Gobelin was the name of a family of
dyers, who in all probability came originally from
Reims
Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne.
Founded by ...
, France, and who in the middle of the 15th century established themselves in the Faubourg Saint Marcel,
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, on the banks of the
Bièvre.
The first head of the firm was named Jehan Gobelin (d. 1476). He discovered a peculiar kind of scarlet dyestuff, and he expended so much money on his establishment that it was named by the common people ''la folie Gobelin''. To the dye-works there was added in the 16th century a manufactory of
tapestry
Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...
.
[
The family's wealth increased so rapidly that in the third or fourth generation some of them forsook their trade and purchased titles of nobility. More than one of their number held offices of state, among others Balthasar, who became successively treasurer general of artillery, treasurer extraordinary of war, councillor secretary of the king, chancellor of the exchequer, councillor of state and president of the chamber of accounts, and who in 1601 received from Henry IV the lands and lordship of ]Brie-Comte-Robert
Brie-Comte-Robert () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.
Brie-Comte-Robert is on the edge of the plain of Brie and was formerly the capital of the ''Brie française''.
"Brie" com ...
. He died in 1603. The name of the Gobelins as dyers cannot be found later than the end of the 17th century.[
In 1662, the works in the Faubourg Saint Marcel, with the adjoining grounds, were purchased by ]Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...
on behalf of Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
and transformed into a general upholstery manufactory, the Gobelins Manufactory.[
In various languages 'gobelin' is synonymous for 'tapestry'.
]
See also
* Gobelins Manufactory
References
{{Reflist
External links
Gobelins Database Marketplace
The Gobelin and Handicraft Art Association
French families
French tapestry artists