SECOND HALF 17TH CENTURY

Details

A FLEMISH MYTHOLOGICAL TAPESTRY
SECOND HALF 17TH CENTURY
Woven in wools and silks, depicting Meleager and Atalanta hunting the Caledonian boar from the Story of Meleager, in a wooded landscape with a castle and formal gardens in the background, within a fruiting foliate border decorated with dogs and hunting trophies and a later pink and blue outer slip, some losses to silk and areas of reweaving, reduced in size with restored vertical cut to lower left side of field
9 ft. 2 in. x 16 ft. 1 in. (280 cm. x 490 cm.)

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

Meleager was the son of the King of Calydon, who had offended the goddess Diana. As punishment she sent a boar to ravage the countryside and Meleager with his companions set out to kill it. They were unsuccessful, however, Atalanta, the virgin huntress, whom Meleager loved, succeeded in wounding it. When the beast was finally killed, he presented her with the head of the boar, which led to his ultimate demise.

Intriguingly the cartoonist or weaver of this tapestry adorned Atalanta, the virgin huntress, with the crescent moon of Diana, who incidentally is also known as the virgin huntress. A tapestry based on the same design, which was offered anonymously at Sotheby's, Monaco, 25 June 1984, lot 3241, depicts Atalanta still as the classical huntress.

More from Fine European Furniture, Sculpture and Tapestries

View All