<P> Starting at the end of the 14th century, no doubt on account of the devastation caused mid-century by the Black Death, there was a general shift towards less expensive techniques . Many things which would have earlier been completely forbidden by the guilds were now commonplace (using low quality wool, carding, etc .). In the silk industry, the use of water - powered mills grew, and by the 15th century, the loom designed by Jean le Calabrais saw nearly universal use . </P> <P> Italian silk cloth was very expensive, as much a result of the cost of the raw material as of the production costs . The craftsmen in Italy proved unable to keep up with the exigencies of French fashion, which continuously demanded lighter and less expensive materials . These materials were used for clothing, and garment production began to be done locally . Nevertheless, Italian silk long remained among the most prized, mostly for furnishings and the brilliant colours of the dyes . </P> <P> Following the example of the wealthy Italian city - states of the era, such as Venice, Florence, and Lucca, which had become the center of the luxury - textile industry, Lyon obtained a similar function in the French market . In 1466, King Louis XI decided to develop a national silk industry in Lyon . In the face of protests by the Lyonnais, he conceded and moved the silk fabrication to Tours, but the industry in Tours stayed relatively marginal . His main objective was to reduce France's trade deficit with the Italian states, which caused France to lose 400,000 to 500,000 golden écus a year . It was under Francis I in around 1535 that a royal charter was granted to two merchants, Étienne Turquet and Barthélemy Naris, to develop a silk trade in Lyon . In 1540, the king granted a monopoly on silk production to the city of Lyon . Starting in the 16th century, Lyon became the capital of the European silk trade, notably producing many reputable fashions . Gaining confidence, the silks produced in the city began to abandon the original oriental styles in favor of their own distinctive style, which emphasized landscapes . Thousand of workers, the canuts, devoted themselves to the flourishing industry . In the middle of the 17th century, over 14,000 looms were used in Lyon, and the silk industry fed a third of the city's population . </P> <P> In the 18th and 19th centuries, Provence experienced a boom in sericulture that would last until the first world war, with much of the silk shipped north to Lyon . Viens and La Bastide - des - Jourdans are two of the communes of Luberon that profited the most from mulberry plantations that have since disappeared . However, silk centers still operate today. Working at home under the domestic system, silk spinning and silk treatment employed many people and increased the income of the working class . </P>

Where did the first painting of silk saree begin