This vibrant textile originates from France, produced in 1883, and serves as a scholarly example of the technical ingenuity found in high-Victorian industrial printing. Measuring 30 inches by 18 inches (76 cm x 46 cm), the piece is an original roller-printed cotton sample from the esteemed Scheurer company in Mulhouse, Alsace. Although the original archival label is missing, the sample's provenance is confirmed by its acquisition from a prestigious Parisian auction of Scheurer archives. Because it was protected from environmental degradation within a sample book for over a century, the pigments remain as vivid as the day they were printed, though the piece features one original selvedge and three cut edges from its removal for archival sale.

The visual narrative is a densely packed, symmetrical arrangement of large-scale botanical motifs set against a saturated madder-red field. The design is a sophisticated "trompe l'oeil" that mimics the appearance of a complex hand-woven brocade or damask. The primary florals, rendered in shades of steel blue and crisp white, feature fine diagonal hatching and internal line-work that replicate the texture of woven silk threads. These central blooms are surrounded by smaller, secondary floral sprays in soft pink, creating a layered, multidimensional effect. This technical mastery reflects the Scheurer company’s ability to use roller printing to democratize the look of expensive, heavy-weight woven fabrics for the late 19th-century international market.

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