Floral Motifs on Early Chintz
Latania loddigesii - Latan Palm
Latania verschaffeltii, a close relative of Latania loddigesii (Latan Palm) from Charles Antoine Lemaire, L'Illustration horticole, vol. 6, pl. 229, 1859
Latania loddigesii (Latan Palm) public domain photo by Wicki, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Latania loddigesii (Latan Palm) from the Victoria and Albert Museum, Furnishing Fabric Paul et Virginie, 1802
Common Names: Latan Palm, Blue Latan Palm, Latania Palm
Description: Latania loddigesii (Latan Palm) is a member of the Palm Family (Arecaceae). The Hortus Kewensis does not mention it but Latania loddigesii native to Mauritius, one of the Mascarene Islands in the western Indian Ocean.
This is a tentative identification based on the fact that is endemic (only grows) on Mauritius and is thus known only from the site where the story of Paul and Virginie is set. Jean-Baptiste Huet, the Oberkampf factory designer of this example textile, sometimes used species of trees to indicate the specific geographic setting of the images illustrated. As another example of Huet's use of trees to indicate setting see the Sausage Tree page where the tree is used to indicate locations in Africa and the Indian Ocean.
Quilts with this Latania loddigesii (Latan Palm) motif:
Toile with this Latania loddigesii (Latan Palm) motif:
Description: Latania loddigesii (Latan Palm) is a member of the Palm Family (Arecaceae). The Hortus Kewensis does not mention it but Latania loddigesii native to Mauritius, one of the Mascarene Islands in the western Indian Ocean.
This is a tentative identification based on the fact that is endemic (only grows) on Mauritius and is thus known only from the site where the story of Paul and Virginie is set. Jean-Baptiste Huet, the Oberkampf factory designer of this example textile, sometimes used species of trees to indicate the specific geographic setting of the images illustrated. As another example of Huet's use of trees to indicate setting see the Sausage Tree page where the tree is used to indicate locations in Africa and the Indian Ocean.
Quilts with this Latania loddigesii (Latan Palm) motif:
- None known at this time
Toile with this Latania loddigesii (Latan Palm) motif:
- Victoria and Albert Museum, Furnishing Fabric Paul et Virginie, Object Number T.27-1967, 1802 (made)
- Musée de la Toile de Jouy, curtain of roller print on cotton Paul et Virginie, Inv. 982.22a, c. 1802
- Philadelphia Museum of Art, Paul and Virginie, Object Number 1937-11-77a, 1802
© Updated 2/9/2025 Author: Terry Terrell