BOUTIS is a French Provençal word meaning "stuffing", describing how two layers of fabric are quilted together with stuffing sandwiched between sections of the design, creating raised effect. The term Provençal quilting , also known as Boutis ,refers to the whole cloth quilts done using a stuffing technique traditionally made in the South of France from the 17th Century onwards. The three main forms of the provençal quilt are Matelassage, piqûre de Marseilles and Boutis. These terms are often debated and confused, but they are all forms of stuffed associated with the region. One of the earliest surviving examples of Trapunto quilting is the 1360-1400 Tristan Quilt ,a Sicilian quilted textile surviving as two fragments, representing scenes from the story of Tristan and Isolde. ( one fragment is in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the other fragment in the Bargello in Florence.) This magnificent Provençal Boutis dates back to approx; 1875 and has been in my own collection for the past 40 years. I have never used it as such and only part of other textiles in a large Normandy Armoire and purely as decoration. It is in exceptional good condition. Contrary to other Provençal quilts which often have two different coloured textiles for front and reverse, this one has identical fabrics both sides. I have always thought and believed that the fabric is wool as it is very soft to the touch. The colours are still as vibrant as when it was first made. PLEASE NOTE; The warm colours red , grey green etc. in the Provençal Boutis are identical as taken by my I-Pad. However the colours of the Boutis in the third photo where the Boutis is draped over the bed are not the original colours. The I-Pad has also accepted the shades of the Kelim rug which has caused "too warm shades". .