Le Géographe - Hermès Scarf

This scarf was bought because of its beauty and because it was a jacquard scarf.  It turned out to be even lovelier in person.  The shades of creamy white are warm.  There is so much detail.  But in trying to learn about the scarf it was clear that there is a wealth of information to discover.  Why are there kangaroos?  anchors?  Australia?  on a Geography scarf?  and will there be more geography scarves?

Another question is why Le Géographe - a masculine article ???

I thought Géographie is feminine. (and it is)

Turns out, Le Géographe means geographer.

So the ship is named "The Geographer".  

Le Géographe was originally a 20-gun ship (Serpente-class corvette) of the French Navy.

On 19 October 1800, under captain Nicolas Baudin, she left Le Havre with another ship, the Naturaliste for an exploration of Australia. 

This provides a rear view of the ship.

There were 22 scientists, scholars, painters, and designers, and gardeners, on the voyage, including three who, along with Baudin, are shown in the corners of the scarf.

 Here is Nicholas Baudin, Captain of the ship, "Le Géographe"

François Péron

Péron was a naturalist who helped gather 100000 specimens of 2500 species.

He also wrote the first volume of Voyage de Découvertes aux Terres Australes … sur les Corvettes le Géographe, le Naturaliste et la Goélette le Casuarina, pendant les Années 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 et 1804 (Paris, 1807-16). http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/peron-francois-2545  He only got as far as page 230 of volume two when his health declined and he was unable to continue.

Matthew Flinders

Flinders was a navigator and cartographer who led the second circumnavigation of New Holland.  He also confirmed that Tasmania was an island.  Britain and France were at war at that time, and as he tried to repair his ship in Isle de France (Mauritania), the governor declined to allow safe passage and imprisoned him for 6 years.  That gave him time to write up his discoveries, including his proposal to name the continent Australia.

 Charles Alexander Lesueur

Lesueur was a French naturalist and artist.  Along with Péron, he gathered many thousands of specimens and has sketched the only know King Island emu in its natural habitat before the bird became extinct in 1822.  Both Mount Lesueur and Lesueur National Park in Western Australia are named in his honor.  Under his portrait are sprigs of ?

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The scarf is a jacquard silk with kangaroos and anchors woven into the texture of the scarf.  Because the technique of making the fabric is expensive, the jacquard scarves are rarely faked.

So this is not the beginning of a geography series. The scarf is named after the ship, not the subject.  The themes are Australia and exploration so that explains the kangaroos and anchors.  It's a stunning Hermès scarf.

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To answer some of R's questions:
"I can see the sextant paired with the captain and the compass for the navigator and the palette for the artist, but I don't get the semi-circle (can't think of the actual name of the thing, (It's a compass, too.) but it's used to measuring angles in geometry) and the sort of triangular thing (it also has a name that is escaping me) I think it's a "sector:"  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sector_(instrument) for the naturalist. I wonder if he was a Mason?"  
I don't know if Péron was a Mason, but he did study medicine (hence the caduceus).  I think those tools are used for measuring and mapmaking.  He was a serious researcher, for example taking temperature measurements of the ocean at various depths every six hours.
"It was also interesting that under each medallion were different symbols: sword and scabbard for the captain (did he have a military commission?); Flinders also had sword and scabbard and was wearing a military uniform. While the swords and scabbards are the same, the "vegetation" below the other two portraits are different. One looks like blueberries to me, but I don't recognize the other one - laurel, perhaps?"
I think they all were in the army or navy.

D pointed out (per Wikipedia):

"The name Australia derives from Latin australis meaning southern, and dates back to 2nd century legends of an "unknown southern land" (that is terra australis incognita). The explorer Matthew Flinders named the land Terra Australis, which was later abbreviated to the current form."

It's definitely an interesting scarf!

Is It Real? Is It Damaged? Have I met Napoleon's Waterloo?

The third Hermès scarf I bought was another splurge, and you can imagine my dismay when it arrived and before I unfolded it, I saw this:

Is that a huge grease spot?

Is there any chance a dry cleaner can get it out?

This is really ruined.

Then I saw this:

It looks like grease was seriously splattered.

That is a mess.

The scarf, entitled "Napoleon" by LeDoux for Hermès, even used, is expensive.

And a seriously damaged scarf is not what I paid for!  I immediately contacted the seller to report that the scarf was not as described and that I would need to return it.  Even though their listing had said, "No Returns," they agreed to accept it back when I told them it was damaged.  By then, the stress and disappointment was getting to me, and I decided to set it aside until the next day.  

Good thing I waited and used the time to research the scarf more.  The blog at Carre de Paris, is very informative.  After I looked at several pictures it was clear that I had made a serious mistake. 

This scarf depicts uniforms and flags of soldiers in Napoleon's army.

What looked like grease was the filth of battle.  

The designer is brilliant!

We immediately contacted the seller to advise him of my error.

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The scarf has wonderful details.

In addition to the copyright (left) and designer, LeDoux, (right),

under Napoleon's hat is "HERMÈS - PARIS".

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.

 This image is based on

Napoleon at Ratisbonne 
by Pierre Gautherot (1769-1825).
Medics are checking the bruise on his foot from a small projectile.
The injury was not serious (and is actually to his left leg - not the right as pictured).

Notice the hand rolled hems.  On Hermès scarves, the hems are rolled toward the "good" side.

This image is based on

Napoleon at The Battle at Wagram, 
by Émile Jean-Horace Vernet.

This is the center of the top, with the scarf title, "Napoléon".

The scarf is a jacquard with bees.  They are easiest to see in the green border.

We decided to get scarves with the jacquard fabric, because the fabric is expensive to duplicate, with the result that jacquard prints are rarely fakes.

 Sometimes you can find source material.
This painting is the source of the top left corner.

Bonaparte franchissant le Grand Saint-Bernard, (Crossing the Alps) 20 Mai 1800, 
by Jacques Louis David.

Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul, Reviewing his Troops after the battle of Marengo, 
by Jean-Antoine Gros.



We got curious about the regimental flag shown behind the uniforms.
Found this one

The left side says:  Valeur et Discipline # Escadron
The right side says:  L'Empereur Des Français au 4me Regiment de Cuirassiers

We can research this scarf forever. . .

Looks like this will be a lot of fun to have!

Now I have to check out all those youtube videos on scarf tying!

https://www.facebook.com/Hermes.Scarf.Guides

is a great source of information.

Hermès Scarf Splurge

Alas, none of these pics are mine, 

but are posted by the sellers.

I guess I've been dreaming for a while of a Hermès Silk Scarf.

As you probably have noticed, I am a bit frugal, so I decided to look on eBay.
Some of the more "reasonable" ones are in Asia, and with the current health situation, I was concerned about importing from there, so I limited my search to the US.
But according to my research, there are lots of fakes, not just in Asia, since people all over the world buy from other places.

It would be nice not to get ripped off!  One of the more difficult patterns to fake are the ones printed on Jacquard silk.  (We also call that "damask".  I love a white damask tablecloth.  The fabric is pure white, but the design is woven into the fabric.)  Because of the weave, it would be difficult to duplicate cheaply.  So I have limited my search to the Jacquard fabrics.

Here is the corner of one that I found.  It's called
“L’instruction du Roy en L’exercice de Monter a Cheval”

This photo is taken by the seller.  Can you see the rearing mounted horses in the fabric?

(Upside down on the nearest layer shown.)

The title translates to "Instructing the King on Riding a Horse".

It is based on a book of horsemanship written in 1620.

https://www.smashwords.com/extreader/read/346449/2/linstruction-du-roy-en-lexercice-de-monter-a-cheval-part-i

This scarf would date to 1993.

There will be no photos of the above scarf.  I got outbid.

Well, the item I bid on, "Cliquetis", has not been shipped yet, as far as I know, and I'm getting impatient.

D has been looking, too, and we agree that the "Luna Park" scarf is stunning.

So we found another scarf:

It measures 90cm on a side (35 inches). 

This also dates to 1993.

Looking forward to seeing it in person.  I hope it drapes as well as this photo (by the seller) implies.

It's harder to see the damask design in these photos.

You are looking for a fireworks starburst.

I have blown up a portion of a picture, and that may help.

Or maybe not.

Do you see a starburst between the flagpole and the green ribbon?

Looks like I'll be on tenterhooks for a while.

I'll add to this when they arrive.

2/6/2020

The first scarf arrived.  It is lovely.  (photo by seller)

The rest of the pics are by me.

The color is a vibrant red-orange.

It drapes beautifully.

 Good thing I am no longer teaching middle schoolers!

There are lots of tutorials on youtube to study tying!

Today we got 8 inches of snow, so we were stuck inside.

It was fun playing with my scarf!

The seller offered a nice price for this scarf:

I hope it is as stunning in person as it is on the computer!  The title is "Napoléon".  The damask figure is the bee.  It was designed by Philippe Ledoux for Hermès in 1963 (and reissued in 1963, 1985, 1989/90, 1997, 2002/03). I do not know how to date this one.

To see the other Hermès scarves I have blogged, click here.