A SCANDINAVIAN BIBLICAL TAPESTRY PANEL

17TH CENTURY

细节

A SCANDINAVIAN BIBLICAL TAPESTRY PANEL
17th Century
Woven in wools and silks, depicting Tobias and the Angel, Tobias standing with his staff and a pelt over his shoulder, flanked by a sheep and to the left by an angel, within a wooded landscape and a border of scrolls and foliate sprays, within a blue outer slip, areas of reweaving and patching, mounted on board
21 in. x 22 in. (55 cm. x 56 cm.)

拍品专文

The story of Tobias and the Archangel Raphael is probably based on elements from Assyrian and persian folklore but is told in the Apocrypha of the Old Testament. Tobias' father Tobit, a devout blind Jew, was dying and sent his son to Media to collect some money owed to him. Tobias found a travelling companion in archangel Raphael, whom he took as an ordinary mortal. Tobias' dog followed them. When they got to the river Tigris, a large fish attacked Tobias but Raphael instructed Tobias to catch it and gut it. He kept the offal and after Tobias' successful return, the gall of the fish restored the father's sight. When Tobit attempted to reward the angel, he revealed his true identity and father and son fell upon their faces before him.