THE PROPERTY OF A LADY (Lots 247-250)
A TOURNAI BETROTHAL TAPESTRY

EARLY 16TH CENTURY

Details
A TOURNAI BETROTHAL TAPESTRY
Early 16th Century
Woven in wools and silks, depicting to the left of a foliate decorated and panelled stepped column a prince seated on a canopied throne holding a staff and surrounded by courtly figures among which three crowned maidens, one of which is being presented a cup by a youth, with a dog to the foreground, to the right of the dividing column with the prince and the maiden seated on the canopied throne and surrounded by courtiers including a maiden holding a framed portrait painting, the foreground with a dog, on a foliate and floral ground, within a foliate and floral border and yellow outer slip, minor areas of reweaving and patching, cut vertically through the middle, previously with part turned over, now loosely stiched together on a backing
105 in. x circa 151½ in. (267 cm. x circa 385 cm.)

Lot Essay

Tournai succeeded Arras in the middle of the 15th Century as the centre of tapestry weaving, supported by the extensive commissions received from Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy (d. 1467). The town's ateliers increased to 240 by the second half of the 15th Century, double the number of the previous fifty years. The early tapestries were often designed and inspired by such artists as Robert Campin (d. 1444), Jacques Daret (fl. early 15th Century) and Roger van der Weyden (d. 1464).

By the early 16th Century, betrothal tapestries were a frequent subject. A related tapestry of circa 1510 depicts the marriage of Oedipus, with Oedipus seated beside his mother wife, with two maidens holding a portrait of his father, the former King of Thebes, between them (D. Boccara, Les Belles Heures de la Tapisserie, Milan, 1971, p. 41). A further tapestry of the same period in the collection of the Bayerische Hypotheken- und Wechsel-Bank, in the Bavarian National Museum, Munich, appears to be from the same workshop as this tapestry (L. Seelig, Gothic and Early Renaissance Tapestries, 'Connaisseur', September 1976, p. 28). The main field is divided into two scenes by a column which is nearly identical to the one in the centre of this tapestry. The story depicted is believed to be that of Esther, who was a young Jewess who interceded with the King of Persia to prevent the massacre of her people. On the left a young maiden is shown surrounded by numerous courtiers, some of whom bear gifts, on the right she is shown before a King being greeted. Interestingly the foreground is occupied by a sleeping dog, identical to the dog in this tapestry. It is possible that the two tapestries formed part of the same series, although the differences in the borders make this unlikely. The similarities indicate that they are almost certainly designed by the same person.

A related tapestry with a courtly couple seated on a throne and surrounded by numerous courtiers, from the Edward James Collection, West Dean Park, West Sussex, was offered Christie's house sale, 2, 3 and 6 June 1986, lot 2034.

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