Have you ever noticed that many fabric and wallcovering lines feature the same names for some of their prints? Take, for example, the name Pillement, which appears in a number of collections. Named for the 18th-century artist, Jean-Baptiste Pillement, the Pillement prints of Brunschwig & Fils (see above), Waterhouse Wallhangings, Scalamandre, and Quadrille are all Chinoiserie in style, which refers to the artist Pillement's then-popular (and still popular) Chinoiserie engravings. Although each Pillement print is unique, they are all quite charming.
Exotic locales, flowers, historical houses, and historical figures all seem to be popular choices for print names. The Rhododendron of Carleton V and that of Scalamandre closely resemble both each other and their floral namesake, while Schumacher and Brunschwig's Samarkand also bear striking similarities to one another, with both presumably being named for the Uzbek city that inspired the fabrics' exotic Central Asian patterns. On the other hand, there are the not-so-similar Calypsos. The Manuel Canovas version is a fish print, while that of Pierre Frey is a jacquard. I'm assuming that both fabrics were named for the Greek mythological sea nymph, Calypso, so the Canovas fabric's fish and the Frey fabric's blue tones probably allude to Calypso's ocean habitat. At least, that's my guess.
Once I got started with comparing the names of prints between the many different lines, I realized that it was an endeavor that could go on for days. I finally called it quits after two hours. Below is just a sampling of what I came up with.
How fun! I have several Asian wallpapers similar to the Pillement collection as my PC background and screensaver.
ReplyDeletesimilar but different + I have used the calypso by canavos for a client in a powder room. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com
ReplyDeleteIt's likely that I'll like anything named Pillement. The one by Scalamandre is lovely, and I love it in the green, too. The name duplication is very interesting and I would think could be somewhat confusing.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous eye candy for a dreary Monday.
ReplyDeleteI think Bennison's Pondischerry would have fit right in there too! Now it would be fun to think about how much the name of a fabric influences the buyer, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteI think Bennison's Pondischerry would have fit right in there too! Now it would be fun to think about how much the name of a fabric influences the buyer, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteLoving the Malabar by Colefax and Fowler.. just blogged about spotted wall coverings!
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