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拍品專文
The label to the reverse of this tapestry refers to the marriage of King Jakob IV [sic] of Scotland (1472-1513) and Margaret Tudor (1489-1541), sister of Henry VIII, in 1503. Henry VII, Margaret's father, only gave a scanty dowry for the occasion and thus ruined the possibility for an improved relationship between England and Scotland. James died fighting the English in 1513, while Margaret married Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, a partisan of England, in 1514. She soon became estranged and obtained an annulment in 1527. She finally married Henry Stewart, later Lord Methven, a year later. It is probable that this tapestry was indeed commissioned for this marriage, particularly since the column behind the couple seems to bear a band of Tudor roses below a carving representing the patron saint of England, St. George, slaying the dragon.
This last symbol is, however, also a medieval imagery for the victory of Christianity. The figure of Jacob could therefore also be in reference to the Old Testament Hebrew patriarch, who is seen as the prefiguration of Christ by the Church. The tapestry might depict his marriage to Rachel, Laban's daughter. Rachel came to water Laban's sheep at a well which was covered by a large stone. Jacob, her cousin whom she met there, removed the stone from the mouth of the well and she watered the sheep. Then 'he kissed Rachel, and was moved to tears'. Jacob became Laban's herdsman for seven years in return for Rachel, whom he wished to marry. When the seven years were up, Laban secretly substituted Leah, his 'rheumy eyed' daughter, for Rachel at the wedding ceremony and demanded another seven years labour from Jacob to obtain Rachel's hand. Jacob worked a further seven years for Laban and finally also married Rachel, before setting out to Palestine.
The costume, the figures and the architecture relate to the tapestry series depicting The Life of Mestra, woven in Brussels in the first quarter of the 16th Century (one, depicting the Marriage, in N. Birjukowa, Bildteppiche in der Ermitage, Prague, 1965, figs. 49-60, and two, depicting The Marriage and The Plea of Mestra, in Tapisseries bruxelloises de la pré-Renaissance, exhibition catalogue, Ghent, 1976, pp. 122-130, figs. 29-30). Like in those tapestries, the figures are dressed in the court style of Margaret of Austria, Regent of the Netherlands. The richness of the decoration and the beauty of the figures reflect her court and the life that gravitated around it. The design of the Mestra tapestries is attributed to Jan van Roome who is recorded as having received payment for it in 1513 and who is also known to have worked for Margaret of Austria. A Brussels weaver named Lyoen received payment for the execution of the tapestry series at the same time.
A tapestry of similar date depicting a king seated on a throne and surrounded by courtiers, including a similar figure wearing a fur-lined robe, was sold anonymously at Christie's New York, 13 January 1993, lot 241, while a further tapestry depicting a betrothal narrative in two scenes, was sold anonymously in these Rooms, 26 November 1996, lot 250.
This last symbol is, however, also a medieval imagery for the victory of Christianity. The figure of Jacob could therefore also be in reference to the Old Testament Hebrew patriarch, who is seen as the prefiguration of Christ by the Church. The tapestry might depict his marriage to Rachel, Laban's daughter. Rachel came to water Laban's sheep at a well which was covered by a large stone. Jacob, her cousin whom she met there, removed the stone from the mouth of the well and she watered the sheep. Then 'he kissed Rachel, and was moved to tears'. Jacob became Laban's herdsman for seven years in return for Rachel, whom he wished to marry. When the seven years were up, Laban secretly substituted Leah, his 'rheumy eyed' daughter, for Rachel at the wedding ceremony and demanded another seven years labour from Jacob to obtain Rachel's hand. Jacob worked a further seven years for Laban and finally also married Rachel, before setting out to Palestine.
The costume, the figures and the architecture relate to the tapestry series depicting The Life of Mestra, woven in Brussels in the first quarter of the 16th Century (one, depicting the Marriage, in N. Birjukowa, Bildteppiche in der Ermitage, Prague, 1965, figs. 49-60, and two, depicting The Marriage and The Plea of Mestra, in Tapisseries bruxelloises de la pré-Renaissance, exhibition catalogue, Ghent, 1976, pp. 122-130, figs. 29-30). Like in those tapestries, the figures are dressed in the court style of Margaret of Austria, Regent of the Netherlands. The richness of the decoration and the beauty of the figures reflect her court and the life that gravitated around it. The design of the Mestra tapestries is attributed to Jan van Roome who is recorded as having received payment for it in 1513 and who is also known to have worked for Margaret of Austria. A Brussels weaver named Lyoen received payment for the execution of the tapestry series at the same time.
A tapestry of similar date depicting a king seated on a throne and surrounded by courtiers, including a similar figure wearing a fur-lined robe, was sold anonymously at Christie's New York, 13 January 1993, lot 241, while a further tapestry depicting a betrothal narrative in two scenes, was sold anonymously in these Rooms, 26 November 1996, lot 250.