Fashion Beyond Versailles: Consumption and Design in Seventeenth-Century France by Donna J. Bohanan (review)

précurseurs des notions contemporaines d’inter-pénétrabilité culturelle. Espérons que ce livre, érudit et facile à lire, essentiel pour enseigner cette littérature, fera rééditer des romans difficiles à trouver. Davidson College (NC) Catherine Slawy-Sutton Society and Culture edited by Frederick Toner BOHANAN, DONNA J. Fashion Beyond Versailles: Consumption and Design in SeventeenthCentury France. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 2012. ISBN 978-0-8071-4521-0. Pp. 154. $40. This study looks at objects from the perspective of how they reflect the social evolution of the nobles and elites of Dauphiné, a province located on the outer edge of the seat of power at Versailles and the growing center of commerce in Paris. While researching the local politics, Bohanan came across inventories of household goods owned by wealthy Dauphinois, who were required to submit these legally-mandated lists upon the death of the head-of-household for the purpose of determining the amount of a tax, the taille, owed to the French crown. These inventories, prepared by official notaries between 1668 and 1719, are among the documents kept in Grenoble in the Archives départementales. Over time, the objects in the inventories suggest the desire for upper mobility and distinction, as the elites engaged in furnishing their households with items that went beyond the basic necessities. In chapter 1, “Le Pays, Nobles, Taste, Fashion, and Politics,” Bohanan describes the context in which consumerism was becoming a motivating force. She enriches her discussion by incorporating studies written by other scholars who have researched the indicators of social status in the latter part of the seventeenth century and the early decades of the eighteenth century. The second chapter, “Le Luxe, Splendor, and Luxury,” opens with the question, “How exactly did material culture define elite society at the frontier of France?” (30). The author gives examples of acquired luxury goods and their provenance, such as Turkish rugs and Persian carpets. Some of the notaries described furnishings in detail. Especially interesting are the fancy beds, lit en housse, lit à impériale, and lit à duchesse, all three illustrated with black-and-white sketches (43, 45). Tapestries, typical of earlier centuries, were replaced by paintings, often of a secular subject, such as a stilllife of flowers or the portrait of a distinguished ancestor. Chapter 3, “Régularité, Color Schemes, and Matched Sets,” presents interior design elements that are quite modern in the sense of an effort to create an overall effect. The inventory of the Franquières family lists “eighteen chair covers in crimson damask” and “a twenty-piece set of bed hangings in crimson with gold and silver trim” (68). Bohanan points out that coordinated color schemes and unity of style were evidence of wealth and taste. The fourth chapter, “Commodité, Comforts, Convenience, and Innovation in Furniture and Lighting,” focuses on the practical side of furnishings, especially comfortable chairs. One example is the fauteuil de commodité à crémaillère, which was constructed with a movable device that lowered the back to a reclining position. The sofa was a relative late-comer, not appearing on inventories before the late seventeenth century. “À Table, 1276 FRENCH REVIEW 86.6 Dining, and Sociability,” the fifth and final chapter, is an interesting description of the transition from medieval cooking to the sophisticated menu and dinnerware that are the foundation of modern French cuisine. Drawing on the research of other scholars, Bohanan describes some of the earliest cookbooks and the kitchen utensils in one of the inventories: “stockpots of several sizes, pie or tart dishes, molds for biscuits and pastry” (95) along with several more items for specific uses. The author concludes this chapter by observing that “what these stocks of kitchenware, silver, and linens reveal is that elite families participated in an international culture, based in France, of food snobbery and refined table rituals, all of which was served up in an exclusive and intimate setting” (113). This tradition continues to define France’s reputation for sophisticated, elegant dining. The thirteenpage bibliography offers many interesting studies dealing with French interior design, the concept of luxury, and fine cuisine. This work is a well-researched and fascinating read. Ohio University Lois Vines KEATON, TRICA DANIELLE, T. DENEAN...