AFTER A DESIGN BY CHARLES POERSON, BY GERARD PEEMANS, LATE 17TH CENTURY

Details

A BRUSSELS HISTORICAL TAPESTRY
AFTER A DESIGN BY CHARLES POERSON, BY GERARD PEEMANS, LATE 17TH CENTURY
Woven in silver-thread, silk and wool, depicting The Levying of Gold from The Story of Titus and Vespasian, with soldiers pillaging, within a wooded landscape, with pitched tents before a fortress, the borders with scrolling flowers and foliage and with quiver and horn to the sides, with later green outer slip, bearing partially original Brussels town-mark and largely rewoven signature 'G. PEEMANS', limited areas of re-weaving
11 ft. 11 in. (363 cm.) high, 16 ft. 6 in. (503 cm.) wide

Provenance

The Collection of the Margraves and Grand Dukes of Baden, Schloss Karlsruhe, sold Sotheby's, House Sale, 5 - 21 October 1995, lot 1002. Anonymous sale, Christie's, New York, 30 October 1996, lot 326.

Lot Essay

This particular panel depicts Titus intervening on behalf of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. During the siege of the city in 70 AD its inhabitants surrendered to the occupying forces of the Romans and Syrians and handed over their gold treasures to ensure their survival. The soldiers, however, set out to massacre the civilians instead of taking them prisoners. When Titus was informed, he intervened and threatened to have the attacking soldiers killed. The facts presented in this tapestry series do, however, not appear to reflect history, which paints a much more desperate end for the city.

COMPARABLE EXAMPLES
A tapestry of identical design was in the famed collection of Prince Anatole Demidoff, Palazzo San Donato, Florence and sold 15 March 1880, lot 1526. Another version is at the Hermitage, Saint Petersburg and one at the Art Institute in Chicago.

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