Aubusson Automobiles de Dion Bouton

Aubusson tapestry by Frédéric Danton for Automobiles De Dion-Bouton. Frédéric Danton was born in Aubusson, France, and worked as a designer of exclusive tapestries at the Aubusson factory, where he later became director. During the reign of Louis XIV, Aubusson was the official tapestry manufacturer to the King of France. Danton had many talents and interests, and around 1900 he established a small ceramics workshop in the village of Got-Barbat. He was also interested in public affairs and became vice-president of the Creuse Chamber of Commerce. Designing and flying aircraft was another of his passions. Albert, Marquis de Dion, was a French industrialist and co-founder of the De Dion-Bouton automobile company, winner of the Paris–Rouen race in 1894, and co-founder of the Automobile Club of France in 1895. The Marquis was clearly impressed by master weaver Danton, whose family had been producing tapestries for centuries, and commissioned him to create six tapestries for the showrooms of De Dion-Bouton branches in major French cities. Here we see one of these low-warp tapestries, composed of tens of thousands of hand-dyed wool and silk threads masterfully woven into a unified whole.