Lot Essay
This tapestry probably forms part of a large series illustrating the History of Ceasar. Following the success of the Triumph of Scipio series, first woven in Brussels between 1532 and 1535 after cartoons by Giulio Romano and commissioned by François I of France, the Bruges tapestry manufactories produced this series. Records indicate that there are certainly six versions of this series. A total of 15 tapestries from one set of this series were recorded at the court of France in 1673. The inventory drawn up for Louis XIV records:
Une tenture de tapisserie de laine et soye, fabrique de Bruges, représantant l'Histoire de Jules César, dans une bordure fond jaune remplie de tromphées d'armes, deux Anges dans les coins du hault, et une arme particulière dans le milieu; contenant 44 aunes de cours, sur 3 aunes 1/4 de hault, en quinze pièces doublées par bandes
The exact date of execution or the designer of the series are unknown. The figures and arrangement of the architecture indicate that the group was probably taken from a series of engravings.
A tapestry of the same subject, but lacking the right half of the main field, formerly in the succession of Dr. R. H. Sayre and sold in New York in 1932, is illustrated in G. Dumarcel and E. Duverger, Bruges et la Tapisserie, Burges, 1987, p. 228, cat. 13/17-1, and was consequently sold anonymously in these Rooms, 19 May 1994, lot 352. A further tapestry illustrating figures with elephants and bulls, probably from the same series, and formerly in the Bellini Collection, Florence, is illustrated in D. Boccara, Les Belles Heures de la Tapisserie, Milan, 1971, p. 78.
Une tenture de tapisserie de laine et soye, fabrique de Bruges, représantant l'Histoire de Jules César, dans une bordure fond jaune remplie de tromphées d'armes, deux Anges dans les coins du hault, et une arme particulière dans le milieu; contenant 44 aunes de cours, sur 3 aunes 1/4 de hault, en quinze pièces doublées par bandes
The exact date of execution or the designer of the series are unknown. The figures and arrangement of the architecture indicate that the group was probably taken from a series of engravings.
A tapestry of the same subject, but lacking the right half of the main field, formerly in the succession of Dr. R. H. Sayre and sold in New York in 1932, is illustrated in G. Dumarcel and E. Duverger, Bruges et la Tapisserie, Burges, 1987, p. 228, cat. 13/17-1, and was consequently sold anonymously in these Rooms, 19 May 1994, lot 352. A further tapestry illustrating figures with elephants and bulls, probably from the same series, and formerly in the Bellini Collection, Florence, is illustrated in D. Boccara, Les Belles Heures de la Tapisserie, Milan, 1971, p. 78.