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Lot Essay
Made to adorn a Benedictine altar this rare antependium is closely related to an example in the MAK Museum in Vienna depicting Virgin and Saints. The example in Vienna is dated 1502 and attributed to the workshops of Swabia. Both tapestries are closely related in design and in coloring and are likely to have been woven in the same workshop as was suggested in the Arts Club of Chicago catalogue of 1926. The charm and naïveté of this tapestry is typical of German production. The colors, although bearing the traces of time are still remarkably vivid.
The tapestry was acquired by Isaac T. Starr (1867-1930) who ran his family's brokerage firm Starr & Co. with offices in Philadelphia.
Perhaps it is the delicate flora that appealed to Isaac T. Starr when he bought the tapestry for his residence, Laverock Hill, renowned for its outstanding garden. Indeed, the property was remodeled by Charles A. Platt and Ellen Shipman, the celebrated architect and landscape designer, and the gardens were featured in Portraits of the Philadelphia Gardens in 1929.
The tapestry was acquired by Isaac T. Starr (1867-1930) who ran his family's brokerage firm Starr & Co. with offices in Philadelphia.
Perhaps it is the delicate flora that appealed to Isaac T. Starr when he bought the tapestry for his residence, Laverock Hill, renowned for its outstanding garden. Indeed, the property was remodeled by Charles A. Platt and Ellen Shipman, the celebrated architect and landscape designer, and the gardens were featured in Portraits of the Philadelphia Gardens in 1929.