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Lot Essay
This tapestry is extremely closely related to a set of tapestries, one in The Minneapolis Institute of Arts and three in the Musée des Arts Doratifs in Paris (C. Adelson, European Tapestry in The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 1994, cat. 8, pp. 92 - 104) that are attributed to Tournai and dated to between 1528 and 1540. They depict The Ship of Virtues and The World Hangs in the Balance, The World Hangs by a Thread and Thwarting the Triumph of Vanity, respectively and illustrate Virtues slowly prevailing over the evils of the world.
The World Hangs in the Balance in particular has a very similar arrangement of figures as the offered lot; the foreground with a man and a woman seated at a table gambling and behind them various further figures on a receding plane. The main field is equally barren of trees or buildings, while the horizon is also accentuated by a large building. The very foreground is planted with similar flowers that grow to cover parts of the dresses. Interestingly even the format is very similar. The above-mentioned tapestries are, however, framed by columns to each side and have scrolls inscribed with verses above the scenes. The unifying element of all these tapestries is further the inclusion of a globe in all of the scenes and that all characters are identified with inscriptions. Unfortunately these last details are lacking in this tapestry.
It is, however, clear that the offered lot is designed in the same spirit and may even have been conceived by the same artist or composed in the same workshop. It can therefore be assumed that the date and origin of this tapestry is the same as that of the above tapestries. We do, however, suggest a less precise attribution of the offered lot because the attribution to Tournai of that series is no further elaborated on by the author and more recent literature has suggested a firm attribution of undocumented works to be nearly very difficult as many weaving centres produced extremely similar tapestries.
Heinrich Göbel had erroneously interpreted the subject of these tapestries to criticise gaming and the associated evils strengthened by cheating and lying in 1924 (Wandteppiche, Leipzig, 1924, part I, vol. I, pp. 127 and 128). The offered lot on the other hand does indeed appear to deal with that subject.
The World Hangs in the Balance in particular has a very similar arrangement of figures as the offered lot; the foreground with a man and a woman seated at a table gambling and behind them various further figures on a receding plane. The main field is equally barren of trees or buildings, while the horizon is also accentuated by a large building. The very foreground is planted with similar flowers that grow to cover parts of the dresses. Interestingly even the format is very similar. The above-mentioned tapestries are, however, framed by columns to each side and have scrolls inscribed with verses above the scenes. The unifying element of all these tapestries is further the inclusion of a globe in all of the scenes and that all characters are identified with inscriptions. Unfortunately these last details are lacking in this tapestry.
It is, however, clear that the offered lot is designed in the same spirit and may even have been conceived by the same artist or composed in the same workshop. It can therefore be assumed that the date and origin of this tapestry is the same as that of the above tapestries. We do, however, suggest a less precise attribution of the offered lot because the attribution to Tournai of that series is no further elaborated on by the author and more recent literature has suggested a firm attribution of undocumented works to be nearly very difficult as many weaving centres produced extremely similar tapestries.
Heinrich Göbel had erroneously interpreted the subject of these tapestries to criticise gaming and the associated evils strengthened by cheating and lying in 1924 (Wandteppiche, Leipzig, 1924, part I, vol. I, pp. 127 and 128). The offered lot on the other hand does indeed appear to deal with that subject.