Cotton masquerading as fine silk

The reign of Napoleon III (1852-1870) - called the Second Empire - was characterized by a period of rapid economic growth in France that created a prosperous middle class. Many of these newly-affluent middle class people now wanted to own larger homes and to create interiors that would be like the luxurious rooms in the very wealthiest houses.
The printed-textile manufacturers were quick to respond to the demand by creating cotton print motifs that looked like expensive silks, but were less expensive and could be produced quickly. These cotton fabric manufacturers strove to elevate the quality of the floral and botanical prints by hiring artists and Parisian-trained designers to create the motifs.
First below are two examples of cotton prints designed to look like the elegant striped silks. Notice the faux moiré background on the red stripe with cherubs.

The next two pictures show medium-heavy cotton prints that were intended to look like heavy silk jacquard furnishing fabric. Indeed, when hung as drapes, these fabric have the aura of sumptuous silks.

The last cotton print would have been less expensive to produce since it used only one color and was printed on a lighter-weight cotton. The striated background was designed to look like a taffeta.  This kind of pretty print would likely have been used in a boudoir or a child's bedroom.

A very curious French toile

I bought this unusual antique French toile from a dealer in the south central region of France a few years ago. The piece was a large quilted panel that would have hung at the head of of a bed. I first was drawn to it because of the very rarely-seen rose and yellow polychrome print. This toile is from the Alsace region, mid-19th century, and was likely designed by George Zipelius.
As I looked at the scenic motifs, I was quite amazed to realize that the story depicted French soldiers raiding a farm and stealing the farmer's goods!
Below, the first two pictures show the overall pattern and motifs.  The bottom part of the first picture shows the brightness of the original colors. This bright part was near the bottom of the panel and had probably been protected from the sunlight, perhaps behind the bed.

The next four pictures are close-ups of the scenes that tell the story. The first scene shows a soldier taking wheat from the farmer's wife; the second shows a soldier wrangling a pig by grabbing its tail while his cohort helps him pull. The third scene shows one soldier enticing a chicken out of the coop while the other is preparing to whack it with a stick! 

The last scene is a little difficult to interpret, but it looks like the farmer and his wife are building a masonry wall for protection, while consoling their depressed daughter. The people who lived in mid-19th century France had suffered years of war and of military confiscations, but I find it curious that they would want to hang a reminder on their wall.