SOHO, LATE 17TH EARLY 18TH CENTURY, POSSIBLY BY JOHN VANDERBANK, IN THE MANNER OF FRANCIS CLEYN, POSSIBLY MORTLAKE

Details

AN ENGLISH MYTHOLOGICAL OR 'PLAYING BOY' TAPESTRY EMBLEMATIC OF AUTUMN
SOHO, LATE 17TH EARLY 18TH CENTURY, POSSIBLY BY JOHN VANDERBANK, IN THE MANNER OF FRANCIS CLEYN, POSSIBLY MORTLAKE
Woven in wools and silks, depicting a Bacchic scene from the series Playing Boys, with children climbing a tree while others are dancing and lying on the ground, flanked by a gilt-metal ewer spilling wine, in an extensive background with foliage and flowers and a formal garden to the eight-hand side, within a beige bead-and-reel border and a brown outer slip, areas of reweaving and patching, especially to the right-hand side background, the tapestry hung on a gilt-metal pole with ormolu scrolled foliate ends
6 ft. 8 in. x 6 ft. 3 in. (203 cm. x 190 cm.)

Provenance

With the Williams-Wynn family.
Christie's, London, 23 November 1989, lot 181 (as part of a set of four).

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The scene, inspired by 16th century engraving of Giulio Romano's embellishment of the Palazzo del Té, was adopted by tapestry weavers at Brussels, as well as by Francis Cleyn of the Mortlake Works in the 17th century.
A complete set of this series, including a panel of this subject, is recorded at Cotehele, Cornwall. One panel had the name of John Vanderbank (d. 1717), the most important director of the Great Wardrobe, resewn from a cut-off selvedge and it also appears to have the bead-and-reel border (H.C. Marillier, English Tapestries of the Eighteenth Century, London, 1930, p. 25).

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