Le Geographe Hermès carré was designed by Sandra Laroche and first issued in 1992. A stunning design, rich in both detail and storytelling it was issued on an luxurious anker and kangaroo silk jacquard, which further enhances the carre’s central theme.
The Le Geographe Hermès carré pays homage to the French ship of the same name that set sail in 1800 on a scientific expedition to Australia under Nicolas Baudin during Napoleon’s rule.
Baudin was joined by a number of prominent scientists, two of whom are depicted in the scarf’s corners: French naturalist and artist Charles Alexandre Lesueur and zoologist François Péron.
The two men are credited to have gathered close to 100,000 zoological specimens, making them the most comprehensive Australian natural history collection to date.
The British navigator Matthew Flinders is depicted in the upper right corner of the carre. Flinders was a navigator and cartographer and on a similar mission as Baudin. Flinders was the first to inshore circumnavigate and be the first to refer to the continent by its current name, Australia.
In a remarkable twist of fate, on April 8th, 1802, while sailing east, Flinders sighted the Géographe, the French corvette commanded by Baudin. Despite believing that their countries were at war, which a year later they were, the two men of science met at Encounter Bay, named by Flinders himself, and exchanged their discoveries in a spirit of collaboration.
The Le Géographe Hermès carré is a poignant reminder of the expedition’s immense contributions to science and geography, immortalizing their journey on a canvas of silk.
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