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Lot Essay
This splendid set of four tapestries forms a rare surviving ensemble of Brussels garden or pergola tapestries of the early 17th century. Conceived to cover all the walls of a room, garden tapestries of this type were heavily influenced by the celebrated series designed in the 1540s by Pieter Coecke van Aelst, The Story of Vertumnus and Pomona. The subject of these tapestries incorporating architecture, sculpture and an abundance of flora and foliage derives from the innovative and inventive designs for Coecke van Aelst's series though interestingly the present set also incorporates pastoral landscapes and scenes in the background. Tapestries of this type were woven well into the 17th century and the highly detailed and lavish floral vases depicted in the tapestries reflect the growing fascination with flowers and the flourishing art of floral still life nascent in the low countries in this period.
Nearly all the surviving pergola tapestry sets such as these are in royal collections. Examples include three sets in the Spanish Royal collection (P. Junquera de Vega and C. Diaz Gallegos, Catalogo de Tapices del Patrimonio Nacional, Madrid, 1986, vol. II, cats. 66 - 68, pp. 198 - 242), a set at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh (M. Swain, Tapestries and Textiles at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, London, 1988, cats. 3a-e, pp. 17 - 19) and another set at Skokloster Castle, Sweden (J. Böttiger, Tapisseries à Figures, Stockholm, 1928, cats. 58 - 63, vol. I, pp. 68 - 71 and vol. II, figs. 54 - 59).
PLACE OF MANUFACTURE
With its Brussels city mark and unidentified weaver's mark, this set of tapestries is rare as with the exception of the Holyrood House set, the aforementioned sets do not bear marks. The set in the Royal Collection, identified as being produced in the Antwerp workshop of Jacob Wauters (d. 1660) who was active between 1619 and 1651, had been regarded as a Mortlake manufacture. The artistic influence of the Low Countries in England in the 17th century was indeed significant and Mortlake had produced variations on this design, for not only do several sets appear in the sale of the King's goods during the Commonwealth but a further two, which are thought to have belonged to Sir Paul Pindar (d. 1650), are at Westminster Abbey.
WEAVER
It is believed that mainly Brussels and Antwerp were weaving these tapestries, while the variety of borders, ranging from scrolling foliage, to element and column borders, indicate that a multitude of weavers were using similar cartoons for the main scenes. The main scenes vary in regard to the architectural setting and the treatment of the fore and backgrounds.
The signature to the blue outer guard borders of the offered set remains unidentified, but the same signature appears on a tapestry at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (inv. no. 92.1.12) and on a tapestry The Story of Cyrus at Kronborg Castle in Denmark. The Met suggests various readings of the signature with possible initials suggested as 'WS', 'SWF', 'NSC', and 'ISAC'. Possible Brussels weavers with these initials could be Willem Segers and Niclaes de Canter.
Nearly all the surviving pergola tapestry sets such as these are in royal collections. Examples include three sets in the Spanish Royal collection (P. Junquera de Vega and C. Diaz Gallegos, Catalogo de Tapices del Patrimonio Nacional, Madrid, 1986, vol. II, cats. 66 - 68, pp. 198 - 242), a set at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh (M. Swain, Tapestries and Textiles at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, London, 1988, cats. 3a-e, pp. 17 - 19) and another set at Skokloster Castle, Sweden (J. Böttiger, Tapisseries à Figures, Stockholm, 1928, cats. 58 - 63, vol. I, pp. 68 - 71 and vol. II, figs. 54 - 59).
PLACE OF MANUFACTURE
With its Brussels city mark and unidentified weaver's mark, this set of tapestries is rare as with the exception of the Holyrood House set, the aforementioned sets do not bear marks. The set in the Royal Collection, identified as being produced in the Antwerp workshop of Jacob Wauters (d. 1660) who was active between 1619 and 1651, had been regarded as a Mortlake manufacture. The artistic influence of the Low Countries in England in the 17th century was indeed significant and Mortlake had produced variations on this design, for not only do several sets appear in the sale of the King's goods during the Commonwealth but a further two, which are thought to have belonged to Sir Paul Pindar (d. 1650), are at Westminster Abbey.
WEAVER
It is believed that mainly Brussels and Antwerp were weaving these tapestries, while the variety of borders, ranging from scrolling foliage, to element and column borders, indicate that a multitude of weavers were using similar cartoons for the main scenes. The main scenes vary in regard to the architectural setting and the treatment of the fore and backgrounds.
The signature to the blue outer guard borders of the offered set remains unidentified, but the same signature appears on a tapestry at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (inv. no. 92.1.12) and on a tapestry The Story of Cyrus at Kronborg Castle in Denmark. The Met suggests various readings of the signature with possible initials suggested as 'WS', 'SWF', 'NSC', and 'ISAC'. Possible Brussels weavers with these initials could be Willem Segers and Niclaes de Canter.