{"product_id":"antique-french-red-check-monogrammed-torchon-dish-towel","title":"Antique French Red Check Monogrammed Torchon Dish Towel","description":"\u003ch4\u003eAge \/ Period:\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEarly 20th century, circa 1920s\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eMeasurements:\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eApproximately 22.5” x 28.5”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAntique linen or linen-cotton textile with red woven check and hand-embroidered monogram\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eProvenance:\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the personal collection of Dr. June K. Laval, author of \u003cem\u003eAntique French Textiles for Designers\u003c\/em\u003e, a reference work covering French textiles including tapestries, cottons, linens, laces, embroidery, needlepoint, trims, and passementerie.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eDescription:\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn antique French torchon, or dish towel, with a warm cream ground, red woven check, and hand-embroidered R + G monogram. The cloth has a generous working size, neatly finished hems, and a softly textured surface that reflects age, use, laundering, and folding over time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe red check is especially good here: not a standard stripe, but a more graphic woven grid with both narrow and wider bands of red thread. The monogram gives the piece a personal domestic mark, while the warm linen tone keeps it from feeling too bright or decorative. It has the quiet usefulness of old French household cloth, but enough pattern and presence to hold its own within a collected home.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eCondition:\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGood antique textile condition with age and wear throughout. The fabric shows creasing, fold lines, softened areas, small irregularities, light discoloration, minor marks, and gentle wear consistent with antique household linen. Some loose or exposed red threads may be visible along the edges. No hanging loop noted. Sold individually.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eHistorical or Decorative Notes:\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTorchons were practical French household linens, used in the kitchen and at the table for drying, handling, covering, and serving. In French homes, household linens were not only useful; they were also part of domestic identity, often marked with embroidered initials and kept as part of a family’s linen cupboard or trousseau.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDr. Laval notes in \u003cem\u003eAntique French Textiles for Designers\u003c\/em\u003e that small household linens became especially widespread from the late nineteenth century into the twentieth century, appearing as dish towels, tea napkins, table runners, dresser scarves, guest towels, and other useful domestic textiles. This piece fits that tradition: ordinary in function, but made with care, proportion, and a personal monogram.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eUse \u0026amp; Styling:\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUse folded beside ironstone, silver, copper, or French pottery, layered under a plate stack, placed beneath a small serving piece, or tucked into a china cabinet. It also works beautifully over a basket edge, on a breakfast table, or folded with other red and cream textiles. Pair with dark wood, lighter linen torchons, polished surfaces, toile, ticking, creamware, or any collected French country or American pieces.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rue \u0026 Relique","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47233878917291,"sku":"TEX-005","price":55.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0757\/9172\/8811\/files\/antique-french-red-check-monogrammed-torchon-dish-towel.jpg?v=1781532703","url":"https:\/\/rueandrelique.com\/products\/antique-french-red-check-monogrammed-torchon-dish-towel","provider":"Rue \u0026 Relique","version":"1.0","type":"link"}