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Lot Essay
HISTORY OF THE SET
Several other sets of The Story of Ulysses and Circe exist, such as that illustrated in G. Delmarcel and I. van Tichelen, 'Mobiele fresco's van het Noorden', exhibition catalogue, Antwerp, 1994, pp. 61 - 66. Most of these sets appear to have been woven between 1682 and 1703 in Antwerp and were largely acquired by English clients. The series can be attributed to the figure-painter Peter Ykens (d. 1695) and the landscape painter Pieter Spierinckx (d. 1711) on the basis of 17th century documents. The weavers associated with this series are Jeremias Cockx and Cornelis de Wael, who appear to have woven this subject, consisting of ten panels, at least twenty times between 1682 and 1688 (G. Delmarcel, Flemish Tapestry, Tielt, 1999, p. 263). Interestingly, tapestries to this design exist with differing borders, some of which bear the Brussels town mark, such as the set of three from the collection of Vernon-Wentworth, Wentworth Castle, Barnsley, Yorkshire, sold Christie's, London, 20 - 21 November 1919, lot 98. It is rare that tapestries of identical designs are proven having been woven in different weaving centers. This indicates that the designs almost certainly belonged to a tapestry merchant such as the Naulaerts or the Fourchoudt families.
A tapestry of identical subject but more narrow and forming part of a set of five tapestries of this series was sold anonymously, Christie's, New York, 30 April 1986, lot 227.
(N. Forti-Grazzini, Il Patrimonio artistico del Quirinale, gli Arazzi, Rome, 1994, vol. II, pp. 352 - 354).
Several other sets of The Story of Ulysses and Circe exist, such as that illustrated in G. Delmarcel and I. van Tichelen, 'Mobiele fresco's van het Noorden', exhibition catalogue, Antwerp, 1994, pp. 61 - 66. Most of these sets appear to have been woven between 1682 and 1703 in Antwerp and were largely acquired by English clients. The series can be attributed to the figure-painter Peter Ykens (d. 1695) and the landscape painter Pieter Spierinckx (d. 1711) on the basis of 17th century documents. The weavers associated with this series are Jeremias Cockx and Cornelis de Wael, who appear to have woven this subject, consisting of ten panels, at least twenty times between 1682 and 1688 (G. Delmarcel, Flemish Tapestry, Tielt, 1999, p. 263). Interestingly, tapestries to this design exist with differing borders, some of which bear the Brussels town mark, such as the set of three from the collection of Vernon-Wentworth, Wentworth Castle, Barnsley, Yorkshire, sold Christie's, London, 20 - 21 November 1919, lot 98. It is rare that tapestries of identical designs are proven having been woven in different weaving centers. This indicates that the designs almost certainly belonged to a tapestry merchant such as the Naulaerts or the Fourchoudt families.
A tapestry of identical subject but more narrow and forming part of a set of five tapestries of this series was sold anonymously, Christie's, New York, 30 April 1986, lot 227.
(N. Forti-Grazzini, Il Patrimonio artistico del Quirinale, gli Arazzi, Rome, 1994, vol. II, pp. 352 - 354).