Lot Essay
This particular cushion depicts Samson and the Lion and has the same general composition as that of a cushion frontal in the Burrell Collection in the Glasgow Museums and Art Galleries (C. Adelson, European Tapestry in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 1994, p. 370, fig. 156), while another was sold anonymously at Christie's London, 8 July 1976, lot 112. The differences are basically limited to the bird at the top and bottom of the border that are replaced by further flowers and the inner field on which the angels are depicted, which include rabbits and differing vegetation. A tapestry with the same composition and very similar borders from the Mayorcas Collection, was sold at Christie's London, 12 February 1999, lot 364.