AUBUSSON, THIRD QUARTER 18TH CENTURY, AFTER JEAN-JOSEPH DUMONS FROM A SKETCH BY FRANCOIS BOUCHER

This tapestry forms part of a series of nine tapestries, eight entrefenêtres, three overdoors and almost 50 furniture upholstery panels, of this subject that are inspired by the Tenture Chinoise compositions painted by François Boucher (1703 - 1770) for the Royal Beauvais Tapestry manufactory between 1743 and 1775. Jean-Joseph Dumons (1687 - 1779) adapted these for the Aubusson factory on the marchand-fabricant Jean-François Picon's instructions prior to 1754. The King appointed Dumons to the service at Aubusson in 1731 and he was entirely devoted to the designing and preparing of cartoons for tapestries. He supplied a total of 20 series for Aubusson before he ceased to work for them in 1755. Boucher consequently hired him for Beauvais for whom he had already occasionally worked while at Aubusson. (D. and P. Chevalier and P.-F. Bertrand, Les Tapisseries d'Aubusson et de Felletin, Lausanne, 1988, pp. 108 - 114).

Tapestries of identical subject were sold from the Springfield Museum, Christie's, New York, 17/18 May 2005, lot 364, anonymously, Millon & Associés, Paris, 27 November 1998, lot 235, and anonymously, Ader, Tajan, Paris, 9 November 1991, lot 77.