Babar the Elephant

This is a pelmet from a curtain decorated with scenes of 'Barbar the Elephant' - a children's storybook character developed by the French author and illustrator Jean de Brunhoff. The 1930s textile features Barbar in a number of different scenes; dining with a lady, getting married to a female elephant, walking in the jungle, having his picture taken and giving younger elephants a ride. The colours are mainly green, grey, pink, red and white, on a beige ground.