The study room is the place to learn more about the 150 chintzes acquired in 2016 by the Swiss National Museum from the internationally renowned collection of antique textile expert Xavier Petitcol.

An interactive multimedia resource allows visitors to examine each of the cloths in detail. This innovative tool highlights the particular features of chintzes, explores the output of various factories, and identifies the different printing techniques. A viewing station offers access to the Swiss National Museum’s online collection.

Another important aspect of the Petitcol collection is the large number of cloths bearing a manufacturer’s mark: some 20 of the 150 acquired. Following the lifting of the prohibition in France in 1759, manufacturers were obliged to add a mark at each end of a piece of fabric indicating the company name and place of printing. The presence of a manufacturer’s mark is often the only way that a motif can be attributed with certainty to a specific factory.

The manufacturer’s marks on the cloths acquired from Xavier Petitcol highlight the presence of many Swiss citizens in France, in Lyon (the Picot-Fazys from Geneva), Nantes (the Favre Petitpierres and Gorgerats from Neuchâtel), Normandy (Abraham Frey from Geneva) and Beautiran near Bordeaux (Jean-Pierre Meillier from Neuchâtel).

Finally, the museum selected cloths whose iconography is related to Switzerland. Some attest to the popularity of figures such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Jacques Necker. Others reflect the Europe-wide vogue for Switzerland, its landscapes and myths. They include cloths inspired by the engravings of the Schweizer Kleinmeister depicting, for example, the story of William Tell.