This drawing is part of the archival collection of the Parisian Indienne designer Victor Boudet.
The collection includes around 2800 designs for the fabric printing industry. We know very little about this collection and its owner Victor Boudet. However, two addresses feature on the stamps found on the drawings: 157 Rue Montmartre and 20 Passages des Petites Écuries, both in Paris.
This designer undoubtedly undertook custom work for Indienne manufacturers, creating bespoke preparatory designs that were then printed on cotton.
A lot of the patterns he designed were intended to be printed on shawls and neckerchiefs, which were essential women’s accessories during the nineteenth century. Normandy and Alsace produced large quantities of shawl patterns, some of which included the traditional patterns of cashmere shawls.
This collection of drawings was entirely inventoried and photographed by volunteers from the Association of Friends of Departmental Museums in 2012.