 120 silks in an exceptional state of conservation are brought to light.
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