.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The coat-of-arms is of the Pardaillan de Gondrin family, which died out in 1871. The lozenge shield is reserved for unmarried women or those belonging to a religious order. All daughters of the family married with the exeption of Felicie de Pardaillan, abbess of Noningues from 1760 to 1790, and the more famous Gillette de Pardaillan, duchesse d'Antin, countesse d'Epernon, abbess of the illustrious abbey of Fontrevault from 1765 to 1799. The crozier behind the shild is a sign of their religious role.
The cover page of Robert D'Arbrissel's L'Institut De L'Ordre De Font-Evaud, Paris 1779 shows a virtually identical coat-of-arms.
Weaver:
The town of La Vergne, France, is not recorded as a weaving centre. The weaver Furgaud is also unrecorded, there is, however, a family Furzaud that had a large workshop in Aubusson and was active over a long period in the 18th Century. It is possible that Furgaud was a member of that family and emigrated to La Vergne. In that respect it is interesting to note the similarities in execution of this tapestry to works from Aubusson. However, interestingly there is also a noble family of that name in La Vergne. François Furgaud (d. 1791) is recorded as vicar and archpriest in Aubusson and it is thus possible that he was responsible for the design while an anonymous weaver executed the tapestry.
The cover page of Robert D'Arbrissel's L'Institut De L'Ordre De Font-Evaud, Paris 1779 shows a virtually identical coat-of-arms.
Weaver:
The town of La Vergne, France, is not recorded as a weaving centre. The weaver Furgaud is also unrecorded, there is, however, a family Furzaud that had a large workshop in Aubusson and was active over a long period in the 18th Century. It is possible that Furgaud was a member of that family and emigrated to La Vergne. In that respect it is interesting to note the similarities in execution of this tapestry to works from Aubusson. However, interestingly there is also a noble family of that name in La Vergne. François Furgaud (d. 1791) is recorded as vicar and archpriest in Aubusson and it is thus possible that he was responsible for the design while an anonymous weaver executed the tapestry.