Royal Goblin Manufactory

It was created in April 1601 at the instigation of Henri IV, at the instigation of his trade advisor Barthélemy de Laffemas, in order to free the kingdom from the significant expenses which were due to the import of foreign tapestries and to avoid the out of this money from the kingdom.

In 1667, the Manufacture des Gobelins was transformed into a “Royal Manufacture of Crown Furniture” under the leadership of Colbert, who had become Controller General of Finance two years earlier. Entrusted to the painter Charles Lebrun, it is part of the development of state patronage. Its objective is twofold. On the one hand, it is about producing furniture, engravings, silverware and tapestries for royal residences and for export, thus responding to the principles of Colbertism. On the other hand, it must fuel the consolidation of the monarchical figure. Indeed, the decade corresponds to the beginning of the personal reign of Louis XIV, inaugurated in 1661, and to the fixing of a repertoire of symbols, references, such as the sun and Apollo from 1662.