I first met Daniel and
Josiane Fruman through the Paris photographer Alain Rousseau. He had
told me about this fascinating couple and their amazing collection
of ancient embroideries, which they had been collecting for more than
thirty years. Because I cover and report upon Haute Couture, where
incredible embroidery is a fact of life, I was interested to meet the
Frumans and to possibly see their pieces.
The Frumans’ two hundred pieces of embroidered liturgical ornaments
and devotional panels from the XVth to the XXth century collected by
are known and recognized by many textile curators of major museums over
the world. Here is what the Frumans say about their collection: “The
collection comprises a large variety of items which can be differentiated
by the materials employed (silk, wool, gold and silver threads, glass
beads, paillettes, etc.), by the techniques (or nué (shaded
gold), raised, couched and applied work, etc.), by their function (chasubles,
dalmatics, antependia, chalice veils, altarpieces, etc.), by their iconography
and by their artistic accomplishment. Some pieces of the collection are
truly exceptional ; among them we can mention two altar frontal ornaments
embroidered in the Escorial workshop during the last quarter of the XVI
century, a late XVI century dalmatic from the Monastery of Monte Casino,
a hood depicting the Resurrection of Christ from the set of king Fernando
VI embroidered by Antonio Gomez de los Rios between 1743 and 1756 for
the Chapel of the Royal Palace in Madrid, an altar frontal that was probably
displayed during the inauguration of the Mafra Abbey near Lisbon on October
22nd 1730, and a rare raised work embroidery representing Mary Madeleine
in front of her grotto.”
Some pieces of the collection have been presented in exhibits such
as French Textiles in the Hartford Atheneum, Connecticut, USA, Fils
de foi-chemins de soie at the Château de Chambord, France, Livres
en Broderie at the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Paris, and Jouer
la Lumière at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs,
Paris.
The collection is today at the core of a project for the creation of
an International Center for Artistic Embroidery in the medieval city
of Mirepoix, in the southwest of France. Mirepoix is situated at the
foot of the Pyrenees, 80 km from Toulouse, 50 km from Carcassonne and
only 30 km from Montsegur, the mythic place of the Cathare history. The
city develops around a medieval place surrounded by covered galleries
(couverts), a gothic cathedral and an Episcopal Palace built
by Philippe de Levis in the sixteenth century. The palace, once restored,
can accommodate enough museum space to house the collection and to develop
around it a certain number of activities, among them workshops, meetings
and congresses, permanent and temporary exhibitions, continuum education
on design, conservation, restoration and analysis of embroideries, cultural
events, conferences and visits of other textile centres, and children
activities.
An association aimed at gaining the support of the population of Mirepoix
and the Ariège Department and at finding for individuals or companies
willing to sponsor the project has been created.
Maison des Pyrénées, 15, rue Saint-Augustin, 75002 Paris 01.42.86.51.86 or mairie@mirepoix.fr
