MID-17TH CENTURY

Details

A BRUSSELS MYTHOLOGICAL TAPESTRY
Mid-17th Century
Woven in wools and silks, depicting the birth of the Virgin Mary with Anna in the clouds, above a fire and an altar and flanked by a king and queen and an attendent, with a sodier camp in the top right corner and various soldiers returning from a hunt in the top left corner, the foreground with various ceremonial vessels, the borders decorated with floral cartouches, grotesk masks and shells, flanked by scrolling strapwork and foliage with a blue outer slip, the Brussels town mark possibly associated, minor reweaving in particular to pale and dark brown threads, the lower border entirely rewoven
11 ft. 11 in. (364 cm.) high; 12 ft. 9 in. (390 cm.) wide

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Iphigenia was the daughter of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and general in the Greek forces against Troy. Unfavourable winds initially prevented the forces from sailing, so Agamemnon consulted the seer Calchas. He predicted that because Agamemnon had killed a stag sacred to Diana, he would have to sacrifice his own daughter to redeem himself. Iphigenia accepted her fate and was brought to the altar. When the flames were lit, Diana rescued Iphigenia and substituted her with a stag, carrying Iphigenia away to be her priestess. The winds changed and the Greek were able to sail.

More from Important Tapestries, European Furniture, Sculpture

View All