This lot has no reserve. Tax exempt.

These lots may be exempt from sales tax, as set forth in the Sales Tax notice at the back of this catalogue.

A SOHO CHINOISERIE TAPESTRY

LATE 17TH/EARLY 18TH CENTURY, PROBABLY BY JOHN VANDERBANC

Details

A SOHO CHINOISERIE TAPESTRY
Late 17th/Early 18th Century, probably by John Vanderbanc
The brown background with scattered scenes of Chinoiserie figures engaged in leisurely pursuits, including a tea-drinking scene and an emporer being presented with fruit, within a foliate twisting border and a blue guard border, extensive losses to the background and with areas of reweaving, the right border later, vertical restored cut to the right side, almost certainly reduced in height at the bottom
80in. (203cm.) high, 129in. (327.5cm.) wide

Special notice

This lot has no reserve. Tax exempt.

Lot Essay

Chinoiserie scenes of this type, with a whimsical use of scattered 'Chinese' figures and plants, are generally attributed to the John Vanderbanc (d. 1717) Soho workshop in Great Queen Street, London. They were woven between the 1690's and 1717 when Vanderbanc headed the workshop. The tapestries incorporate Turkish, Indian, but also European figures that were inspired by Oriental lacquer screens and are usually on a dark brown and rarely yellow ground. The first mention of these tapestries is in the 1690s when Vanderbanc supplied Kensington Palace with a set of nine tapestries 'after the Indian Manner'. Aside from Vanderbanc rare versions are also known by Joshua Morris and by the largely unrecorded weaver Michael Mazarind.

The skilled designer of these subjects was well aware of Oriental lacquer screens as he employed the same reduction of the sizes of figures towards the top. He also managed to combine figures from various cultures to form a unified 'Chinese' appearance. There were about forty differing small scenes that could be combined in any way and that could be adjusted to any size. This indifference to the subject and great adaptability appears to have greatly contributed to the success of the series.

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