Inspired by early eighteenth-century European designs, this rare Indian chintz is quilted and lined with Chinese silk. This type of bold, elaborate strapwork and cartouche designs—here in vibrant hues of red, yellow, blue, and pink—can be traced to late seventeenth-century French designers, notably Daniel Marot (1665–1720). A French Huguenot immigrant to the Netherlands, Marot popularized this ornate Rococo style in Holland and England. A Dutch East India Company merchant active on India’s Coromandel Coast who had access to European pattern books probably commissioned the textile. While likely intended as a bed quilt, this piece was found in Japan, where it was used most recently as a tea-ceremony carpet.

cat. no. 36