TAPESTRIES
THEIR
ORIGIN, HISTORY
AND
RENAISSANCE
TAPESTRIES
THEIR
ORIGIN, HISTORY
AND
RENAISSANCE
BY
GEORGE LELAND HUNTER
NEW YORK— JOHN LANE COMPANY
LONDON— JOHN LANE— THE BODLEY HEAD
TORONTO— BELL & COCKBURN
COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY
JOHN LANE COMPANY
/VK
PUBLISHERS PRINTING COMPANY, NEW YORK, U. 8. A.
PREFACE
AMONG those to whom I am especially indebted for
assistance in the preparation of this book are the
Metropolitan Museum, of Art, and its President,
Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan, whose gifts and loans have
done so much to make the Museum the centre of
tapestry interest on this side of the Atlantic.
Mr. William Clifford of the Library of the Metro-
politan Museum, who has assembled there the best
collection of tapestry books in the United States, and
whose advice and suggestions have been invaluable.
The Hon. Robert McCormick, American Ambas-
sador to France, and Mr. Spencer Eddy, Secretary
of the American Legation at St. Petersburg, for
introductions given me on the occasion of my visit
to Europe in 1906.
Mr. Jules Guiffrey, Administrator of the Gobelins.
Many museums and individuals and dealers for
photographs or permission to illustrate. Among
the individuals: Mr. George Blumenthal, the Duke
of Devonshire, Lord Anglesey, Lord Fortescue,
Mrs. A. Von Zedlitz, Mr. Philip Hiss, Mrs. Oscar
Berg, Miss Ada Thurston, Mrs. Nicholas Longworth.
5
6 PREFACE
Among the dealers and makers: Messrs. Morris &
Co., for plates nos. 129, 131, 133, 135, 137, 233;
Gimpel & Wildenstein for colour plate no. I; Wm.
Baumgarten & Co. for nos. 167, 207, 209, 211, 247,
249, 251, 253; the Tiffany Studios for no. 147; W.
Ziesch & Co. for no. 319; the Palmer & Embury
Mfg. Co. for colour plate no. IV; the Herter Looms
for no. 215; P. W. French & Co. for nos. 161, 187,
305,351,361.
With the bibliography of tapestries, as presented
in chapter XV, I have taken great pains, in order to
lighten the labour of those who wish to pursue
further the study of this fascinating subject.
To me personally tapestries are the most interest-
ing and delightful form of art, combining as they
do picture interest with story interest and texture
interest. If to some slight degree I have succeeded
in expressing this interest on the pages of my first
book, so that it shall please even the casual reader,
my labour will not have been in vain.
GEORGE LELAND HUNTER.
NEW YORK, October, 1912.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I PAGE
THE RENAISSANCE OF TAPESTRIES 15
CHAPTER II
GOTHIC TAPESTRIES 33
CHAPTER III
RENAISSANCE TAPESTRIES 77
CHAPTER IV
FLEMISH AND BURGUNDIAN LOOMS. ARRAS, BRUSSELS, TOURNAI,
BRUGES, ENGHIEN, OUDENARDE, MIDDLEBOURG, LILLE, ANTWERP,
DELFT 99
CHAPTER V
ENGLISH LOOMS. MORTLAKE, MERTON, BARCHESTON, WINDSOR 105
CHAPTER VI
THE GOBELINS, BEAUVAIS AND AUBUSSON ..... 153
CHAPTER VII
OTHER LOOMS. AMERICAN, ITALIAN, GERMAN, SPANISH, RUSSIAN,
SWEDISH, NORWEGIAN 206
CHAPTER VIII
THE TEXTURE OF TAPESTRIES. ARRAS TAPESTRIES. GREEK AND
ROMAN TAPESTRIES. HIGH WARP AND Low WARP. THE PROCESS
OF WEAVING 232
CHAPTER IX
DESIGNS AND CARTOONS. PORTRAITS IN TAPESTRIES. COUNTER-
FEIT ARRAS. ANIMALS IN TAPESTRIES. VERDURES . . . 255
7
8 TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER X PAGE
TAPESTRY SIGNATURES AND MAKERS. TAPESTRY CAPTIONS. TAPES-
TRY BORDERS. TAPESTRY SHAPES AND SIZES AND MEASUREMENTS 267
CHAPTER XI
THE BIBLE IN TAPESTRIES ........ 279
CHAPTER XII
HISTORY AND ROMANCE IN TAPESTRIES 295
CHAPTER XIII
TAPESTRY POINT OF VIEW AND PERSPECTIVE. TAPESTRY LIGHT
AND SHADE 311
CHAPTER XIV
THE CARE OF TAPESTRIES. How TO HANG, CLEAN, REPAIR AND
STORE THEM 317
CHAPTER XV
TAPESTRY MUSEUMS, COLLECTIONS, EXPOSITIONS, INVENTORIES,
SALES AND BOOKS 323
CHAPTER XVI
THE TAPESTRIES AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM 368
GENERAL INDEX . 417
INDEX OF BIBLIOGRAPHY 437
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Colour plate no. I Vertumnus and Pomona . . Frontispiece
PAGE
Colour plate no. II A Flemish Garden Party . . . Opposite 32
Colour plate no. Ill The Bridal Chamber of Herse . . Opposite 76
Colour plate no. IV An Aubusson Chair Back . . . Opposite 198
Scenes from the Story of Man, a Gothic Tapestry belonging to Lord
Anglesey ........... 17
Adam Naming the Animals in the Garden of Eden. Italian Renais-
sance Tapestry in the Florence Museum ..... 19
The Bath of Cupid and Psyche. Louis XVI Gobelin, after Renais-
sance Design . . . . . . . . . .23
An Interior Showing Tapestries Properly Used .... 25
A Flemish Banquet Scene. Late Gothic Tapestry in the Musee des
Arts Decoratifs 27
King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Gothic Tapestry in the
Milan Poldi Pezzoli Museum 29
The Wedding Gift of France to the Daughter of the American Presi-
dent, a Modern Gobelin Tapestry ...... 31
Saint Gereon Fragment, in the Lyons Museum .... 35
The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. Gothic XIV Century
Tapestry ........... 37
The Story of the Apocalypse. Gothic XIV Century Tapestry in the
Cathedral of Angers ......... 39
The Burgundian Sacraments. The Oldest Tapestry at the Metropoli-
tan Museum . . . . . . . . . 46, 47
The Lady with the Unicorn. Gothic Tapestry at the Cluny Museum 49
The Giving of the Roses. Gothic Decorative Tapestry . . 53
Sheep Shearing. A Fascinating Gothic Fragment in the Brussels
Museum ........... 55
One of the Four Famous Hardwicke Hall Hunting Tapestries . 57
The Siege of Troy. Gothic Tapestry in the Victoria and Albert
Museum . . . . . . . . . . .59
Roland at Roncevaux. Gothic Tapestry ..... 61
The Story of Saint Remi, in the Church of Saint Remi at Reims . 65
The Story of the Virgin. Gothic- Renaissance Transition Tapestry
at Beaune 69
The Marriage of Cana. Late Gothic Tapestry .... 71
9
10 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Miracles of the Eucharist. Gothic Tapestry, in the Boston Museum
of Fine Arts 73
The Story of Saints Gervais and Protais. Gothic-Renaissance
Transition Tapestry at Le Mans . . . ". . .75
Notre Dame du Sablon, an Early Renaissance Tapestry in the Brussels
Museum 79
Raphael's Acts of the Apostles. The Miraculous Draft of Fish, at
the Vatican 83
Raphael's Acts of the Apostles. Cartoon of the Miraculous Draft of
Fish, at the Victoria and Albert Museum ... . .85
Raphael's Acts of the Apostles. The Cure of the Paralytic in the
Royal Spanish Collection 89
Raphael's Acts of the Apostles. The Conversion of Saul at Hampton
Court, and the Miraculous Draft of Fish at the Beauvais Cathedral 91
Raphael's Acts of the Apostles. Christ's Charge to Saint Peter,
Mortlake Tapestry in the French National Collection . . 93
Interview between Scipio and Hannibal. Renaissance Tapestry in
the Royal Spanish Collection . . . . . . .95
Crossing the Red Sea. Renaissance Tapestry in the Imperial Austrian
Collection 97
Scene from the Book of Kings. Renaissance Tapestry . . 101
Apollo and the Muses. Brussels XVI II Century Tapestry . . 103
Vulcan's Complaint to Jupiter. Mortlake . . . . . 107
Hero and Leander. Mortlake Tapestry in Sweden . . . 121
Two Vulcan and Venus Mortlake Tapestries, one in the French Na-
tional Collection and the other on Loan in the Metropolitan
Museum 123
The Knights of the Round Table, one of the Merton Holy Grail Set 129
The Departure of the Knights, one of the Merton Holy Grail Set . 131
The Failure of Sir Lancelot, one of the Merton Holy Grail Set . 133
The Star of Bethlehem, a Merton Tapestry at Exeter College . 135
The Blindfolding of Truth, a Merton Tapestry, after Byam Shaw . 137
Oriental Scenes, an English Tapestry of the Late XVI I Century . 147
Scene from the Story of Artemisia. Paris XVII Century, after XVI
Century Design 155
Scene from the Story of Gombaut and Mace .... 161
The Air. Gobelin Tapestry after Lebrun 165
Chateau de Chambord, one of the 12 Royal Residences of Louis XIV,
Designed by Lebrun and His Assistants 167
Louis XIV Visiting the Gobelins. Gobelin Tapestry Designed by
Lebrun and Woven under His Directions 169
Diana, a Grotesque Panel after Claude Audran. Louis XIV Gobelin 175
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 11
Vertumnus and Pomona, Small Oval Panel on Damasse Ground.
Gobelin XVIII Century Tapestry after Boucher . . . 181
Two Modern Gobelin Tapestries. The Arms of Bordeaux, and the
First Civil Marriage 183
Beauvais XVIII Century Screen Panel Bearing the Arms of the Holy
Roman Empire 187
A Chinese Return from Fishing. Aubusson XVIII Century Tapes-
try in the Collection of M. Martin Le Roy .... 203
A Late Gothic Hunting Scene, Designed and Woven in America . 207
Winter, an American-made Tapestry Portiere .... 209
An American-made Cantonniere . . . . . . .211
A Late Gothic Verdure with Personages, Designed and Woven in
America 215
March, April, May. Italian Renaissance Tapestry after Bacchiacca
in the Florence Tapestry Museum 219
Night Symbolized by Diana and Her Nymphs. Tapestry Woven by
Fevere (Lefevre) in the Florence Museum .... 221
Russian Tapestry Portraits of Peter the Great and Catherine the
Great 229
Modern Norwegian Tapestry 231
Weaving Arras Tapestries at Merton 233
Model Loom. The Loom and the Tools 247
The Weavers at Work 249
Weaving the Lisses. Threading the Lisses ..... 251
The Dye Materials and the Dyeing Room . . . . . 253
Saint Luke Painting the Virgin. Tapestry in the Louvre, after Van
Der Weyden 257
The Nativity of the Virgin. Gothic- Renaissance Transition Tapes-
try at Reims 261
The Audience Given by Louis XIV, at Fontainebleau, to the Pope's
Ambassador 263
Children Playing. Enghien Verdure 265
The Triumph of the Virgin, a Gothic Tapestry given to the Louvre
by Baron Davillier 269
Cleopatra, Brussels XVII Century. Scene from Tasso's Jerusalem
Liberated, Italian XVIII Century 277
The Creation. Late Gothic Tapestry Sold with the Collection of the
Duke of Berwick and Alba in 1877 281
The Story of David. Gothic Tapestry at the Cluny Museum . 283
Part of a Story of David Tapestry, at the Cluny Museum . . 285
The Story of Tobias. Two Tapestries, one Delft XVII Century;
the other Gobelin XVIII Century 287
12 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
The Perfections of the Virgin. One of the Gothic-Renaissance Set
at the Cathedral of Reims, Picturing the Story of the Virgin . 289
Joshua Helped Across the Jordan by Jehovah. Renaissance Tapes-
try in the Imperial Austrian Collection 291
The Adoration of the Magi and the Adoration of the Shepherds . 293
The Story of Clovis, at Reims ....... 299
Two Scenes from the Story of Achilles. Brussels XVI I Century . 303
Dido Showing ALneas the Plans of Carthage .... 305
The Flaying of Marsyas by Apollo. Renaissance Tapestry in the
Royal Spanish Collection . . • . . . . . . 307
The Capture of Francis I. Renaissance Tapestry in the Naples
Museum . . . ... . . . . . 309
Joan of Arc Entering Chinon. German Gothic Tapestry . . 313
A Panel from the Boscoreale Frescoes 315
Tapestry Before and After Repairing ...... 319
Susannah and the Elders. In the Victoria and Albert Museum . 325
Gothic Concert with Mille Fleur Ground. A Masterpiece of Tapes-
try Weaving and Design 327
The King's Return, an Early German Tapestry .... 329
Two XVII Century Tapestries: one made in Paris, the other in
Brussels 331
Animals Fighting, a Gobelin Tapestry that Spent 150 Years in
China 333
The Four Elements and Time. Brussels XVII Century Tapestry in
Sweden .' . . . . . . . . . .335
A Game of Backgammon. Brussels XVII Century Tapestry after
Teniers 337
Calvary. A Renaissance Tapestry after Van Orley, Recently Sold
at Public Sale in Paris for $66,000 . . , . . . .339
The Baptism of Christ and the Descent from the Cross. Two Early
Renaissance Tapestries ........ 341
The Story of Telemachus. Brussels XVII Century Tapestry . 343
The Wood Cutters. A Fascinating Gothic Tapestry in the Musee
des Arts Decoratifs 345
The Story of Judith and Holophernes. Gothic Tapestry . . 347
Crossing the Red Sea. Gothic Tapestry in the Boston Museum of
Fine Arts 349
The Triumph of David, an Early Renaissance Tapestry in the
Ffoulke Collection 351
Italian Renaissance Grotesque Tapestry in the Florence Tapestry
Museum , 353
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 13
PAGE
Fete of Henri II and Catherine. Renaissance Tapestry in the Flor-
ence Tapestry Museum 355
Latona, and the Peasants Transformed into Frogs. Louis XIV
Gobelin Tapestry after Mignard ...... 357
The Triumph of Gluttony. An Early Renaissance Tapestry . 359
One of Teniers' Peasant Scenes. "At the Red Cross Inn" . . 361
The Angel Delivers St. Peter. Gothic Tapestry in the Cluny
Museum 363
The Triumph of Fame. Late Gothic Tapestry .... 365
Fructus Belli, the Capture of a City. Renaissance Tapestry in the
Imperial Austrian Collection ....... 367
The Priceless Mazarin Triumph of Christ. A Late Gothic Triptych
Tapestry Lent to the Metropolitan Museum by Mr. Morgan . 369
The Triumph of Christ. Late Gothic Tapestry in the Brussels
Museum 370
The Story of Charlemagne, a Gothic Tapestry in a New York Private
Collection 371
The Triumph of the Virgin, a Gothic Tapestry in the Royal Spanish
Collection 372
The Departure of John the Baptist. Gothic- Renaissance Transition
Tapestry Attributed to Van Eyck, in the Royal Spanish Collec-
tion 373
The Triumph of Cupid. Late Gothic Tapestry in the Imperial
Austrian Collection ......... 375
The Capture of Calais. Renaissance Tapestry in the Royal Spanish
Collection 377
One of the Arabesque Months. Louis XIV Gobelin after XVI Cen-
tury Design 379
The Family of Darius at Alexander's Feet. Late Renaissance Tapes-
try in the Royal Spanish Collection 381
Autumn, Brussels Late XVII Century Tapestry .... 383
Diana Attending a Wounded Huntress, an XVIII Century Flemish
Tapestry 385
Children Gathering Grapes. Renaissance Tapestry in the Royal
Spanish Collection ......... 387
The Story of Hercules. Gothic Tapestry ..... 389
The Months January and March, two Gobelin Tapestries after XVI
Century Designs, the first now in Sweden in a Private Collection,
the second in the French National Collection .... 391
Saint Paul Before Agrippa and Berenice. Renaissance Tapestry in
the Royal Spanish Collection 393
The Triumph of Time, and the Triumph of Cupid . . . 395
14 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Hercules Kills the Dragon that Guards the Hesperides. Renaissance
Tapestry in the Imperial Austrian Collection .... 399
The Roman Colosseum in Action. Late Renaissance Tapestry at
the Metropolitan Museum . . . . . . 401
The Story of Esther. Gothic Tapestry 403
The Rape of the Sabines. Renaissance Tapestry in the Royal
Spanish Collection . . 405
The Capture of Jerusalem, Gothic. The Capture of a City, Renais-
sance . • . . . 410
Part of the Capture of Jerusalem. Gothic Tapestry, at the Metro-
politan Museum 411
Two Scenes from the Life of Christ. Late German Renaissance . 415
CHAPTER I
THE RENAISSANCE OF TAPESTRIES
Prices of Tapestries. Gothic, Renaissance, X VII and X VIII
Century Tapestries
THE renaissance of tapestries is an accomplished
fact. After being neglected for over a hundred
years, they are again held in highest esteem. Again
the art world has become sufficiently intelligent to
appreciate their surpassing virtues.
The XIX century was pre-eminent mechanically,
commercially, scientifically, and politically, but not
artistically. It not only failed to produce, it often
failed even to preserve.
Rare and splendid Gothic works of art like the
Hunting Tapestries at Hardwicke Hall in England
were cut up into draperies; or into bed-spreads and
floor rugs, like the wonderful series of the Apocalypse
at the cathedral of Angers in France, which for a
time was even used in the greenhouse of the Abbey
of Saint Serge to protect the orange trees from the
cold.
The vandalism began during the French Revolu-
tion. On November 30, 1793, a number of tapestries
that bore feudal or anti-revolutionary emblems .were
burned at the foot of the Tree of Liberty. Less
15
16 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
guilty ones were sold for a song. Others were
forced upon creditors in settlement of State debts.
A striking example of this and one of particular
interest to Americans is cited by Abbe Pihan in his
little volume entitled "Beauvais." He says:
"The United States possesses some very fine
Beauvais tapestries. This is how: The Committee
of Safety in 1793 imported some American wheat,
and when the time came to pay proffered assignats.
Naturally enough, the Yankees objected. But there
wasn't any money, so what was to be done? Then
they offered and the United States was obliged to
accept in payment, some Beauvais tapestries and
some copies of the Moniteur"
Possibly these tapestries have been preserved and
still adorn American homes or are safely stored in
American attics. Any clue to their whereabouts
would be welcomed by the writer.
The worst was yet to come. By 1797 the market
for tapestries was so dead that the French Directory
decided it would pay better to burn those containing
gold and silver than to sell them. This was done
and precious metals to the amount of about $13,000
(65,000 to 66,000 francs) were recovered.
Such stupidity seems incredible, especially in
France, the home of the arts. In a few minutes 190
of the most magnificent tapestries ever woven were
annihilated. To-day they would bring 200 times
$13,000, and in a few years many times more.
Gothic and Renaissance tapestries of good weave
and design and in good condition, are now a better
STORY OF MAN
PLATE no. 17. Scenes from the Story of Man, or the Seven Deadly Sins (See chapter XI), a Gothic tapestry
from Langford Hill, Cornwall, sold in London in 1910 to the agent of Lord Anglesey for £6600. It is 13 feet 4 by
13 feet 9 and is part of one of the set of nine that formerly belonged to Cardinal Wolsey, three of which still hang
at Hampton Court. In the lower right corner, King David bearing a scroll, inscribed in Latin, with the verse from
the XLV Psalm: "Gird thyself with thy sword upon thy thigh, O, thou most mighty." The lady in the foreground
facing him is Charity as shown by the inscription on her gown. The other seven richly attired ladies are the Seven
Deadly Sins. Envy is pictured as giving up her gauntlet to Charity. In the upper right corner is a Knight in
armor attended by the Seven Virtues, of whom Charity presents him with a banner picturing the five wounds of
Christ. The band across the top bearing the arms of Henry VIII, is a portion of the frieze made for the Great
Hall of Hampton Court, fragments of which are still there.
18 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
investment than any other form of ancient art.
Yet the present prices are from 50 to 100 times higher
than those of fifty years ago.
In 1852 at the sale of the effects of the deposed
French King, Louis-Philippe, the Hunts of Maxi-
milian, in ten pieces 4.25 metres high, with a com-
bined width of 43.60 metres (the metre being a little
over a yard), sold for 6,200 francs, which is about
$7 a square yard and $124 apiece. (Divide francs
by 5 to get dollars.) The Months of Lucas, in ten
pieces 3.50 metres by 43.50 metres, brought $8 a
yard and $120 apiece. The Conquests of Louis
XIV, five Gobelins 4.62 metres by 25.65, a little
over $3 a yard and $78 apiece. The Attributes of
Music, a Gobelin of the period of Louis XIV, 3
metres by 2.70, which to-day at the Gobelins would
keep a weaver employed for eight years, sold for $80.
Also at the Louis-Philippe sale, six Flemish tapes-
tries of the end of the XVI century, representing a
coronation, 4 metres by 26.25, were picked up by
some lucky purchaser for $65 apiece. Six Flemish
verdure hunting scenes, also of the XVI century,
3 metres by 22.95, f°r $27 apiece.
The situation improved little during the next
fifteen years. In 1867 the South Kensington Mu-
seum paid only $50 for a Gothic tapestry I foot 2 by
8 feet 9^. In 1859 only $125 for a Gothic tapestry
II feet 6 by 13 feet, picturing scenes from the story
of Esther. In 1866 only $47 for another Gothic
Esther tapestry 10 feet by 12 feet 9.
But by 1872 there had been a marked improve-
20 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
ment in tapestry values. In that year the same
museum paid $950 for Susannah and the Elders, a
splendid Gothic tapestry 13 feet by 10 feet 10. In
1883 $5,000 for the Triumph of Fame, a Gothic
tapestry 10 feet by 26.
At the De Somzee sale in Brussels in 1901, Roland
at Roncevaux, a wool and silk Gothic tapestry,
3.78 metres by 5.45, sold to the Brussels Museum for
19,000 francs. The Passion of Christ, in three
scenes, a Gothic tapestry in wool and silk, 4.20
metres by 8.90, to the Brussels Museum for 70,000
francs. The Triumph of Christ, a Gothic tapestry
in wool and silk, 3.75 metres by 4.55, to the Brussels
Museum for 28,000 francs. The Triumph of the
Virgin Mary, a late Gothic tapestry in wool and silk,
4 metres by 6.03, sold for 24,000 francs. Bathsheba
at the Fountain, a late Gothic tapestry in wool and
silk, 3.60 metres by 6.50, to Wauters for 75,000
francs. The Triumph of Gluttony, a late Gothic
tapestry in wool, silk, and gold and silver, 3.90
metres by 6.90, to Duyardin for 7,500 francs. Alex-
ander Setting Fire to the Palace of Persepolis, 4.15
metres by 5, a tapestry woven at Delft in the year
1619, for 4,300 francs.
The De Somzee sale totalled 88 tapestries at
$160,000. The same tapestries to-day are worth
much more, despite financial conditions unfavour-
able during the past ten years to rapid increase of
price, and within the next twenty years will be
worth twenty times as much.
At the Marquand sale in New York in 1903, the
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 21
Madonna with Attendants, a Renaissance tapestry
8 feet 2 by 7 feet, sold for $21,000. An Italian
XVIII century tapestry signed by Nouzou — one
of the set woven in Rome from 1735 to 1739 by
Nouzou and Ferloni, of which the Coles collection
of the Metropolitan Museum contains several, all
of which illustrate scenes from Tasso's "Jerusalem
Delivered," and came from the Hamilton Palace
sale held in London in 1882 — brought $15,000, which
is all it is likely ever to be worth. The purchasers
both in London and New York were evidently at-
tracted by the ducal name. It is significant that
both in London and New York, this tapestry was
catalogued as a Gobelin. The New York price was
about four times the London one.
Also at the Marquand sale three Renaissance
tapestries brought respectively $4,600, $4,500, and
$2,900. The sizes were 9 feet 2 by 10 feet 6, 9 feet 2
by 10 feet 4, 9 feet 2 by 6 feet 1 1. The first pictured
the Queen of Sheba before Solomon, the last two
the Triumph of David after killing Goliath.
At the White sale in New York in 1907, four
fine Renaissance Grotesques (often incorrectly
called Arabesques) sold for $5,100, $3,600, $3,200,
and $2,300, respectively. The sizes were II feet 8
by 17 feet 2, n feet 8 by 8, n feet 8 by 8 feet 6, n
feet 5 by 7. Commerce, a Brussels XVIII century
tapestry 15 feet 3 by 19, signed by D. Leyniers,
similar in weave and quite equal to most Gobelin and
Beauvais tapestries of the same period, was pur-
chased by Robert Goelet for $10,500.
22 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
At the Polovtsoff sale in Paris in 1909, the Story of
Tobias, six Flemish tapestries 3.35 metres high with
combined width of 21.40 metres, sold for 24,700
francs. The Temple of Venus, three Beauvais
tapestries 4.20 metres by 5, 4.15 metres by 4.41,
4.12 metres by 3.28, woven in 1726 under the direc-
tion of De Merou after cartoons by Duplessis, brought
299,100 francs.
The Seasons, four Gobelin tapestries, 3.05 metres
high with combined width of 7.95, signed by Cozette,
1781, brought 376,000 francs. The crowning price
of the sale was 910,000 francs paid for the Loves
of the Gods, four Beauvais XVIII century tapestries
woven under the direction of Besnier, Oudry, and
Charron after cartoons by Boucher: Ariadne and
Bacchus 3.55 metres by 8.20, Mars and Venus 3.55
metres by 3.55, Boreas and Orythia 3.55 metres by
3.60, Vulcan and Venus 3.55 metres by 6.75.
At the Yerkes sale in New York in 1910, Neptune
and Amymone, a Gobelin XVIII century tapestry
10 feet 4 by 9 feet I, brought $4,000. Vulcan and
Venus, a Gobelin XVIII century tapestry 10 feet
3 by 8 feet 3, signed by Audran, $17,700. The
Rape of Europa, a Gobelin XVIII century tapestry
10 feet 6 by 8 feet 3, $12,300. Pluto and Proserpine,
a Gobelin XVIII century tapestry 10 feet 6 by 8 feet
7, $5,200. A Brussels XVII century tapestry 13
feet 10 by 15 feet 6, enriched with gold, signed with
the Brussels mark and the weaver's monogram,
M, $6,600. Six Brussels XVII century tapestries
from designs in the style of Teniers, one of them
CUPID AND PSYCHE
PLATE no. 23. The Bath of Cupid and Psyche, a Louis XIV Gobelin in the set of eight entitled Sujets de la Fable,
after the XVI century designs of Guilio Romano (See chapter VI). It is signed LEFEBVRE (Lefevre) and is in the
French National Collection. The dominant color in both border and panel is rose against which the flesh tones stand
out with wonderful clearness and delicacy. Note the double L monogram of Louis XIV in the cartouche of the bot-
tom border.
24 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
signed P. V. D. BORCHT, the smallest 9 feet 8 by
2 feet 7, $850; the largest 9 feet 10 by 12 feet 10,
$4,300. The Gobelins undoubtedly sold for more
because they had formerly been in the collection of
the Princess de Sagan.
Among other interesting prices at recent public
sales were the Acts of the Apostles after the Raphael
cartoons, seven Brussels XVIII century tapestries
signed D. LEYNIERS, at Christie's in London in
1910 for £1,785. (Multiply pounds by 5 to get dol-
lars.) At the same place in 1911, ten panels of old
Brussels tapestry for £9,502 los, about $4,700 a panel ;
also, the Story of Diana, six Brussels tapestries for
£1,207 IOs- At the Hotel Drouot in Paris in 1911,
two Flemish verdure tapestries for 25,000 francs;
Chinese Dining and Chinese Dancing, a Beauvais
tapestry containing two scenes from the series
depicting Chinese life, woven for the first time in
1743 under the direction of Besnier and Oudry after
sketches by Boucher, sold for 142,000 francs. A
Flemish XVI century tapestry picturing a tourna-
ment in a park, 15,500 francs; an XVIII century
tapestry showing a lady and a gentleman walking
in the country, 24,100 francs; Proserpine, an XVI 1 1
century Spanish tapestry signed by L. VAN DER
GOTTEN of Madrid, 21,200 francs.
During the XIX century it did not pay to weave
reproductions of antique tapestries. It was cheaper
to buy the antiques themselves.
Now all that is changed, and we may expect a
period of great prosperity for tapestry looms in the
26 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
United States as well as in France and Italy and
England and Germany, especially if the museums
and the private collectors who own the masterpieces
are generous in allowing them to be copied, and do
everything in their power to supplement the Renais-
sance of tapestry values, by a Renaissance of tapestry
weaving according to the methods of the XV and
XVI centuries.
Many persons look at tapestries as if they were
photographs or photographic paintings, obliged to
conform to the limitations imposed by mechanical
perspective and shadow. Thus they miss the real
virtue of tapestry. For here be it laid down, once
for all, that the qualities which determine excellence
in tapestry, which distinguish a good tapestry from
a bad tapestry, are not those in which it resembles
painting, but those in which it is unlike painting.
The texture of tapestries is what gives them their
peculiar excellence, and distinguishes them above all
other textiles, just as other textiles are distinguished
by texture qualities that raise them above wood and
stone and brick and plaster and porcelain and paint
and the metals. In which connection it is interesting
to note that the word, as well as the quality, is
primarily associated with textiles, texture being Latin
for weave.
Not that I would deny picture interest to tapes-
tries. Indeed, they possess it to a marked degree.
This quality they do share with photographs and
paintings.
But they also share with Oriental rugs the texture
28 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
interest that has exalted the fame of Oriental looms
during the past twenty years, making them the
subject of books and magazine articles galore. And
Gothic and Renaissance tapestries, with their coarse,
horizontal ribs and long and slender vertical hatch-
ings, possess texture interest to an even greater
degree than rugs.
In other words, tapestry has a more interesting
texture than any other material in the world, and
one capable of expressing more in the hands of the
weaver who understands.
THE GOLDEN AGE OF TAPESTRY
The Golden Age of Tapestry was the Gothic-
Renaissance Transition. Then the weaver was all-
powerful. Sketches and cartoons he interpreted freely
into tapestry technique, using them rather as sug-
gestion than as orders. With wool alone, or with
wool and gold and silver, and little or no silk, he
secured effects impossible with paint.
With the full Renaissance of the XVI century
came Raphael, whose cartoons, illustrating the Acts
of the Apostles for Pope Leo X, did irreparable harm
to the art of telling stories decoratively in tapestry.
After him, and as the result of his influence, weavers
were urged to copy paintings slavishly and imitate
paint technique.
The best tapestries woven in the XVII century,
at Mortlake and the Gobelins, as well as at Brussels,
were from XVI century cartoons, but with woven
QUEEN OF SHEBA
PLATE no. 29. King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, an exquisitely beautiful Flemish Gothic tapestry at the Poldi
Pezzoli Museum in Milan. It illustrates the effectiveness of tapestry texture as a medium for the expression of richly pat-
terned textiles and robes.
30 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
frames in deep shadow simulating high relief, that
replaced the rich decorative borders of the Renais-
sance.
In the XVIII century the victory of painters over
weavers became complete, and at the Gobelins to
Neilson, with his much-improved low- warp loom,
was awarded the palm over the high-warp weavers,
Audran and Cozette, because his tapestries wen?
more exact copies of the cartoons. At the same
time was introduced the type of tapestry illustrated
by Charles Coypel's Don Quixote series, with tiny
picture inside a large damasse mat and double gih
frame, all woven.
Most XVIII century tapestries are comparatively
small and adapted for use in modern rooms and
apartments. This has made them popular, and they
often sell for prices that are as much too high as the
prices of XV and XVI century tapestries are too
low. Tapestries in bad condition that have been
repaired too much or too little, are also apt to sell
for more than they are worth, especially at publi :
sales. The same is true of antique tapestries of
inferior weave and design, and also of the imitation
jacquard picture tapestries.
Apparently to some persons all tapestries look
alike. I hope this volume will help them to realiz ;
that weave merit — not age or the name of the de-
signer— distinguishes good tapestries from bad tapes -
tries, and the masterpieces from the throng. It
is weave merit that establishes extraordinary valu 3
for the Seven Sacraments belonging to the Metropol: -
PLATE no. 31. A Gobelin tapestry designed by F. EHRMANN, whose signature appears in the lower right corner of the
{ and P^sented by France to Miss Alice Roosevelt on the occasion of her marrriage to Mr. Nicholas Longworth. The tapestry
!et 4 by 8 feet 6, and now hangs in the entrance hall of the Cincinnati Museum, to which it has been lent by Mrs.
orth, by whose permission it is reproduced on this [page. The subject is " The Manuscript " and as the inscription
wrtraits in the side borders are those of Fra Angelico and Jean Fouquet. The Gobelin mark— a G pierced with a broche
« in the tiny cartouche in the base of each of the side borders, the R F of the.Republique Francaise in the cartouche
" top border.
32 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
tan Museum; for Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan's Mazarin
tapestry, entitled the Triumph of Christ, and rich
with wool and gold and silver and silk; for Mr.
George Blumenthal's two Herse tapestries, also rich
with gold and silver, and also on exhibition at the
Metropolitan Museum.
CHAPTER II
GOTHIC TAPESTRIES
THE Golden Age of Tapestries was the_Gothic-
Renaissance Transition — the last half of the ~ XV
century and the first half of the XVI century — the
hundred years during which Renaissance tapestries
began and Gothic tapestries ceased to be woven,
while many of the greatest tapestries were of mixed
style, like the Story of the Virgin at Reims.
Undoubtedly many splendid tapestries were woven
in the XIV century. Already the French-Flemish
city of Arras hadjacquired suck fame for the manu-
facture of them as to give its name to the product,
a name that still survives in England and Italy,
where tapestries are called arras and arazzi respect-
ively. But of the splendid XFV-century tapestries
only one large set has survived, and that in a muti-
lated condition, after having been subjected to brutal
treatment at the hands of XVIII and XIX century
vandals. I refer to the famous set of seven immense
tapestries at the Cathedral of Angers, picturing the
Apocalypse.
There are to be sure the fragments attributed to
the XII century, formerly belonging to the church
of Saint Gereon in Cologne, but now shared by the
museums of Lyons, Nuremberg, and South Kensing-
ton (See plate no. 35). Large circular medallions
33
34 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
on a brownish-blue ground represent, in tones of
light ivory, a winged griffin with eagle above and
bull below. The design is clearly of Byzantine
origin, but the crudeness of the weave indicates an
Occidental maker.
Then there are the three quaint XII or XIII
century tapestries preserved in the Cathedral of
Halberstadt and perhaps of local manufacture.
Two of these tapestries are 3 feet 7 inches high and
about 30 feet long — narrow bands intended to hang
above the choir stalls. The first pictures Christ
and the Apostles. The identity of each of the
apostles and of the angels Michael and Gabriel on
either side of Christ is made certain by woven
captions. The second pictures the Story of Abraham
and Isaac.
The third differs completely from the first two in
subject, composition, and shape. It is nearly square,
a little higher than wide, with several inches missing
from the top. In the centre is pictured Charlemagne
on his throne, crowned, sceptre in hand, a rich
cushion beneath his feet. In the corners of the panel
the four philosophers — Socrates and Plato in the
upper corners, with heads and captions missing but
part of the inscription remaining; in the lower
corners Cato and Seneca, with names woven above
them, bearing a long scroll inscribed in Latin. Cato
says: Denigrat meritum dantis mora (Delay in giving
spoils the merit of the service). Seneca replies:
Qui cito dat bis dat (He who gives quickly, gives
twice). The general effect of all three tapestries is
SAINT GEREON FRAGMENT
PLATE no. 35. Saint Gereon Fragment in the Lyons Museum (See chapter II). One of several fragments
of patterned tapestry attributed to the XH century, formerly in the church of Saint Gereon in Cologne,
and now shared by the museums of Lyons, Nuremberg, and South Kensington. Large circular medallions
on a brownish-blue ground represent in tones of light ivory, a winged griffin with eagle above and bull be-
low. The design is clearly of Byzantine origin, but the crudeness of the weave indicates an Occidental maker.
36 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
like that of stained glass of the period, the outlines
being accentuated in brown much as the stained-
glass outlines are accentuated by the leads.
That the famous Bayeux tapestry picturing the
invasion of England by the Normans is not a tapestry
at all but an embroidery is now a matter of common
knowledge. Other fabrics long cited, but wrongly,
as early examples of tapestry- weaving are the five
hangings said to have been executed by Agnes II,
Abbess of Quedlimburg (1184-1203), and her nuns.
These are not tapestries, but have a pile surface
made by knotting, after the fashion of Oriental
rugs. They picture the Marriage of Mercury and
of Philology, with Latin inscriptions. There is no
trace of Oriental influence in the designs. Still
another fabric long wrongly cited as an early tapestry
is the embroidery in the Cathedral of Gerona, in
Spain, 12 feet high by 13^ wide, picturing the
Creation. In the Brussels Museum there is a small
tapestry, 5 feet by 9^ (See plate no. 37), of the
second half of the XIV century that resembles the
Apocalypse set closely in both design and technique.
Warp as well as weft are entirely of wool. The
subject is the Presentation of the Infant Jesus at
the Temple. It was discovered by a Spanish painter,
Senor Leo y Escosura, whose studio it long adorned.
It attracted much attention at the Union Centrale
Tapestry Exposition in Paris in 1876, and at the
Exposition des Primitifs Franc. ais in 1904.
The famous Apocalypse of the Cathedral of
Angers, mentioned above, is one of the most remark-
38 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
able sets of tapestry ever woven. Originally there
were 7 pieces showing 90 separate and distinct scenes,
1 8 feet high with a combined width of 472 feet — in
other words, 8,496 square feet or 944 square yards
of intricately woven picture tapestry. Some of the
90 scenes contain more than 25 personages. To-day
the height is only 14 feet, and the total width 328
feet. The floriated bands at top and bottom, and
the inscriptions beneath the scenes, have worn
away during the course of 500 years. Of the 90
scenes, 70 remain intact, and there are fragments
of 8 others, while 12 have entirely disappeared
(See plate no. 39).
About the origin of these tapestries we fortunately
have the most complete information. The Duke of
Anjou, brother of Charles V, who was King of France
from 1364 to 1380, had them made to hang in the
chapel of his chateau at Angers. The cartoonist
was Hennequin de Bruges, also called Jean de
Bruges, Charles the V's court painter, whom the
Duke of Anjou borrowed for the pupose, together
with an illustrated manuscript of the Apocalypse,
which is now in the Public Library of the City of
Cambrai. The painter received instructions to
follow the manuscript illustrations closely, and did
so, executing the cartoons on large pieces of canvas.
The earlier tapestries of the set were woven in
Paris in the factory of Nicolas Bataille, who received,
as the Treasury books of the Duke show, 3,000 francs
for three of the tapestries, which is at the rate of 1 ,000
francs apiece, or about a franc a square foot. The
40 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
value of the franc then was about $10. Consequent-
ly the total cost of the tapestries was about $60,000.
When tapestries went out of fashion at the end
of the XVIII century, the Canons of the Cathedral
of Angers decided to sell the Apocalypse tapestries
which had been presented to the Cathedral in 1480
by King Rene. But no purchaser could be found.
So against their will they were obliged to retain their
greatest treasure. Not believing that anything
Gothic could be beautiful, they decided to make the
Apocalypse tapestries useful. They employed them
in the greenhouse to protect orange-trees from the
cold. They spread them over parquet floors while
the ceilings were being painted. They cut them up
into rugs and used them as carpet lining. They
even nailed them in strips on the stalls of the
bishop's stable, to prevent the horses from bruising
themselves.
Finally, in 1843, a sale was effected. These
priceless examples of the art of the XIV century
brought 300 francs — $60. Fortunately the purchaser
was wiser than the administration, and restored
them to the Cathedral, of which they are once
again the chief glory. There is a full set of photo-
graphs of the set in the Avery Library at Columbia
University, and also in the Library of the Metropoli-
tan Museum.
Five of the seven tapestries had originally 15
scenes each, of which the first was a personage seated
in a Gothic pavilion reading from a book or manu-
script containing obviously the Gospel of Revelation
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 41
(Apocalypse). The other 14 scenes were placed in
pairs one above the other and illustrated subjects
from the Apocalypse. The second and the third
tapestries together had only 15 scenes but similarly
arranged.
Behind the back and above the head of the per-
sonage in scene I of tapestry I, a rich fabric figured
with fleurs-de-lis and quatre-foils inside diamonds.
Fluttering in the air butterflies whose wings bear
the arms of Anjou and of Brittany. On the roof of
the pavilion two angels carrying banners, showing,
one the arms of Anjou, the other the cross of Lorraine.
Scene 2 pictures Saint John listening to the Voice,
and taking up the book in which he is to write his
vision, to be sent to the Seven Churches that are
pictured in front of him, guarded by seven angels.
Scene no. 3 pictures Christ seated on a Throne,
surrounded by seven candles, holding a sword in
His mouth, and with seven red stars in His right
hand. Saint John is prostrate at His feet. Scene no.
4 pictures Saint John at the threshold of an open
door watching Christ, around whom a rainbow forms
a halo. Seven lamps hang at the height of His face.
The four animals symbolic of the evangelists accom-
pany him disposed in the traditional medieval order
— man, eagle, lion, calf. The 24 Sages are lined up
on either side, on the left the prophets, on the right
the apostles, whose lilies in blossom symbolise the
kingdom of the world, the perfume of the virtues,
and the integrity of the faith.
By the beginning of the XV century the art of
42 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
weaving picture hangings had reached a high point
of perfection. Kings and great nobles vied with one
another in the ownership of magnificent sets rich
with gold, and when they wished to make presents,
could find none more splendid to give or welcome to
receive than Arras tapestries.
When the French King Charles V died in 1380, he
left behind him sets of the Passion of Our Lord, the
Life of Saint Denis, the Life of Saint Theseus. His
brother the Duke of Anjou in addition to the
Apocalypse had an Annunciation of Our Lady with
the Three Kings, a Life of Saint Catherine, a Saint
George, and a Saint George Fighting with the
Saracens. His brother the Duke of Burgundy, in
J395» bought of Jacques Dourdin, as a present for
the King of England, a Crucifixion, a Calvary, a
Death of the Virgin. In 1398 he sent the Miracles
of Saint Antoine to the King of Aragon. On his
death, in 1404, the inventory of his estate shows a
Coronation of the Virgin, enriched with gold; a
Life of Saint Margaret, a Life of Saint George, the
Story of Saint Denis, all enriched with Cyprus gold.
The King's other brother, the Duke of Berri, was
especially an amateur of tapestries. The inventory
of his estate, in 1416, shows a "tapis de 1'ouvrage
d'Arras, historic a images d'or et de soye, du Tres-
passement de notre Dame," estimated at 172 livres;
an Apocalypse set without gold, the Short Credo
and the Long Credo with gold, a Coronation of the
Virgin enriched with gold and silver, the Trinity
also with gold and silver, a Magdalen. According
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 43
to the inventory all of these were woven at Arras.
Referring to the inventory of the French Royal tap-
estries captured and sold by the English from 1422
to 1435, M. Guiffrey calls attention to the fact that
the pieces attributed to Arras contain the precious
metals, while those attributed to Paris seem to be
more ordinary work in cheaper materials.
Of tapestries woven at Arras, however, there re-
mains only one set that can be positively identified,
the Story of Saint Piat and Saint Eleuthere at the
Cathedral of Tournai in Belgium. But as if to
make up for our lack of information about other
ancient tapestries that may have been woven at
Arras, we not only know that the Saint Piat and
Saint Eleuthere tapestries were woven there, but
we also know the exact month and year of their
completion, the name of the maker, and the name of
the donor. For one of the pieces now lost bore the
following inscription which was fortunately copied
and preserved by XVIII century writers:
Ces draps furent faicts et acheves
En Arras par Pierrot Fere
L'an mil quatre cent et deux
En Decembre mois gracieux
and a little lower down:
Veuillez a Dieu tons saincts prier
Pour Vame de Toussaint Prier.
which translated read:
These cloths were made and completed
In Arras by Pierrot Fere
The year one thousand four hundred two
44 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
In December gracious month
Will all the saints kindly pray to God
For the soul of Toussaint Prier?
This Toussaint Prier who gave the tapestries to
the Cathedral of Tournai was a canon there in 1402,
but later became chaplain to Philip the Good and
died October 15, 1437.
While the colours are much faded and greyed, they
still preserve a certain freshness, and these tapestries
are, as documents in tapestry history, second in
importance to the Angers Apocalypse only. The
material is wool without gold or silk. The borders
are later additions. Originally there were eighteen
scenes picturing the Lives and Miracles of Saint
Piat and Saint Eleuthere, all with French inscrip-
tions above. Of the eighteen, only fifteen survive,
in four pieces, 6 feet 10 inches high with a combined
width of 71 feet 8 inches.
The subjects of the three missing pieces were:
the Beheading of Saint Piat, the People of Tournai
accompanying the body of Saint Piat to Seclin, the
Miracle at Seclin when the Body of Saint Piat
arrived there (See page 182 of Pinchart Flemish,
who gives a photographic illustration of one of the
surviving pieces). The subjects of the six Saint
Piat scenes that survive are: Mission of Saint
Piat and his Eleven Companions, His arrival at
Tournai during a Sacrifice of Lambs to an Idol,
His Preaching before the parents and grandparents
of Saint Eleuthere, Destruction of Idols in con-
sequence of his Preaching, Laying the Corner-stone
I
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 45
of the Cathedral of Tournai, Baptism of the parents
and grandparents of Saint Eleuthere. The subjects
of the nine scenes picturing the Life of Saint Eleuthere
are: Saint Eleuthere Baptises Pagans, His depart-
ure for Rome, Reception by the Pope, He is Crowned
Bishop, Death of Blande the Tribune's daughter
who fell in love with Him, He restores Her to Life
in the presence of Her Father and Soldiers, He
Baptises Her, Ravages of the Plague among the
Pagans, Blande's Father wishes to recover her from
the Christians.
The most important Early XV century tapestry
in the United States, and one that deserves to be
mentioned side by side with the treasures of Angers
and of Tournai, is the Burgundian Sacraments
presented to the Metropolitan Museum of New
York by Mr. Morgan and described in chapter XVI.
Of the original fourteen scenes, only seven remain,
in five fragments, with inscriptions misplaced. An
unusual feature of the tapestry is the brick wall
border with floriation outside (See plates nos. 46,
47) . The tapestry was originally about 1 7 feet high
by 38 feet wide. A large size this when compared
with XVIII century Gobelin Don Quixote panels,
but not when compared with the Apocalypse, or
with the now lost Battle of Rosebecke that was
recorded in an inventory of the Emperor Charles V
in 1536 as "very old and full of holes." This Battle
was ordered by Philip the Bold Duke of Burgundy,
of Michel Bernard, and was delivered by the latter
in 1387, five years after this famous victory of the
PLATES no. 46. 47. The Burgundian Sacraments tapestry given to the Metropolitan Museum by Mr. Morgan, com stst!
of seven scenes in five fragments, two of which are mounted wrong side out. In my illustrations these two fragments have t -en
reversed by the photographer, and all of the five fragments, at least two of which have pulled out of shape during the centui es,
have been assembled as nearly as possible in their original relative position. Originally the tapestry contained fourt -en
scenes, the upper seven illustrating the origin of the Seven Sacraments, the lower seven .the Seven Sacraments as c le-
brated in the XV century. Between the upper and the lower scenes or possibly above the upper scenes ran a descriptive
series of French verses in Gothic letters. For transcription and .translation of the captions and other information about the
|aldest and most interesting tapestry at the Museum, see chapter XVI. For the "point of view" see chapter Xm, and for the
Miginal size see chapter II.
48 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
French over the Flemish. The cartoon cost 200
gold francs and the cost of weaving was 1 ,600 gold
francs. It was worked in Cyprus gold and silver
on a verdure ground. The dimensions were 7^
aunes high by 56 long — about i6>£ feet by 126, if
the aunes were Flemish aunes as seems probable.
If they were French aunes, as M. Guiffrey thinks,
then the dimensions were about 28 feet by 207.
At any rate the tapestry was so unwieldy that, .in
1402, it was divided into three pieces and later each
of these pieces was divided in two.
Among the most interesting Gothic tapestries are
the verdures, with or without personages, often
described in modern sale catalogues as mille-fleur
tapestries. Gothic verdures are in method and
character entirely different from Renaissance^ and
later verdures. The Gothic verdures are in effect
flat outline drawings coloured up — a forest of flowers
and herbage and foliage inhabited by birds and
animals — strongly resembling many of the XV
century Persian rugs. The Renaissance verdures
introduce heavily shaded leaves and, in achieving
the realistic, lose much of the decorative.
Of these Gothic verdures with personages, I know
of none more fascinating than the Lady with the
Unicorn, a set of six at the Cluny Museum (See
plate no. 49). What the story is no one knows.
There is absolutely nothing to justify the tradition
that gives them an Oriental origin and connects
them with Zizim, younger son of Mohammed II,
said to have been banished by Bajazet and given a
THE LADY WITH THE UNICORN
PLATE no. 49. The Lady with the Unicorn. Late Gothic tapestry at the Cluny Museum. One of a
set of 6 described in the chapter on Gothic tapestries. Size 3.70 metres by 2.90. The lady, wearing a
turban enriched with pearls and an aigrette, plays an organ whose posts are crowned with a tiny lion and a
tiny unicorn. The maid works the bellows. On one side of the pretty scene, a lion upholds the standard
of the house of Le Viste, on the other a unicorn. Fascinating is the "mille fleur" floriation that fills all the
ground of the tapestry Fascinating too the little animals — dogs, rabbits, fox, lamb that adorn it, with
birds above.
50 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
refuge in France in 1484 by Pierre d'Aubusson,
Lord of Boussac and Grand Master of Rhodes.
Nor can we treat as fact the charming fiction of
George Sand's " Jeanne " published in 1844 that has
the tapestries woven by order of Pierre d'Aubusson
as a present to the lady of the house of Le Viste,
whose marriage had made her chatelaine of Boussac.
But we do know that the coat of arms so often re-
peated on the tapestries — a red shield carrying a
diagonal band of blue with three silver crescents-
is that of the Le Viste family, lords of Fresne who
gave a president to the Paris Parlement; that the
tapestries once adorned the Chateau de Boussac in
Central France not far from Aubusson; and that in
1882 they were presented to the Cluny Museum by
the municipal authorities of Boussac who had
acquired them in 1837 with the Chateau, that is
still in a good state of preservation and that from a
lofty rock dominates the valley of the Little Creuse.
The central figure of the six tapestries that are
12 feet 2 inches high, and from 9 feet 6 inches to
14 feet wide, is a richly gowned lady with jewelled
necklaces and bracelets. Beside her a young lady
also richly gowned who attends upon her. On most
of the tapestries, a lion and a unicorn supporting
with their paws the standard of the house of Le
Viste, frame the central scene. The ground is
crowded with detached trees, bushes, herbage and
flowers, dogs, rabbits, monkeys, foxes and birds.
The subjects of the tapestries are: The Lady with
a falcon on her left hand, taking a jewelled cup of
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 51
dainties from her attendant; the Lady plaiting a
crown of roses; the Lady, wearing a turban enriched
with pearls and aigrette, plays an organ that her
attendant pumps ; the Lady, standing before a blue
and gold damask tent bearing the device A mon
seul desir, takes from her attendant a richly worked
golden chain; the Lady, standing holds the Le
Viste standard in her right hand, and in her left the
horn of the unicorn; the Lady wearing a brocaded
robe, and on her head a string of pearls with aigrette,
seated between the Lion and the Unicorn, holds
before the latter a beautiful mirror.
The unicorn, it should be explained, is a fabulous
animal symbolic of chastity. Geliot, in 1535, de-
scribed it as "loving chastity to such an extent that
naturalists maintain the only way to capture it is to
place a virgin where it is accustomed to go for drink
and food. As soon as it sees her, it will run to her."
Other important Gothic verdures are the three
fragments, the Baillee des Roses in the Metropolitan
Museum described in chapter XVI and one of them
illustrated on plate no. 53; the Concert in the
Gobelin Museum, illustrated on plate no. 327; the
Heroine (Preuse) Penthesilea at the Cathedral of
Angers; the Instruments of the Passion at the
Cathedral of Angers; the Knight Armed by the
Ladies, illustrated on page 63 of Guiffrey Seizieme;
Shepherd and Shepherdesses, illustrated on page 57
of Guiffrey Seizieme; the Arms of Charles the Bold,
in the Berne Historical Museum; a Walk in the
Country, in the Musee des Arts Decoratifs; Saint
52 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Louis of Toulouse, in the Heilbronner Collection ; a
Knight leading a Lady's Horse, in the George
Blumenthal Collection; a Boy between two Ladies,
in the Martin Le Roy Collection; Equestrian Por-
trait of Charles VIII in the Schickler Collection;
the Gentleman with the Crane, sold at the Robb Sale
1912, for $15,000.
A little later in style, with sky breaking down
into the upper part of the panels and producing a
realistic out-of-door effect, is the set of six in the
Chateau de Verteuil called Hunting the Unicorn.
It is rich with gold, and while in the Lady with the
Unicorn set, the Unicorn was of secondary importance
to the Lady, in this set the Unicorn holds the centre
of the stage, and is pictured as struggling bravely
and defending itself with hoofs and horn, but
finally overcome by pitiless huntsmen. All the
phases of the pursuit are figured one after the other,
and in the last scene the lifeless body of the spotless
animal is offered as a glorious trophy to the lord and
lady who presided over the meet. Who the lord
and lady are it is impossible to say, in spite of the
two initials, A and E, that joined by a cord appear
five times on each of the pieces — in the four corners
and in the sky. Interesting to compare with this
set are Saint Martin in the Martin Le Roy Collection,
the fragment of a Hunting Scene in the Heilbronner
Collection, and the fragment of a Hunting Scene in
the Hoentschel Collection. All are full of life and
action, and in all the personages are flesh and
blood men and women.
54 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Even more interesting from the human and daily
life point of view are five Late Gothic fragments in a
New York private collection, which picture sheep-
shearing scenes below and hunting scenes above, with
castles and a narrow line of sky in the background.
In two of the shepherd scenes are bagpipes, and in
one six shepherds and shepherdesses are forming a
ring to dance. In one a dog holds a struggling duck
in his mouth. In another a shepherdess is in the
act of shearing a struggling sheep, while a fool stands
by with jester's staff and a shepherd pours wine into
a flat cup. The shepherd scenes are grounded with
Gothic floriation below and trees above. There are
wattled fences and a fold for the sheep. All of the
shepherds and shepherdesses carry clipping shears
and other tools attached at the waist. In the hunt-
ing scenes there are gentlemen and ladies on horse-
back, some mounted double, hunting-dogs and
falcons. A river, with boats and geese, adds reality.
To this set of fragments undoubtedly belongs the
Sheep Shearing fragment, 1.65 metres by 2.24 in the
Brussels Museum, illustrated on plate no. 55, and
perhaps the Hunt with Falcon fragment in the
Cluny Museum illustrated on page 77 of Guiffrey
Seizieme. Similar in treatment and style is the
Wood Cutters in the Musee des Arts Decoratifs.
But of all hunting tapestries none surpass in im-
portance and interest the set of four dating from the
middle of the XV century and lent by the Duke of
Devonshire to the Victoria and Albert Museum.
One of them is illustrated on plate no. 57. They
56 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
were discovered some years ago in fragments in
Hardwicke Hall, having been cut up for use as
draperies. They were in bad condition. They were
restored at South Kensington under the direction of
Sir C. Purdon Clarke, then director of the Victoria
and Albert Museum, and afterwards director of the
Metropolitan Museum in New York. One of the
four pieces is 14 feet by 37. The others are slightly
smaller. The material is wool only, and the weave
is about 15 ribs to the inch. In making the restora-
tions the colours that on the front had faded were
copied from the still vivid back, so that the tapestries
now display all their ancient and original wealth of
hue, or most of it.
Significant towards the attribution of the tapestries
are two groupings, one the meeting of two lovers on
horseback, the other the same two lovers riding off
on one horse after betrothal or marriage. As the
trappings of the lady's horse are marked with the
letter M, and as her gown is figured with marguerites,
Thomson concludes that she is Margaret of Anjou,
wife of Henry VI of England.
The description of one of the tapestries I take
from Thomson who illustrates two of them in colour.
In it, the horizon is very high, with sea and ships in
the distance. One of the ships has a curious yellow
flag bearing a red cross. From the sea comes a large
rowboat up the river in the middle of the tapestry.
Well up the river is a castle with two drawbridges.
The castle has many towers and is evidently of huge
size, but is represented on such a small scale as to
s i
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58 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
occupy actually no more space than one of the per-
sonages beside it. In the foreground the river
branches to right and left. On the left a richly
attired gentleman drives a spear into an otter. Fa-
cing this gentleman another, who with his trumpet
sounds "mort" for the otter that hangs dead from
one of the prongs of his spear, and at which half a
dozen dogs look up longingly. In the middle fore-
ground, boys robbing a swan's nest of the young, and
fiercely attacked by the parent swans. On the right
an exciting bear hunt. The bear has a man down,
whose cimeter has run him through and whose red-
stockinged legs encircle him. The bear's troubles are
aggravated by a mounted Saracen who has already
pierced him with one lance. Near by, another
Saracen is pulling one of the cubs out of a cave, while
on the extreme right another cub that has got away
looks back sorrowfully. Elsewhere other hunters
in action, richly gowned ladies and gentlemen, and
three other miniature castles.
Another interesting type of Gothic tapestry
pictures battles and historical events on huge panels
without borders. One of these is the capture of
Jerusalem by Titus at the Metropolitan Museum
(See plates nos. 410, 411). It is 13 feet 9 by 28 feet 3.
Among those that picture scenes from the Trojan
War are the Chevalier Bayard tapestry illustrated
in colour in Jubinal Tapisseries (See plate no. 181),
now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the
Aulhac tapestries also illustrated by Jubinal and now
in the Courthouse of Issoire. In the Berne Histori-
PLATE no. 59. The Siege of Troy, a Gothic tapestry in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The illustra-
tion shows one of three fragments purchased in 1887 by the Museum for £1200 from the heirs of M. Achille
Jubenal, who received them as a present in 1837 from the painter M. Richard, who purchased them in
1807 from the owner of Chateau Bayard (See chapter XII). The fragments are 13 feet high with united
widths of 21 feet. The inscription on the one illustrated reads:
VERGUNT TROJAM CUM PANTHASILEA. BELLATRICES MILLE FEDERATE.
UT HECTOREM VINDICENT GALEA. HUS PRIAMUS FAVIT ORDINATE
The central figure in the scene is King Priam (roy Prias) greeting Penthesilea (Panthasilea) Queen of
the Amazons who kneels before him. Behind Priam are JEneas (eneas) and An ten or (anthenor), and
in the distance Troy (troye).
60 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
cal Museum are several tapestries said to be spoils
won by the Swiss victories over Charles the Bold at
Granson and Morat (See chapter IV). Four of
them picture eight scenes with captions in French
from the Story of Caesar. They are said to have
belonged to Louis of Luxembourg Count of Saint
Pol, who was put to death as a traitor in Paris in
1475. Louis XI and Charles the Bold divided his
property, the latter getting among other things these
Caesar tapestries and giving them to Guillaume de
la Beaume whose arms they still bear. Other
large tapestries similar in style are the two Clovis
tapestries at the Cathedral of Reims, and the Roland
at Roncevaux in the Brussels Museum (See plate
no. 61). The former are part of a set that was used
to decorate one of the halls on the occasion of the
marriage of Charles the Bold to his third wife,
Margaret of York in 1468. Through Charles'
daughter, Mary of Burgundy (See chapter IV), it
descended to the Emperor Charles V in whose
baggage it was found after the raising of the siege
of Metz. Allotted as booty to Duke Francois de
Guise, it was finally presented to the Cathedral by
Charles de Guise Cardinal of Lorraine. Then there
were six pieces. By 1840 there were only three.
Since 1840 one more has disappeared. The first of
the two surviving pieces pictures the Coronation of
Clovis and the Capture of Soissons; the second the
foundation of the churches Saint Peter and Saint
Paul, the Victory over Gondebaut, and the Story of
the Wonderful Stag. The combatants wear Bur-
62 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
gundian armour of the middle of the XV century,
and M. Quicherat thinks Clovis has the features of
Charles VII.
More than half a century later is the splendid
Late Gothic set at the Cluny Museum which pictures
the Story of David (See plates nos. 283, 285).
Similar to it in style are the two David tapestries
at the Brussels Museum; and the remarkable set
picturing the Creation (See plate no. 281), Christ.
Inspiring Faith, New Testament Scenes, Combat
of the Vices and the Virtues, Triumph of Christ, and
the Last Judgment, illustrated in Alba Sale 1877.
The set was acquired by Baron d'Erlanger and ex-
hibited in Brussels (See Belgium 1880). The Last
Judgment is now in the Louvre. All of these have
the narrow verdure border characteristic of so many
Brussels Gothic and Gothic-Renaissance tapestries
of the first part of the XVI century.
Late Gothic and Early Renaissance tapestries with
similar borders, but smaller in size and often in
single pieces instead of in sets, are those picturing
scenes from the Life of Christ, like the Deposition
from the Cross 3 metres by 3.28, attributed to
Master Philip, in the Brussels Museum; Jesus
adored by the Saints, with Concert of Angels, in
the Brussels Museum; Saint Luke painting the
Virgin and Child, after Van Der Weyden, in the
Louvre, illustrated on plate no. 257; the Infant
Christ and the Holy Eucharist, in the Brussels
Museum; the Baptism of Christ, in the Brussels
Museum; the Finding of the Cross by Emperor
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 63
Constantine, 3.41 metres by 2.62, in the Brussels
Museum; the Calvary, 3.50 metres square and illus-
trated on plate no. 339, that brought $66,000 at the
Dollfus Sale; the Passion, 2.25 metres by 2.45,
illustrated in Alba Sale 1877, now in a New York
private collection; many in the Royal Spanish
Collection.
Wonderfully fascinating also are the Late Gothic
triptych tapestries, such as the Mazarin tapestry,
described in chapter XVI and illustrated on plate
no. 369; the Brussels Museum's Triumph of Christ,
illustrated on plate no. 370, and the replica in the
Cathedral of Saragossa; Mr. Blumenthal's Story of
Charlemagne, illustrated on plate no. 371; the
Triumph of the Virgin, dated 1485, presented to the
Louvre by Baron Davillier, illustrated on plate no.
269; the Story of the Virgin, in four pieces, in the
Royal Spanish Collection.
Still another type of Gothic-Renaissance Transi-
tion tapestries is that with much Late Gothic or
Early Renaissance architecture, and with air and
backgrounds opened up by perspective and shadow,
which nevertheless continue to keep the sky-line
low and crowd the surface with pattern and person-
ages and inscriptions. I refer to sets like that of
Saint Remi, in the Church of Saint Remi at Reims
(See plate no. 65); the Story of the Virgin, in the
Cathedral of Reims (See plates nos. 261, 289);
the Story of Saint Etienne (Stephen), at the Cluny
Museum; Saint Quentin, at the Louvre; the Life of
Christ, at La Chaise-Dieu; the Story of the Virgin,
64 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
at Beaune; the fragments of the story of the Euchar-
ist, in the Louvre and in the Boston Fine Arts
Museum (See plate no. 73); the Story of Saint
Gervais and Saint Protais, at Le Mans.
Especially interesting and largest of all the sets
mentioned is the Story of Saint Remi, in the Church
of Saint Remi at Reims, of which two — when ex-
hibited at the Paris Exposition of 1900, one of them
wrong side out in order to display the richness and
solidity of the ancient unfaded colours — were very
much admired. These tapestries were designed for
the nave of the church and are consequently of great
size — 1 6 feet high with a combined width of 165 feet
—unlike narrow bands intended for use in the choir,
some of which will be described below. Each of the
Saint Remi tapestries, except the first, pictures four
scenes, one in each corner with a four-line caption
in French. The Story begins with the conversion
and baptism of Clovis by Saint Remi, founder of
the Abbey. On the last panel appears Archbishop
de Lenoncourt, the donor, kneeling before the altar
with a French inscription below him that reads:
In the year fifteen hundred thirty -one
The Reverend Robert de Lenoncourt
To decorate the place on all sides
Had me made
These tapestries have no borders, but the edges
are marked with columns or foliage.
Lenoncourt was evidently a great amateur of
tapestries, for he also presented the Cathedral of
Reims with a set of 17 picturing the Story of the
SAINT REMI
PLATE no. 65. Tapestry 16 feet high, the first of a set of ten presented to the Church of Saint Re'mi in Reims by
Archbishop Robert de Lenoncourt, whose portrait kneeling before an altar appears on the last of the set with French
verses that give the date as 1531 (See chapter n). The Archbishop's coat of arms appears twice on the tapestry
illustrated, of which the subject is the Conversion of Clovis by Saint Re'mi, as explained by the French verses. In
the upper part of the tapestry is pictured the Battle of Tolbiac, which Clovis wins by turning Christian and believing in
the God of his wife Clothilde. Below on the left, Saint Remi summoned by Clothilde exhorts King Clovis, and on the
right baptizes him. In this set of tapestries Gothic and Renaissance are delightfully intermingled.
66 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Virgin, all of which survive, but three are in such
bad condition as to be no longer shown. No. 16 of
the set bears the Archbishop's name as donor and
1530 the date of completion. All the pieces of both
sets bear the Archbishop's coat of arms. The
composition of these Virgin tapestries is particularly
interesting. In the middle, occupying the larger
part of the panel, an event in the Virgin's life, framed
in a Renaissance portico. On each side, above, an
appropriate scene from the Old Testament. On
one side, below, a prophet announcing the event, on
the other witnessing it. For the subordinate scenes
there are captions in Latin. The main event is
described by two French quatrains below. Along
the top of the tapestries that are 17^ feet high runs
a Renaissance border of rinceaux shaded in relief,
with winged heads and fleurs-de-lis at intervals.
The Story of Saint Etienne in 9 pieces at the Cluny
Museum pictures the life of the first Christian martyr
and the discovery of his body 476 years after his
death, following the Legenda Aurea (Golden Legend
or Lives of the Saints), written by Jacques de
Voragine, Bishop of Bologna and Archbishop of
Genoa, in the XIII century. These tapestries are
long and narrow and evidently intended for choir
hangings. Each pictures two scenes. The set was
presented to the Cathedral of Auxerre, in 1502, by
Bishop Jehan Baillet.
Saint Quentin, at the Louvre, is a tapestry about
II feet high by 26 long, picturing the Story of a
robber condemned to death for horse-stealing, but
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 67
saved by the intercession of Saint Quentin. Eight
quatrains in French explain the different scenes.
One of the most remarkable sets ever woven is
the Life of Christ at La Chaise-Dieu. There are
fourteen pieces designed to decorate the stalls and
doors of the abbey choir, three large and almost
square for the bays, eleven narrow friezes from 19
to 26 feet long, for the other positions. The coat of
arms several times repeated is that of Jacques de
Senecterre, Abbot of La Chaise-Dieu from 1491 to
1518. The tapestries are said to have been hung
for the first time on April 17, 1518. The composition
of the pictures reminds one of that of the Reims
Story of the Virgin. Each scene from the Life of
Christ is framed in Gothic columns, between two
more or less appropriate scenes from the Old
Testament. According to M. Emile Male these
groupings were lifted bodily from the ancient Bible
des Pauvres, and the Speculum Humanae Salvationis,
thus saving the expense and trouble of original
designs. The subjects of the first tapestry are the
Annunciation, with Eve tempted by the Serpent on
one side and the angel appearing to Gideon clad as
a knight on the other; the Nativity, with Moses
before the burning Bush on one side and Aaron
watching his staff put forth Blossoms on the other;
the Adoration of the Magi, with soldiers bringing
water back to David from the fountain of Bethlehem
on one side, and the Queen of Sheba before Solomon
on the other. Nine scenes in one tapestry, over 70
in the set, besides numerous prophets in the upper
68 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
and lower borders between the Latin captions in
Gothic letters.
Remarkable for beauty of colouring and vivacity
of tone is the Story of the Virgin, in the church of
Notre Dame de Beaune, in five pieces and 17 scenes
of irregular sizes framed in Late Gothic jewelled
columns and arches, with grace a dieu woven in above
the capitals of the columns, and several Latin in-
scriptions irregularly placed. These tapestries were
exhibited at the Paris Expositions of 1889 and 1900
where they were much admired. There are photo-
graphic illustrations of four of them opposite page 80
of Guiffrey Seizieme, and of one scene on plate no.
69. The subjects are the Nativity, and the Pres-
entation at the Temple, of the Virgin; Married,
Conducted to the House of Joseph, Annunciation;
Visitation, Nativity of Jesus, Circumcision of Jesus;
Adoration of the Magi; Presentation of Jesus at
the Temple, Flight into Egypt, Massacre of the
Innocents; Angel ordering the Holy Family to return
from Egypt, Death of the Virgin, Coronation of the
Virgin. There are in addition two scenes, one on
the second tapestry and one on the fourth, in which
are pictured the two donors: Jean Rolin, son of
Nicolas Rolin who was Chancellor of Philip the
Good, and Archdeacon Hugues Lecoq. The former
is accompanied by his patron, Saint John, the latter
by his patron, Saint Hugh. Beneath each, a Latin
inscription and the same coat of arms. Beside the
donor in the Hugues Lecoq scene is the Latin in-
scription S. hugo abbas clunensis (Saint Hugh Abbot
70 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
of Cluny). Above this scene appears the French
inscription Cest tapisserie fut faicte Ian de grace mil Ve
(This tapestry was made in the year of grace, 1500).
About the cartoons we have definite information.
They were ordered in 1474 of Pierre Spicre, a Flemish
painter of Dijon, by Chancellor Rolin, "to be ex-
ecuted in distemper for the purpose of being trans-
lated into tapestries."
Very interesting to compare with this set on
account of the similarity of subject, style, shape, and
size are the two Life of Christ fragments in the
Hoentschel Collection lent to the Metropolitan
Museum by Mr. Morgan and illustrated on plates
70-74 of Hoentschel Collection 1908. Each piece
shows two scenes divided by Gothic columns, one
the Massacre of the Innocents and the Flight to
Egypt, the other Jesus among the Doctors and the
Marriage of Cana. The last scene is illustrated on
plate no. 71 of this book. Although much eaten by
the moths, these two fragments are still splendid
examples of the art of tapestry-weaving at its best.
They tell the story easily and clearly without effort,
and in comparatively coarse weave secure striking
and immediate effects by line contrast. They are
each 5 feet 2 high by 1 2 feet 4 long.
Also similar in style is the Miracles of the Eucharist
that was given to Isabelle de la Jaille, Abbess of the
Abbey of Ronceray near Angers (1505-1518), whose
arms it bears in several places, by Louise Leroux.
The eighth scene has the inscription: Dame loyse
lerous doyenne et dame de chambre ceans. It adorned
E *d to
72 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
the choir of the church until the Revolution. In
1888 the eleven pieces in twenty-one scenes that still
remained in the Chateau du Plessis-Mace near the
Abbey, were scattered at public sale, one piece now
being in the Boston Fine Arts Museum (See plate
no- 73). two in the Museum of the Gobelins, one in
the Louvre, others in a chateau of Anjou, and one in
the Manor of Langeais. The subjects of all the
scenes are connected with the Holy Eucharist • as
announced by the first legend:
Cy commence Vystoire et la figure
De jhesus Christ et son sainct sacrement
Depuis abel et la toy de nature
Jusques a son cruel crucifiement
In English:
Here begins the story and the picture
Of Jesus Christ and his Holy Sacrament
From Abel and the law of nature
Until His cruel Crucifixion.
The different scenes of this set are framed in square
Gothic columns with flat slightly rounded arches
above, and a four-line French caption in Gothic
letters below.
The long frieze, 4 feet 11 by 97 feet 6, in the
Cathedral of Le Mans, picturing from the Story of
Saint Gervais and Saint Protais the same scenes as
the tapestry at the Cathedral of Soissons, was woven,
as an inscription on the last panel shows, for Martin
Guerande, a native of Anjou and canon of Le Mans,
and given by him to decorate the choir (See plate
no. 75).
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74 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Especially interesting to my English readers is
the splendidly preserved Life of Christ, in 14 pieces
and 27 scenes, at the Cathedral of Aix-en-Province,
because in it are woven the coats of arms of three
archbishops of Canterbury — on the piece containing
scenes nos. 23, 24 the arms of Cardinal Morton,
who died in 1500; on I, 2 of Henri Dene, archbishop
of Canterbury from 1500 to 1503; on 25, 26 of
William Wareham who succeeded Dene. Local
Aix tradition has it that the tapestries were originally
ordered for an English church. The presence of
these coats of arms, and also of those of Henry VIII
on n, 12, would seem to support tradition, and make
it certain that the English church in question was
Canterbury Cathedral. The tapestries are said to
have remained in England for a century and a half,
until the time of the Commonwealth, when they
were sent to Paris and offered for sale. There we
know that on April 4, 1656, Canon de Mimata bought
them for 1,200 ecus and presented them to the
Cathedral of Aix. When put on sale after the
Revolution, in 1789, they were purchased by Mon-
seigneur de Cice, Archbishop of Aix, and restored to
the Cathedral. The scenes are framed in square
Gothic columns, with verdure borders above and
below, Gothic verdure in the foreground and Gothic
castles in the distance. Of the scenes, nos. I, 2,
3, 4, 5, 24, 25, 26, 27 are reproduced in colour but
unsatisfactorily in Jubinal Tapisseries, and nos.
3, 4 photographically in brown opposite page 116
of Guiffrey Seizieme. Worthy of note but puzzling
76 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
is the coat of arms that occurs three times on the
tapestries: on nos. 3, 4; 7, 8; 19, 20. M. Guiffrey
speaks of it as the arms of the house of Oktanton
(sic), extinct in the middle of the XVI century, and
gives the inscription on it as Soli deo honor et gloria.
On 9, 10 is a shield, that "appears to belong to a
member of the Portland family," with the device
Craignes honte.
CHAPTER III
RENAISSANCE TAPESTRIES
THE most famous tapestries in the world are the
Acts of the Apostles set at the Vatican. The most
famous tapestry cartoons in the world are the Acts of
the Apostles set in the Victoria and Albert Museum
at South Kensington. How the cartoons came to be
painted by Raphael and the Vatican tapestries woven
from them will form an important part of this chapter
on Renaissance Tapestries. But just as I devoted
the last part of my Gothic chapter, so I wish to
devote the first part of my Renaissance chapter to
the Gothic- Renaissance Transition. Probably no
better example can be found than the set telling the
Story of Notre Dame du Sablon, first revealed to the
modern world of tapestry-lovers by the publication
of the catalogue of the Spitzer Collection 1890. Of
this set of four — two of which had been subdivided
into three pieces each — the most interesting is the
fourth, ii feet 8 by 7 feet 10, now in the Brussels
Museum, illustrated in colour in the Spitzer cata-
logue, and in half-tone on plate no. 79. Each of
the original tapestries consisted of three scenes in
triptych arrangement, the outer scenes each illustrat-
ing two Latin couplets (one above and one below), the
middle scenes one Latin couplet (below), in Gothic
letters, of the old poem that told the story.
77
78 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
The correct order of the scenes is made certain
by the letters marking each couplet — Q R S T V.
The donor and date of the set are made certain by
the inscription in the right-hand border: Egregius
franciscus de taxis pie me(m)orie postaru(m) mgr
(magister) hoc fieri fecit an(ri)o 1518 (The worthy
Francis de Taxis of pious memory, master of the
posts, had this made in the year 1518).
In a large proportion of Gothic-Renaissance
tapestries, the Gothic influence predominates even
when the architecture is purely Renaissance. In
the tapestry before us the Renaissance influence
predominates, especially in the borders and in the
columns. The panels are full of Gothic architecture,
and the robes and gowns are woven in the good old
Gothic fashion, but the sky-line has been lowered
to meet Renaissance requirements, and the per-
spective is definitely Renaissance. The scrolls, with
their ancient lettering and the inscription in the
right border, are Gothic, but the mottoes above and
below the shields in the side borders are Renaissance.
The combination is just what we should expect frorr
an Early Renaissance portrayal of a XIV centur}
story.
In 1348, so the story goes, Beatrix Stoetkens, i
poor woman of Antwerp, dreamed that the Virgir
appeared to her and bade her ask the wardens o
the church of Notre Dame for a long-neglected smal
statue of the Madonna. Beatrix got the statue anc
took it to a painter who enriched it with gold anc
precious colours. Then Beatrix restored it to th<
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80 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
church, where the Virgin clothed it with such grace
that it inspired devotion in all who beheld it. Then
the Virgin appeared again to Beatrix and bade her
carry the statue to Brussels. When the warden
tried to prevent Beatrix from taking it, he found
himself unable to move. She went at once to the
harbour, and with her precious burden embarked in
an empty boat. The boat stemmed the current as
if guided by the Virgin's own hand and brought
Beatrix to Brussels. There she was received by all
the dignitaries of the city, and the miraculous image
carried in triumphal procession to the church of
Notre Dame du Sablon.
In picturing this ancient story the artist followed
the Gothic fashion of modernising the costumes and
by way of compliment to the ruling powers also
modernised the actors in the sacred drama, substitut-
ing the contemporary ruler of the Netherlands (the
Emperor Charles V), and his brother Ferdinand, for
the XIV century Duke of Brabant and his son.
The personage that appears in all of the three
scenes of the tapestry illustrated, with a staff and a
letter, is Francis de Taxis the donor. In the middle
of the left border appears his coat of arms. The
coat of arms in the top border is that of Margaret
of Austria, Maximilian's daughter and Charles V's
guardian. The statue of the Madonna in the middle
panel of the tapestry is carried by Charles V(crowned)
and his younger brother Ferdinand. The kneeling
personage in the left panel, to whom Beatrix offers
the image of the Madonna, is probably Charles
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 81
V's father Philip the Handsome who died in 1506;
the kneeling personage in the right panel is Margaret
of Austria (See chapter IV), with Ferdinand and
his sisters Eleanor, Elisabeth, Mary, and Catherine,
behind her.
The Latin caption reads:
Q. The boat enters the harbour. The people rush from
all sides and the clergy come to meet it. The duke and nobles
gather at the wharfs. R. The magnanimous prince, rendering
homage to the celestial presence, kneels and takes the holy
object in his hands. 61. The dukes, father and son, raise the
grateful stretcher, and the radiant Virgin is borne to the
chosen place. /. She is placed in a sacred chapel as patron
for the wretched, and great crowds address to her prayers
that are not disdained. V. Honour then this Mary with
worship devout, and she will grant you the rewards that you
deserve.
The occasion of the weaving of this set of tapes-
tries was the founding of a chapel, in the Brussels
church Notre Dame du Sablon, by Francis de Taxis,
imperial postmaster-general, whose death in 1517,
before the completion of the tapestry, devolved upon
his nephew and successor Jean-Baptiste de Taxis the
pious duty of executing his last wishes.
About Raphael's designs for Pope Leo X's Acts of
the Apostles tapestries there is nothing transitional,
nothing Flemish, nothing Gothic. Panels and bor-
ders alike represent the full and free expression of the
Italian Renaissance. It is evident at first glance
that the painter of these cartoons knew little
about tapestry texture. The problems set the
weaver were not textile problems but paint problems,
82 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
as the result proves. The Raphael cartoons did
more harm to the art of tapestry-weaving than all
other influences combined. The greatness of the
artist and of his achievements misled the world, and
caused critics to applaud in tapestry what should
never have been put in tapestry at all. The side
borders of the Vatican set of the Acts of the Apostles
are decorative works of art of the highest quality;
but the bottom borders that imitate bas-relief, and
the panels that imitate painting, are valuable rather
as documents in the history of art than as master-
pieces of tapestry.
Nevertheless, by contemporaries and by posterity
these tapestries were praised without end. They were
admired by Francis I and Louis XIV, Henry VIII
and Charles I, Charles V and Philip II. By engravers,
by painters, and by weavers they were copied over
and over again. The woven copies are to-day among
the chief treasures of the Royal Spanish Collection,
the Imperial Austrian Collection, the French Nation-
al Collection, the Berlin Museum, Hampton Court,
the Beauvais Cathedral, the Cathedral of Loretto,
the Dresden Museum. Of the cartoons the Duke
d'Aumale said that "they are, together with the
Parthenon marbles, England's most beautiful art
possessions," and "as examples of Raphael's work
unexcelled except, perhaps, by the Chambers of the
Vatican."
The tapestries were first shown on December 26,
1519, in the Sistine Chapel for which they were
planned. The company assembled represented the
THE MIRACULOUS DRAFT
PLATE no. 83. Raphael's Acts of the Apostles. The Miraculous Draft of Fish, at the Vatican. One of the set of ten woven by
Pieter Van Aelst for Pope Leo X. On account of the narrowness of the spaces they were to fill in the Sistine Chapel, only part
of the set had side borders. The bottom borders are woven imitations of bas relief picturing scenes in the life of Leo X before he
became Pope, and in the life of Saint Paul. The lower part of the left side border of the tapestry illustrated was cut off when
Rome was sacked in 1527, and was later replaced by the coat of arms of Constable Montmorency and by two Latin inscriptions,
the first memorializing the return of part of the set to Pope Julius III by this Constable in 1553, the second the repairing of the
tapestries by Pope Pius VH in 1814 at great expense.
84 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
learning and refinement of the world. There were
red-robed cardinals and velvet-capped painters,
gaily clad young noblemen and sombre gowned
scholars, and foreign ambassadors in the picturesque
attire of their various countries. All were enthusias-
tic. They were unable to express the full extent of
their admiration. " Everyone present," wrote one
of the guests, "was speechless at the sight of these
hangings, and it is the unanimous opinion that
nothing more beautiful exists in the universe."
Another guest wrote: "After the Christmas
celebrations were over, the Pope exposed in his
chapel seven tapestries (the eighth not being finished)
executed in the West [in Flanders]. They were
considered by everybody the most beautiful speci-
mens of the weaver's art ever executed. And this
in spite of the celebrity already attained by other
tapestries — those in the antechamber of Pope Julius
II, those made for the Marchese of Mantua after
the cartoons of Mantegna, and those made for the
King of Naples. They were designed by Raphael of
Urbino, an excellent painter, who received from the
Pope one hundred ducats for each cartoon. They
contain much gold, silver, and silk, and the weaving
cost 1,500 ducats apiece — a total of 16,000 ducats
($37,000) for the set — as the Pope himself says,
though rumour would put the cost at 20,000 golden
ducats."
The tapestries were woven in Brussels under the
supervision of the Flemish painter Barend Van Orley,
friend and pupil of Raphael. Brussels was then the
0) M ki
M 3=3
86 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
world's principal centre of tapestry production,
Arras, that gave its name to the English arras and
the Italian arazzi, having been captured and ruined
in 1477 by Louis XI. The atelier selected was that
of Pieter Van Aelst, tapestry-weaver to Philip the
Handsome, and to Philip's son, the future Emperor
Charles V.
Of Van Aelst's success in interpreting the cartoons
Vasari wrote: "One is astonished at the sight of
this series. The execution is marvellous. One can
hardly imagine how it was possible, with simple
threads, to produce such delicacy in the hair and
beards and to express the suppleness of flesh. It is a
work more Godlike than human; the waters, the
animals, and the habitations are so perfectly repre-
sented that they appear painted with the brush, not
woven." An opinion that shows how little Vasari
knew about tapestry, and about what constitutes
excellence in tapestry (See chapter VIII).
Orders for duplicate sets at once began to pour
into Brussels. For three pieces that totalled 73 |i
aunes (about 38 square yards) Francis I, in 1534,
paid the enormous price of 50 golden ecus per aune.
Henry VIII acquired a set of nine pieces rich with
gold that, at the time of the Charles I sale, was pur-
chased by the Spanish Ambassador to England,
Don Alonzo de Cardenas, who sold it to the Duke
of Alba in 1662. In 1833, it was bought by a British
Consul in Spain, who sold it to a London merchant.
In 1844 it was bought for the Berlin Museum.
Another set once owned by the Duke of Alba was
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 87
presented recently to the British nation by Baron
d'Erlanger, and is now on exhibition at Hampton
Court. The nine pieces composing it were woven
in the early seventeenth century, in the workshop of
the great Jan Raes of Brussels. Seven of them hang
in the King's Gallery, which was built by Sir Christo-
pher Wren for the display of the cartoons. The
remaining two — the Stoning of Saint Stephen and
the Conversion of Saul — hang in the dining-room.
One of the sets of nine in the Imperial Austrian
Collection has been the subject of much controversy.
On October 8, 1539, according to the anonymous
author of a pamphlet published in New York in
1901, entitled the Raphael Cartoons, Duke Fred-
eric Gonzaga wrote to Nicolas Karcher as follows:
Nicolas Karcher, master-weaver of Brussels, must come to
our estates, because we desire him to weave tapestries for our
court from the drawings which we will order to be given to
him. We desire that he shall be provided with all the con-
veniences necessary for his labour. For all the time that he
shall remain in Mantua he shall have wine and all necessary,
etc.
To which Karcher replied:
Your Highness:
Your generosity is known to all the world. I am at your
command, and will do all that is in my power to be useful to
you, and to please you. I will be much honoured to serve
you in my art. I dare to hope that you will give me all the
means necessary for my work
Your humble servitor,
NICOLAS KARCHER,
Master- weaver of Flemish tapestries.
88 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Furthermore we are told that Duke Hercules on
his death in 1563 bequeathed to his nephew, Duke
William, "the tapestries called the Acts of the
Apostles, for the church of Saint Barbara."
So that there would seem some reason for suppos-
ing that Karcher wove this Acts of the Apostles
set for the Duke, if we did not know that the different
pieces of the set — which was removed from the
church of Santa Barbara to the ducal castle in
Mantua by the Empress Maria Theresa, and from
there to Vienna in 1866 — bear the Brussels mark
and the monograms of Brussels weavers, as well as
the arms of Duke Hercules.
A second set of nine pieces in the Imperial Austrian
Collection, woven in Brussels in the XVI century,
was acquired in 1804 from the Ruffo family of
Naples by the Emperor Francis I. Each piece bears
the Brussels mark and a monogram.
Of the two XVI century sets of nine in the Royal
Spanish Collection, one has a Flemish border of
ribbons and flowers. The other has a full set of
side and bottom borders including, and in the style
of, the side borders of the Vatican set (See Tapestry
Borders in chapter X), and though without the
Brussels mark, signed with the monograms of the
weavers who signed the Gonzaga set in the Imperial
Austrian Collection. It may be regarded as certain
that both the Gonzaga set and the last Spanish set
mentioned were woven not long after the com-
pletion of the Vatican set and from the same cartoons.
Three pieces belonging to the City of Milan,
.9 I-fi
90 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
exhibited at the Retrospective Exposition there in
1874, and bearing the coat of arms of Cardinal
Mazarin, Muentz regards as identical with tapestries
woven for Louis XIV's famous minister in Paris and
bequeathed by him to Marquis Mancini.
The set now in the Cathedral of Beauvais was
woven at the Beauvais works by Philip Behagle,
whose signature appears in the selvage. At the
Gobelins several sets have been woven, notably
one by Laurent, Lefevre, and Jans under the direction
of Lebrun. About sets woven at Mortlake, see
chapter V. For illustration of Acts of the Apostles
tapestries, see plates nos. 83, 85, 89, 91, 93.
The subjects of the ten original tapestries are:
(i) the Miraculous Draught of Fish, (2) the Charge;
to Saint Peter, (3) the Cure of the Paralytic, (4)
the Death of Ananias, (5) the Stoning of Sain:
Stephen, (6) the Conversion of Saint Paul, (71
Elymas Struck Blind, (8) the Sacrifice at Lystra,
(9) Saint Paul in Prison, (10) Saint Paul on the
Areopagus. In reproductions, Saint Paul in Prisor
was uniformly omitted because of its small size anc
lack of interest. From the cartoons bought for
Mortlake and now at South Kensington, the Stoning
of Saint Stephen and the Conversion of Saint Pau
were also missing, so that Mortlake sets contaii
seven tapestries only.
The original tapestries woven for Leo X had their
share of vicissitude. The walls of the Vatican wen
no protection. The portableness of the tapestrie:
made them the easy prey of looters and thieves
PLATE no. 91. Raphael's Acts of the Apostles. Above, the Miraculous Draft of Fish, one
of a set of eight in the Beauvais Cathedral, signed by BEHAGLE proprietor of the Beauvais
Tapestry Works at the end of the XVII century. Below^ the Conversion of Saul, one of a
set of nine at Hampton Court, purchased at the Alba Sale 1877 by Baron d'Erlanger and by
him presented to the British Nation. The tapestries of this set are signed with the Brussels
mar* and with the monogram of the great early XVII century weaver Jan Raes.
92 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
while the other decorations of the Sistine — the
frescoes — stayed securely in place. Their first mis-
fortune was to be pawned immediately after Leo's
death in 1521. The great painter was then dead a
year, so both Leo and Raphael were spared the
ignominy of seeing the tapestries mortgaged for the
comparatively small sum of 5,000 ducats. Next
the tapestries were loot for the hordes that sacked
Rome, in 1527, under the Constable Bourbon.- The
soldiers sold them in various parts of the world.
The "Conversion of Saul" and "St. Paul at Athens"
are known to have been in Venice the following
year. This latter piece wandered to Constantinople
where it and the "Draught of Fishes" were bought
by the Constable Montmorency and returned to
Julius III.
The worst fate of all befell the tapestry of " Elymas
Struck Blind." This the soldiers cut in pieces to
sell the more readily. A quarter of a century later
the Vatican regained possession of enough fragments
to piece together half of it. It is missing from the
Morgan photographs mentioned below.
After the tapestries were reassembled in Rome
they left their places only to be shown to the populace
every Corpus Christi. This custom lasted until
1798. In that year the French army under Berthier
entered the Holy City. Barely two weeks later the
French carried Pius VII off to die in France, after
long captivity, and ordered an auction sale of the
Vatican furnishings. French second-hand dealers
were there in numbers, and among the bargains they
94 I \\PESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
picked up were the Raphael tapestries at 1,250
piastres each.
The dealers took them to Paris and offered them
to the French Government. Pending the decision
the tapestries enriched the walls of the Louvre. The
new republic apparently had more important uses
for its money and let the opportunity pass. The
tapestries were returned to Marseilles and finally
made their way back to the Vatican in 1808. • How
they got there no one can explain. This journey
terminated their wanderings.
In the photograph room of the Library of the
Metropolitan Museum are large photographs, pictur-
ing the Vatican set as it is now, especially made for
Mr. Morgan and by him presented to the Museum.
One of the most prolific designers of cartoons for
tapestries in the style of the Italian Renaissance was
Raphael's pupil Giulio Romano. His most famous
sets were the Story of Scipio, in 22 pieces, and the
Fruits of War, in 8 pieces. For a set of the former
Frangois I paid 23,000 ecus, and of the original
colour sketches 15 have been discovered by Colonel
d'Astier and M. Jean Guiffrey in the Cabinet of
Designs at the Louvre. Other sets attributed to
Giulio Romano are the Story of Romulus and Remus
in the Brussels Museum, woven about 1540 for
Cardinal d'Este; and the Grotesque Months (Ara-
besque), in the French National Collection.
Other sets designed by Italian painters are the
ten pieces of Vertumnus and Pomona, acquired by
Charles V at Amiens in 1546, now in the Royal
96 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Spanish Collection; the Story of Psyche, in 26 pieces,
after sketches by Raphael, some of which are pre-
served at Fontainebleau and at Pau; the Story of
Moses at the Chartres Museum, perhaps modelled
on the designs Raphael made for the Loggie; the
Story of Vulcan and Venus (See chapter V under
Mortlake).
However, in the midst of all these Italian Renais-
sance pictures, there were two Flemish painters who
held their own — Barend Van Orley and Lucas Van
Leyden. To the latter are attributed the Months of
Lucas in 12 pieces; to the latter the Hunts of
Maximilian, in 12 pieces, otherwise known as the
Belles Chasses de Guise because of the famous set
owned by the Duke of Guise, woven by Francois
Geubels of Brussels, and now in the Louvre. Both
sets were immensely popular in the XVII and XVIII
centuries as well as in the XVI century, and both
were reproduced at the Gobelins (See chapter VI)
over and over again.
Another important set in seven pieces, designed
by Van Orley, of which the Louvre has the original
sketches, was the Battle of Pavia presented by thi
Netherlands to Charles V in 1531 (See plate no. 309) .
It illustrates the Capture of Francis I, his Departure
for Spain, and his Captivity at Madrid.
By a curious lack of tact it hung in the very ha 1
of the Palace of Brussels where Admiral Coligny was
received in 1556, when he went to ratify the Peacj
of Vauxcelles in the name of Henri II. By th±
Infante Don Carlos, eldest son of Philip II, it was
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98 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
bequeathed in his will dated May 19, 1564, to his
preceptor Don Honorato Juan. By Don Alfonso
de Pescara, last representative of the Avalos family
of Naples, it was bequeathed to the Museum of
Naples in his will of August 18, 1862. For many
years the tapestries were kept in the Museum store-
room, and only recently put on exhibition.
Another important set dealing with contemporary
history was the Conquest of Tunis, woven by Wil-
lem Van Pannemaker, of Brussels, for the Emperor
Charles V. The designs were by Charles V's painter
Vermeyen, who accompanied him on the campaign.
CHAPTER IV
FLEMISH AND BURGUNDIAN LOOMS
THE principal Flemish cities famous for tapestry
weaving were Arras, Brussels, Tournai, Bruges,
Enghien, Oudenarde, Middlebourg, Lille, Antwerp,
Delft. Of these Arras and Lille are now in France,
Delft in Holland, the others in Belgium. Romantic
as is the history of these Flemish cities, and necessary
as a knowledge of it is to those who would know
Flemish tapestries, the changes in sovereignty were
so frequent as to be very confusing, and rather hard
reading. Consequently I have introduced, in small
type, a brief resume with dates that will be found
invaluable for reference by those who at any time
want questions answered about Flemish, Burgun-
dian, Philip the Good, Charles the Bold, Mary of
Burgundy, the Emperor Maximilian, Philip the
Handsome, the Emperor Charles V, the Emperor
Ferdinand I, Margaret of Austria, Mary of Hun-
gary, the Spanish King Philip II, Margaret of
Parma, the Archdukes of the Netherlands Isabel
and Albert, the Spanish Netherlands, the Austrian
Netherlands.
During the first three-quarters of the Gothic XV century,
the terms Flemish and Burgundian are synonymous as far as
tapestry is concerned. For the Duke of Burgundy acquired,
99
100 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
in addition to the French Duchy of Burgundy, the provinces
of Flanders and Artois through his wife in 1384, while his
grandson Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy from 1419 to
1467, added province after province of the Netherlands —
Namur in 1427, Holland, Zeeland, Hainault, Friesland in
1428; Brabant and Limburg in 1430. He also acquired the
duchy of Luxemburg by purchase in 1443. In power he was
superior to the King of France, and met on equal terms with
the Emperor and the King of England. His court was the
most brilliant and polite in Europe. For him were painted
the finest paintings, illuminated the most beautiful manu-
scripts, and woven the richest tapestries. France lay pros-
trate under English control after the battle of Agincourt, in
1415, and the Treaty of Troyes and the marriage of the
English King Henry V to Catherine, daughter of the French
King Charles VI, in 1420, until Joan of Arc raised the siege of
Orleans in 1429 and started Charles VII of France on the
road back to power. In the XIV century, Paris had been an
important centre of tapestry-weaving. In the XV century
the industry appears to have been confined principally to
the Flemish cities and to the cities in Italy and elsewhere that
imported Flemish weavers. (See Italian Looms in chapter
VII.) The power of Philip the Good was inherited by his
son Charles the Bold (1467-1477), who added Liege and
Gelderland to the Burgundian dominions, but was interrupted
in his triumphal course by successive defeats at the hands of
the Swiss in the battles of Granson, March 2, 1476; Morat,
June 22, 1476; Nancy, January 5, 1477. At Nancy, Charles
himself was among the slain, leaving his only daughter Mary
of Burgundy sole heiress to all his possessions. Louis XI of
France claimed the reversion of the French fiefs and seized
Burgundy, Franche Comt6, and Artois. But the Nether-
lands would have none of him, and supported Mary, whose
marriage to Archduke Maximilian of Austria introduced the
long period of Hapsburg rule. When Maximilian was elected
Emperor, in 1494, he handed over the Netherlands to his son
102 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Philip the Handsome, whose marriage to Joanna (Jeanne)
of Aragon ultimately brought Aragon and Castile under the
sovereignty of his son Charles, whose election as Emperor
Charles V, in 1519, on the death of his grandfather Maximil-
ian, concentrated in his hands more authority than had been
possessed by any ruler since Charlemagne.
When Charles's father died in 1506, his widowed aunt,
Margaret of Austria, was appointed by Maximilian to act as
governor-general of the Netherlands. After Charles assumed
the government, at the age of 15 (in 1515), she continued to
act for him, and was successful in securing and retaining
the loyalty of all Netherlanders. After the death of
Margaret, in 1530, Charles appointed his widowed sister,
Mary of Hungary, to the regency. So much of the
history of the Netherlands is it necessary to know in
order to understand the term Burgundian, as applied to
XV century tapestries, and also to understand how the
richest collection of Renaissance tapestries in the world came
to be in Spain.
When Charles abdicated, in 1555, he was succeeded in Spain
and the Netherlands by his son Philip II, but the imperial
power went to Charles's brother Ferdinand I, who was already
Archduke of Austria and King of Hungary. Philip was a
thorough Spaniard who did not like the Netherlands, and in
1559 sailed for Spain, leaving as regent Margaret of Parma, a
natural daughter of Charles V. During the religious and
anti-Spanish wars that ensued, the French Catholic South
became alienated from the Dutch Protestant North. The
latter is now the Kingdom of Holland, the former the Kingdom
of Belgium (since 1830).
In 1598 Philip appointed his eldest daughter Isabel and her
husband Albert "the archdukes" of the Netherlands, but over
the northern or Dutch Netherlands (the United Provinces)
they were never able to exercise authority. Under their
rule, tapestry weaving — among other industries of the Southern
Netherlands that had been interrupted by the long struggle
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against Spain — began to revive but never regained its ancient
importance. On the death of Isabel, in 1633, the Southern
Netherlands reverted to Spain and were known as the Spanish
Netherlands until 1713, when they passed under the control
of the Emperor Charles VI and until the French Revolution
were known as the Austrian Netherlands.
CHAPTER V
MORTLAKE, MERTON, AND OTHER ENGLISH LOOMS
THE success of Henri IV of France in importing
low-warp weavers from Flanders, and establishing
the industry at Paris in 1607, stirred England to
imitation. A copy of the agreement made by
Henri IV with Marc de Comans and Francois de
la Planche, was secured and a royal commission
was appointed to consider the proposals of Sir
Francis Crane, last lay chancellor of the Order of
the Garter, and a prominent figure at the Courts of
both James I and Charles I. In August, , 1619,
Sir Francis was granted the fees for the making of
three baronets.
At this point it is interesting to note that the
baronetcy is a title created in 1611 by James I,
"a new Dignitie between Barons and Knights,"
for the purpose of raising money. The fees that
each new baronet must pay, at first amounted to
£1,095, but were probably less by 1619.
In return for this grant of money in the form of
fees, and for the exclusive privilege for twenty-one
years of making tapestries (tapissiers already estab-
lished being excepted on presenting proper evidence
to the commissioners) , and for freedom from taxation,
Sir Francis was to equip the plant and accept a
105
106 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
certain number of seven-year apprentices from the
Hospitals of the City of London.
The King's agents abroad at once began tojirrange
secretly for the importation of Flemish weavers.
In 1620 the secretary of the Flemish embassy at
London reported to his sovereigns, Albert and Isabel
the Archdukes of the Netherlands, that fifty had
already arrived. Among them were Josse Inghele,
Jacques Hendrix, Pierre Foquentin, Simon Heyns,
of Oudenarde; and Josse Ampe of Bruges. Among
those who came soon after, were Peter de Craight,
Louis Vermoulen, and Philip de Maecht who became
manager of the works at Mortlake, and who had
previously been manager of an atelier for Comans and
Planche in Paris. His monogram appears in the
selvage of Paris as well as of Mortlake tapestries.
The Prince of Wales who became King on March
27, 1623, as Charles I, and his bosom friend and
mentor "Steenie," Marquis of Buckingham (Duke
of Buckingham after May 18, 1623), were enthusias-
tic patrons of Sir Francis. The first important set
woven at Mortlake a suburb of London, was Vulcan
and Venus, in nine pieces bearing the monogram of
Charles in cartouches in the side borders, the three
feathers of the Prince of Wales in the cartouche in
the top border, and in the bottom border four
sceptres crossed with a ribbon bearing the Latin
inscription Sceptra fovent artes, which in the one of
this set owned by Mrs. Von Zedlitz and exhibited
on loan at the Metropolitan Museum (See plate no.
107), reads favent by error for fovent. The phrase
108 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
means Sceptres (that is to say, Kings) foster the
arts. The one of this set in the Victoria and Albert
Museum, illustrated by Thomson opposite page
304, also has favent. Both of these tapestries are
signed with the Mortlake shield and the monogram
of Philip de Maecht in the bottom selvage, but the
bottom selvage of Mrs. Von Zedlitz's tapestry is
now attached vertically on the right, the original
selvage there evidently having worn away.
Charles and Buckingham were not as prompt
with payments as with orders. During their absence
in Spain in 1623, Sir Francis wrote to King James a
letter that is reprinted by Thomson from page 285
of the European Magazine for October, 1786. He
beseeches the King to excuse his boldness in thus
addressing him, and explains that he is "already
above £16,000 in the busynes and never made
returns of more than £2,500, so that my estate is
wholly exhausted and my credit is spent." . . .
"and I know not how to give continuance to the
busyness one month longer." He also says:
"The Prince and My Lord Marquis both (to whom
a little before their journey I presented my necessities
) gave me commandment to keep the busy-
ness afoote, and promised me for the present to keep
the fire goinge (which was the Prince's own phrase),
that I should instantly receive the money layed out
for my Lord Marquis, which was £3,200, and that I
should have besides the benefit of two Serjeants
[meaning the fees paid by them on assuming office].
"The Prince gave me order to go into hande
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 109
with a rich suite of the Months and to send to Genna
[Genoa] for certayne drawings of Raphaell of that
Urbin, which were desseignes for tapestries made
for Pope Leo the X, and for which there is £300 to
be payed, besides their charge of bringing home."
The Prince wrote from Madrid, directing his
council to pay £700 for the tapestry drawings
ordered from Italy, and £500 on the set of the
Twelve Months being woven for him at Mortlake.
He was anxious to have the set finished before his
return to England.
Early in the history of the Mortlake industry,
Francis Cleyn, a student in Italy, in the service of
Charles' uncle, Christian IV of Denmark, was
brought to the notice of Prince Charles, and per-
mission was secured for him to enter the English
service. His work was so much liked that on June
4, 1625, Charles, shortly after his accession to the
throne, granted him a life salary of £100 a year.
As shown on page 112 of volume XVIII of Rymer's
Fredera :
"Know ye that we do give and graunt unto
Francis Cleyn a certain annuitie of one hundred
pounds a year during his natural life."
Francis Cleyn acted as art director of the Mortlake
Tapestry Works until his death in 1658. Cleyn's
prosperity, however, was merely an overflow from
that of Sir Francis. Nearly a month earlier — on
May 10, 1625, to be exact — by a document printed
on page 60 of volume XVIII of Rymer's Fcedera
under the heading De Concessione Speciali Francesco
110 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Crane Militi, King Charles acknowledges an in-
debtedness of £6,000 to Sir Francis, balance due on
three suits of gold tapestry, and granted him a
pension of £1,000 a year for ten years "for the better
Maintenance of the said Workes of Tapestries,"
and of a second £1,000 a year for the same period to
settle the debt, but with the proviso that if at any
time Charles paid the debt in full with interest at
8 per cent., the payment of the second £1,000 a year
should cease. The document also provides that the
£2,000 a year shall be paid out of the revenues accru-
ing " in respect of the Pre-emption of Tynne within
the counties of Cornwall and Devon."
The first set of Vulcan and Venus, in nine pieces,
woven plain without gold, except "in the piece of
Apollo and for the letters, 16 oz. at 6s. the ounce,"
amounting to a total of £4 i6s., had cost Charles
£2,000, paid in three instalments: £500 on January
15, 1620; £500 on May 17, 1621; £1,000 on March
17, 1621. It was begun on September 16, 1620, and
finished on June 5, 1622.
The three "suits of gold tapestry," mentioned
above — also picturing Vulcan and Venus according
to Dru Burton the Auditor-General — who about
1630 lost his position for protesting against what he
regarded as the exorbitant charges of Sir Francis —
cost Charles, according to Burton, £3,000 apiece.
The details that Burton supplies (in the State
papers of Charles I) are exceedingly interesting.
Vulcan and Venus, he says, "is the foundation of
all good Tapestries made in England." The whole
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 111
set contained 479 ells I stick H Flemish. "It cost
the undertaker materials, workmanship and all other
charges being included, by just account, £905 8s.
I9d., which comes to 375. iod., the Flemish ell or
thereabouts. ... It was sold to yr Ma beeing
Prince for £2,000 as containing 500 ells fl. at £4, the
elle, the most part of the monie being imprested
before the work was finished, whereby was clearly
gained to the undertaker of that manufacture
£1,094 us. io^d." A marginal note states that
Burton made this account "according to Philip de
Maecht's books and instructions [he] being Mr. and
Director of the Tapistrs."
The items of cost of the first set, reprinted in full
by Thomson on page 307, show that Peter de Craight
received £23 133. for weaving the Nakeds, Louis
Vermoulen £24 35. for the Faceworke, Philip de
Maecht the overseer Director Tapissiers 43. out of
every ell for the common worke and 43. the elle for
the face worke, being together 486 ells 10 stocks ^4,
amounting to £97 6s. 6d. The cost of "silke,
yarne, warpe," and gold is also given in itemized
form.
Burton's attack did Sir Francis no harm, and the
impression one gets from going through the accounts
is that Charles I was anxious to be munificent in
helping build up the industry. He visited the
Mortlake factory in person on March 28, 1629, and
even considered with Sir Francis the establishment
of another tapestry works in the manorhouse of
Graf ton.
112 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
The death, in June, 1636, of Sir Francis, who had
gone to Paris in March to undergo a surgical opera-
tion, ended the prosperity of Mortlake. His brother,
Captain Richard Crane, soon got into financial
difficulties. The 140 persons connected with the
works petitioned the King, claiming that he owed
them £545 3s. 8d., and had paid them nothing for
nine months. Their petition is described in the
State papers as that of "the poor men of Mortlake."
One year after the death of Sir Francis, Richard
Crane sold out his interest to the King for £5,811
los. 6d., and Mortlake became a royal factory known
as "the King's Works." The five principal weavers
agreed to make 600 ells of tapestry yearly for a fixed
price, and to train apprentices. The King, on his
part, agreed to give an annual subsidy of £2,000, and
to increase the allowance of the art director, Francis
Cleyn, to £250 a year, with the understanding that
out of that sum he was to pay an assistant.
Some of the prices paid to Richard Crane for
tapestries woven under his regime and before are
interesting. For a set of Hero and Leander, contain-
ing 284 Flemish ells at £6 an ell, £1,704. For a piece
of Saint Paul and Elymas the Sorcerer containing
83 ells at £8 the ell, £664. For a piece of Diana and
Calisto containing 63 ells at £8 the ell, £504. For a
set of the Horses, £1,204. For "two pieces on the
looms with a tawny border, "£269 135. 6d. For "three
other pieces on the looms," £380 los. 4d. For "two
pieces more of the same set, which are finished,"
£334. For "sundry silks and yarns," £362 135. 4d.
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 113
In January, 1638, a set of the Story of Saint
Paul, containing 3,064 ells Flemish, was sold to
the Lord Chamberlain for £804 us. 3d. In De-
cember, 1639, five pieces of the Story of the Apostles
were sold to the Earl Holland for £886 175. 6d.
In 1641, one of the workmen received £85 with
which to purchase cartoons of the Story of Dido
and ^-Eneas, in the Netherlands.
The outbreak of the Great Rebellion in 1642 made
it impossible for the King to keep up his payments.
In 1643 he owed the works £3,937 and the workmen
petitioned for leave to export tapestries to the
Netherlands free of duty, a remarkable instance of
wanting to "carry coals to Newcastle." On January
30, 1649, Charles I was put to death at Whitehall in
London.
One of the first acts of the Commonwealth (1649-
1660), was to make a priced inventory of the house-
hold goods "belonging to the late King," and have
them sold "by order of the Council of State, from ye
severall Places and Palaces," as Denmark House,
Somerset House, Oatelands, Windsor, Hampton
Court, Richmond, Syon House, Whitehall, Caris-
brook, etc., etc. The inventory was among the
manuscripts (Bibl. Harl. No. 4898), collected by
Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford and Queen Anne's
famous minister, and now preserved in the British
Museum. The part of the inventory covering
tapestries will be found complete on pages 351-395 of
Thomson.
Nevertheless, the Commonwealth made some
114 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
efforts to promote the weaving of tapestries at Mort-
lake. The buildings were repaired, and Sir Gilbert
Pickering was put in charge, with John Holliburie
(Hallenbirch), as overseer. In 1653 Mantegna's
series of nine paintings picturing the Triumph of
Caesar, was ordered sent from Hampton Court in
order that it might be copied for use as tapestry
cartoons. In 1657, Philip Hallenbirch proposed the
execution of the Story of Abraham, by himself. The
Council of State finally referred the question of new
designs to Francis Cleyn, giving him the option of
weaving one or both "if his Highness [Cromwell]
shall so direct." Cromwell was personally so fond
of tapestry as to hang his bedroom at Hampton
Court with "five pieces of fine tapestry hangings of
Vulcan and Venus."
The Restoration of 1660 did not help matters
much at Mortlake. Not until 1662 were the pro-
posals of Sir Sackville Crow to Charles II for the
revival of the industry acted on. In that year he
received a grant of the government of the tapestry
works at Mortlake with £1,000 a year toward the
upkeep, and a warrant to search out all paintings
and cartoons for tapestry that had belonged to
Charles I. He was to pay a nominal rent of 53. per
year, and Verrio, the court painter, was to supply
designs.
In 1667 Sir Sackville sent in his resignation,
finding — so he says in a letter dated May, 1670,
to the Countess of Rutland, preserved in the Belvoir
Manuscripts and reprinted by the Historical Manu-
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 115
scripts Commission of Great Britain — "that busines
without his Majestie's encouragement rather a
burden than a bennifitt to mee to keepe itt upp to
that perfection I found and made itt."
Francus Poyntz was the next manager of the
Mortlake tapestry works and continued to hold the
position until at least 1678. In 1668 Charles II
paid him £495 5s. for a set of the Bacchanals, and
£316 6s. 3d. for the Story of Polidore. In 1669
he bought five Caesar panels after Mantegna's
designs — 137^2 Flemish ells (a square Flemish ell
is 9/1 6 of a yard), at £4 a yard — for £550. Also
the Acts of the Apostles, 143^ ells at £i 155. per
ell, for £251 us. 3d. In 1673 five tapestries
picturing the Story of the Boyes (Giulio Romano's
Children Playing), containing 86K ells, were acquired
for the King's Great Wardrobe, at £4 an ell, for
£345 6s. 8d.
Poyntz's initials and the date 1672 appear on a
large tapestry belonging to the Marquis of Chol-
mondeley (Hough ton Hall), illustrated by Thomson
opposite page 324, and picturing separately with
borders between, James I, and Anne of Denmark
his Queen, Charles I and Henrietta Maria his
Queen, Christian IV of Denmark brother of Anne.
The vertical borders also carry in the middle, oval
medallion portraits of the royal children. The price
paid for this tapestry was £1,416 133. lid.
There are also three pieces of tapestry signed by
Francus Poyntz at Hampton Court, in the Prince
of Wales' Bedroom. They illustrate the naval
116 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
battle of Solebay (Southwold), fought on May 28,
1672, between the Dutch under De Ruyter and
the combined English and French fleets under the
Duke of York and the Count d'Estrees. It is
difficult to understand why the English wished to
commemorate the event in tapestry, for the allies
were distinctly worsted, the Duke of York losing
his flagship, and his second in command the Earl of
Sandwich losing not only his ship but his life.
These three pieces of tapestry, probably only part
of the original set, are 12 feet high, and the first two
are each 24 feet long. The third piece is folded in.
The panels show ships in action and are not par-
ticularly interesting in design or weave or color.
Indeed it is to these three tapestries that Boettiger
Swedish, page 73 of volume II, attributes the fact
that "the products of the Mortlake factory do not
appear to be well known or much appreciated in
England." The first and third pieces are signed
with the Mortlake shield between the initials F and
P. The second piece substitutes for the initials the
full name FRANCVS POYNTZ. The Mortlake
shield — that is, the shield of St. George, a red cross
on a silver ground — appears in its complete form,
not misshapen and with cross gone as on many
Mortlake tapestries.
In 1678 Poyntz petitioned the King on behalf of
the foreign Roman Catholic weavers, whom a recent
proclamation obliged to leave the country (page 69
of part 2 of report XI of Britain Manuscripts).
He also seized the opportunity to bring the whole
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 117
tapestry situation to the King's attention. He
argued that England had the best wool in the world
for tapestry, and that the added imports of silk from
Turkey would increase the exports of English wool
in exchange. The workmen in France and Flanders
were not thriving and could easily be induced to
cross the Channel. The £100,000 paid every year
for imported tapestry would be kept at home.
Poyntz's petition does not appear to have pro-
duced the desired result and the business continued
in the doldrums. Finally, in 1703, the property
was released by Queen Anne from the restrictions
imposed by Charles I that it must be used for the
manufacture of tapestry. This was the end of the
Mortlake tapestry works.
That the Mortlake Works were in operation as
late as 1688, when Ralph Montague was created
Earl, is proved by four square tapestry table-covers
bearing, in the middle on a dark green ground, his
arms as Earl Montague of Houghton, with wide bor-
der of foliage and eagles and arms in the middle of
each side. Montague House and Houghton both
contain certain pieces from the Naked Boys series
with small borders.
About the merit of the tapestries woven at Mort-
lake during the lifetime of Sir Francis Crane, there
can be no difference of opinion. The manager,
Philip de Maecht, was highly efficient, the artistic
director, Francis Cleyn, was equally skilful at
adapting and creating, and there was money available
to buy supplies and pay the men.
118 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Among the most famous sets woven in the golden
period were Vulcan and Venus, after XVI century
designs (by Rivieres on the authority of Sir Sack-
ville Crow in a letter to the Countess of Rutland
dated May 7, 1670); the Naked Boyes, after the
XVI century designs of Raphael's pupil Giulio
Romano; the Acts of the Apostles after the famous
cartoons of Raphael that are still preserved in the
Victoria and Albert Museum; Hero and Leander,
and the Horses, by Francis Cleyn; the Twelve
Months, after XVI century designs.
The Triumph of Julius Caesar, by Mantegna,
nine paintings, nine feet square, still preserved at
Hampton Court, appears to have been first put on
the looms in the reign of Charles II, from cartoons
ordered by Cromwell.
Probably the best monument to the Mortlake
tapestry works is the set of Acts of the Apostles,
after Raphael (See my chapter on Renaissance
Tapestries), preserved in the French National Col-
lection. Four of them are illustrated in Guichard
French. The full set of seven is described in Louis
XIV Inventory no. 34 on page 300 of volume I, as
follows:
"Acts of the Apostles. A set of low- warp tapestry
of wool and silk enriched with gold, made in England,
design of Raphael, representing the Acts of the
Apostles, in a border with red ground and with
cartouches in which there are medallions and colour
of gilded bronze where are represented different
stories of the New Testament, accompanied by angles
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 119
and by figures with festoons of flowers and fruit.
In the middle of the top border are the arms of
England supported by a lion and a unicorn. Con-
tains 40 aunes [French ell of 46^ inches] in total
length by 4^ aunes high, in seven pieces." Louis
XIV also had two other sets of the Acts of the
Apostles with gold and attributed to England, no.
30 in seven pieces 3/4 aunes high and no. 35 in four
pieces 4/4 aunes high. No. 30 had a simpler border
than no. 34, and neither bore the royal arms of
England. According to page 26 of Muentz Vatican
there now remain in the French National Collection
15 out of the 1 8 pieces enumerated above. Miintz
was mistaken in saying that Louis XIV owned only
two sets of Mortlake Acts of the Apostles, and in
taking his transcription from the inventory, he
omitted Mortlake tapestry no. 34, which is the most
important set that has survived (See plate no. 93).
The identity of this set of tapestries is made certain
not only by the very exact description of the border
Contained in the inventory, but also by the Mortlake
shield, and the monogram of Sir Francis Crane, that
appear in the selvage of some of the pieces. Also, by
the Car. re. reg. Mortl., which unabbreviated reads
Carolo rege regnante Mortlake, and means At Mortlake
in the reign of King Charles.
Tradition says that Rubens, having seen the
Raphael cartoons in Brussels, persuaded Charles I
to buy them about 1630. I prefer to follow Sir
Francis Crane who, in 1623, in his letter of remon-
strance to King James about money matters, quoted
120 TAPESTRIES -THEIR ORIGIN
earlier in this chapter, says definitely and specifically
that Prince Charles had already ordered him to send
to Genoa for these Raphael drawings.
Tradition also says that Antoine Van Dyck, the
fashionable portrait painter of the Court of Charles
I designed the borders of the Acts of the Apostles
sets woven at Mortlake. I can find no facts to
support the tradition and am inclined to give Francis
Cleyn credit for these and other borders, including
those used on the first Vulcan and Venus sets, and the
Hero and Leander set now in Sweden.
There is undeniably a striking similarity of style
between all of these borders, and we know that the
Hero and Leander ones are Cleyn's. Indeed, one of
the most attractive features of Mortlake tapestries
is those distinctive borders that indicate a strong per-
sonality at the art helm. If Cleyn erred in the direc-
tion of too pronounced relief and shadow effects,
he was not the only XVII century master to do so.
The set of six pieces picturing the Story of Hero
and Leander is described in the inventory of the
year 1656, of the tapestries of the Swedish King
Charles Gustave as "beautiful tapestries of fine
quality, new, enriched with gold and silver, which
were given to His Royal Majesty (as a wedding
present) by Count Johan (Axelstierna)." Five of
the original set of six pieces are still in the possession
of the Swedish Crown (See plate no. 121).
To Americans, the Vulcan and Venus sets woven
at Mortlake, are of especial interest, because con-
crete examples are on exhibition at the Metropolitan
HERO AND LEANDER
PLATE no. 121. Scene from the Story of Hero and Leander, a Mortlake tapestry designed by Francis Cleyn,
in the Swedish Royal Collection together with four others of the original set of six. The set was given to the
Swedish King, Charles Gustave as a wedding present by Count Johan Axelstierna and is described in the inventory
of the year 1656 as "beautiful tapestries of fine quality, enriched with gold and silver." Next to the Acts of the
Apostles set in the French National Collection, this is the most interesting Mortlake set that survives. It is a
pity that the British National Collection is so poor in Mortlake tapestries.
122 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Museum, one lent by Mrs. A. von Zedlitz, the other
three by Mr. Philip Hiss. The first (See plate no.
107), illustrates the Complaint of Vulcan to Jupiter;
the last three, Venus and Cupid, the Duenna Warn-
ing Vulcan, Vulcan entering with the Net (See plate
no. 123). The first is 14 feet 3 inches high by 15
feet 8; the others, 13 feet 5 by 8; 13 feet 9^ by 8
feet 2, 13 feet 9 by 8 feet 4. The first belongs to
the first Mortlake set of Vulcan and Venus, described
in a previous paragraph of this chapter.
An interesting set of Vulcan and Venus, woven
at Mortlake in the early days, is one presented to
Charles Gustave King of Sweden, in 1657 by the
French King Louis XIV through his ambassador
Terlon. The contemporary inventory in French in
the Swedish archives is reprinted on page 73 of
volume IV of Boettiger Swedish. Vulcan at the
Forge, the smallest of the set, 4.25 metres by 3.22
is the only one that survives complete in the Royal
Swedish Collection. Like the Hero and Leander
set in the same collection, it shows in the selvage
the Mortlake mark with Philip de Maecht's mono-
gram and also that of Sir Francis Crane.
A most interesting fact about the Swedish Vulcan
and Venus tapestries is that before they belonged
to Louis XIV they were the property of Cardinal
Mazarin, and are described with sizes in the in-
ventory prepared in 1653, and first published in
London in 1861 by Henri d'Orleans, the Duke
d'Aumale (Mazarin Inventory}. The description
reads in English:
s is
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124 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
"Vulcan — another set of very fine low-warp
tapestry hangings of wool and silk enriched with
gold, made in England, composed of nine pieces, in
which is represented the Story of Vulcan, having a
large border all around ornamented with marks,
foliage, and faces in bas-relief with shields of the
arms of the house of Boukinquan [the French tor-
tured poor Buckingham's name variously in the
XVII century], the said tapestry 3^ aunes high,
No. i . The Dance 5 aun. 2/3
No. 2. The Assemblage of the gods
to see the Intrigue 4 " 3/4
No. 3. Apollo watching Mars and
Venus 4 " 3/4 1/8
No. 4. Vulcan Spreading the Net. . 5 " 2/12
No. 5. Complaint of Vulcan to
Neptune 3 " 2/12
No. 6. Apollo revealing the Intrigue 5 " 3/4
No. 7. The Complaint of Vulcan to
Jupiter 4 " 3/4
No. 8. Discovery of the Intrigue by
Vulcan 4 " 1/2
No. 9. Vulcan at the Forge 2 " 3/4
in all 41 H aunes lined with white canvas."
The Swedish inventory mentioned above, and a
study of the story as told in Homer's Odyssey and
Ovid's Metamorphoses, enable one to rearrange these
pictures in their proper order, which is nos. I, 3, 6,
8, 9, 7, 4, 2, 5.
The aunes used in the Mazarin inventory are
French aunes 46^ inches long. The Flemish aunes
used in England were 27 inches long. So that a
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 125
square French aune equals 3 square Flemish aunes.
The number of Flemish aunes given by D. Burton,
as in the first set of Vulcan and Venus, woven at
Mortlake (the gold sets being identical except for
the gold), is 479 and a fraction. The number of
square French aunes in the Mazarin set of Mortlake
Vulcan and Venus, obtained by multiplying the
height by the combined widths, is 153 and a fraction.
Multiplying 153 by 3 gives 459, which is what would
be expected, making allowance for the shrinkage
due to age.
The reader will note that the Mazarin inventory
describes the set as bearing the arms of Buckingham.
The one of the set that has survived in Sweden also
bears the arms of Buckingham, but overlaid with
the arms of the King of Sweden.
Who designed the tapestries is a question still
open for investigation. Sir Sackville Crow, in his
letter to the Countess of Rutland, dated May 7,
1670, says Rivieres, and he ought to know. And
in the same breath he refers to Mantegna as the
author of the Triumph of Csesar cartoons. That
the designs originated in the XVI century is clear
from the five XVI century Brussels tapestries first
exhibited to the modern world in Paris in 1876, at
the exposition of the Union Centrale, after having
been long buried in the grade-meuble (wardrobe) of
the Chateau de la Roche-Guyon. One bears the
Brussels mark in the bottom selvage and all carry
the signature of the maker in the vertical selvage
on the right — the letter R with a tiny flower in gold
126 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
(See Alfred Darcel on page 189 of volume XVI of
the Gazette des Beaux Arts, 1876). L 'Art for the
year 1881 gives large illustrations of all five in line.
One of the scenes is the same as that in the Victoria
and Albert Museum tapestry mentioned above, and
another is the same as that of Mrs. Von Zedlitz's
tapestry, except that the latter extends farther on
the right, showing the whole of the boat instead of
only part.
Perhaps by Rivieres, Sir Sackville Crow meant
George Van Der Riviere, an historical and decora-
tive painter who worked for the magistracy of
Ghent from 1528 to 1576 (See Adolphe Siret,
Dictionnaire des Peintres, Louvain, 1883).
However that may be, the borders of the Mort-
lake tapestries last named are radically different
from the XVI century borders, while the borders
of the three panels belonging to Mr. Hiss are the
same with slight modifications. These three panels
are all signed with the Mortlake mark and two with
Philip de Maecht's monogram. But the most in-
teresting feature is that these three tapestries all
carry in the top border, added long after the
tapestries were woven, the coat of arms (See plate
no. 123), of Charles- Auguste Goyon de Gace de
Matignon (1647-1729), who commanded the ex-
pedition fitted out in the Spring of 1708 by Louis
XIV to help Prince James (son of James II of
England, and known to history as the Old Pretend-
er), back to the throne via Scotland. He had 6,000
French soldiers with him, and after being delayed
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 127
a week at Dunkirk because Prince James fell ill of
the measles, finally set sail on the night of March
17. They had planned to land at Leith, but the
French admiral missed the Firth of Forth in the
night and being followed up closely by the English
fleet, finally returned to Dunkirk. So the expedition
was a complete failure, and the only one who came
out ahead, as Voltaire puts it, was Matignon who,
on opening his orders at sea, had found himself
designated Marshal of France. Evidently Prince
James was also beforehand with a token of apprecia-
tion, in the form of these three tapestries.
No one of the three is the same picture as any
of the original set of nine. The second and third
are a pair designed in the same style and with the
same personages. The first is different in scale
and was evidently added at the desire of the person
for whom they were woven. These three are shorter
than the original Mortlake ones and were clearly
planned to fit a particular room.
THE MORRIS TAPESTRY WORKS AT MERTON
WILLIAM MORRIS (1834-96) who founded the
tapestry works at Merton near London in 1881, was
a genius. He had more influence on the industrial
arts, I believe, than any other man in the world's
history. He actually made the blind see and the
lame walk. He changed the whole point of view
of thousands who buy art objects, and the methods
of many who produce them.
128 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
He had no sympathy with the aims and methods
of the Royal Windsor Tapestry Works. In a lecture
the year of their establishment, he said :
"I am sorry to have to say that an attempt to
set the art going, which has been made, doubtless
with the best intentions, under royal patronage at
Windsor, within the last few years, has most un-
luckily gone on the lines of the work at the Gobelins,
and if it does not change its system utterly, is doomed
to artistic failure, whatever its commercial success
may be."
The extraordinary thing about William Morris's
revival of the art of tapestry weaving as practised
in the XVI century, is that he did it with his own
hands. All other revivals with which I am acquaint-
ed imported trained workmen from the centres of
tapestry production — from Flanders to Italy and
other countries in the XV century; from Flanders
to Paris and Mortlake at the beginning of the XVII
century; from Beauvais to St. Petersburg and
Madrid at the beginning of the XVIII century;
from Aubusson to Windsor and Williamsbridge in
the XIX century.
But William Morris imported no workmen from
abroad. Indeed, he did not approve of their methods.
He visited the Gobelins to see what the mechanism
was really like and then studied out the details of
the craft from an old French official handbook
published prior to the Revolution, had a loom set
up in his bedroom at Kelmscott House, Hammer-
smith, and in order to avoid interfering with his
130 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
other occupations, used to rise betimes and practise
weaving in the early hours of the morning. In four
months of the year 1879 he spent no less than 516
hours at it. His diary is headed, "Diary of work
on Cabbage and Vine Tapestry, at Kelmscott House,
Hammersmith. Begun May 10, 1879."
He was still at it in the spring of 1881. On March
12, 1 88 1, his diary reads (quoted in Mackail's William
Morris II., 45), "up at 7:30, about four hours tapes-
try." A week later, " up at 6^2 , four hours tapestry."
As the mornings lengthened in April, "up at 6, two
hours tapestry " ; " up at 5 130, three hours tapestry."
Morris had a special affection for tapestry. Four
years before work was begun at Merton he wrote
to Mr. T. Wardle in March, 1877:
"The tapestry is a bright dream indeed; but it
must wait till I get my carpets going; though have
had it in my head lately, because there is a great
sale now on in Paris of some of the finest ever turned
out; much too splendid for anybody save the biggest
pots to buy." The sale referred to was that of the
Duke of Berwick and Alba's collection (See Alba
Sale 1877).
In November of the same year in another letter
to Mr. Wardle, Morris discusses the commercial
side of tapestry: "Let's clear off what you say
about the possibility of establishing a non-artistic
manufactory. You could do it, of course; 'tis
only a matter of money and trouble; but cui bono?
It would not amuse you (unless I wholly misunder-
stand you), and would, I am sure, not pay commer-
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132 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
cially; a cheap new article at once showy and ugly,
if advertised, with humbug enough, will sell, of
course; but an expensive article, even with ugliness
to recommend it ... I don't think anything under
a Duke could sell it ... Nothing is so beautiful
as fine tapestry, nothing so ugly and base as bad;
e.g., the Gobelins or the present Aubusson work;
also tapestry is not for anything but figure work
(except now and then I shall mention wherein pres-
ently). The shuttle and loom beat it on one side,
the needle on the other, as pattern-work; but for
figure-work, 'tis the only way of making a web into
a picture. . . . The exception I mentioned above
would be the making of leaf and flower pieces
(greeneries, des verdures}, which would generally be
used to eke out a set of figure-pieces. ... I intend
setting up a frame and working at it myself. . . .
To recapitulate: Tapestry at its highest is the
painting of pictures with coloured wools on a warp;
nobody but an artist can paint pictures; but a sort
of half-picture, i.e., scroll-work or leafage could
be done . . . under direction."
In March, 1878, he writes to Mr. Wardle: "I
enclose a warp from a sixteenth-century piece of
tapestry, which as you see is worsted: the pitch is
12 to the inch: nothing in tapestry need be finer
than this. In setting up your work you must re-
member that as tapestry hangs on the wall the
warps are horizontal, though of course you weave
with them vertical. If you send me the space of
your loom I will make a design for it."
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134 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Of contemporary French tapestry weaving Morris
said in a lecture delivered in December, 1877, and
reprinted under the title of the Lesser Arts: "If
you are curious on the subject of its [tapestry]
technic you may see that going on as in its earlier,
or let us say its real, life at the Gobelins in Paris;
but it is a melancholy sight: the workmen are as
handy at it as only Frenchmen can be at such work,
and their skill is traditional, too, I have heard: 'for
they are the sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons
of tapestry weavers. Well, their ingenuity is put
to the greatest pains for the least results; it would
be a mild word to say that what they make is worth-
less; it is more than that; it has a corrupting and
deadening influence upon all the Lesser Arts of
France, since it is always put forward as the very
standard and crown of all that these arts can do at
the best; a more idiotic waste of human labour and
skill it is impossible to conceive. There is another
branch of the same stupidity, differing slightly in
technic, at Beauvais; and the little town of Au-
busson in mid-France has a decaying commercial
industry of the like rubbish."
In Morris's earliest experiments in weaving, as
far back as the year 1878, he had the assistance of
Mr. J. W. Dearie whom he taught as he learned, and
who still carries on the work at Merton. At first
they confined themselves to floral designs. The
first figure tapestry was the Goose Girl at Merton
in 1 88 1, from a cartoon by Walter Crane. After
that, with one exception, the figures were designed
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136 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
by Burne-Jones, but in the form of wash drawings
with little colour. The colours were put in and the
foliage, flowers and borders were designed by Morris
and Dearie (See chapter IX).
"At Merton," says Mr. Wardle on page 47 of
volume II of Mackail's William Morris, "the three
apprentices Dearie, Sleath and Knight, lived in the
house. We gave them board and lodging and a
certain weekly stipend. It is worth while to note
that there was no sort of selection of these boys.
Dearie was put to the tapestry because
that business then wanted an apprentice; and so
of the other two."
Among important tapestries produced at Merton:
the Star of Bethlehem for Exeter College Chapel at
Oxford (See plate no. 135); the Seasons at the
Victoria and Albert Museum; Flora, Pomona; the
Primavera of Botticelli; Praising Angels and Min-
istering Angels, for Eton College Chapel; the Pass-
ing of Venus, burned at the Brussels Exposition in
1910; scenes from the Roman de la Rose; David
instructing Solomon in the Building of the Temple;
the splendid set of four tapestries for Stanmore
Hall, picturing the Story of the Holy Grail (see
plates nos. 129, 131, 133).
The last set was awarded a Grand Prize at the
French Exposition of 1900, the only non-French
tapestries ever thus honoured. No higher seal of
approval could be set upon them.
Among later tapestries by other designers are
the Blindfolding of Truth, by Byam Shaw (See
TRUTH
PLATE no. 137. The Blindfolding of Truth, a tapestry designed by Byam Shaw and woven at Merton. It shows
that the designer understands true tapestry technique.
138 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
plate no. 137); the Chace, by Heywood Sumner; a
large historical tapestry commemorating King George
V's coronation, adapted from Bernard Partridge's
famous cartoon "The Arming of the King"; a
tapestry designed by Mrs. Adrian Stokes illustrating
Schiller's lines,
Ehret die Frauen, sie flechten und weben
HLmmlische Rosen auf irdischer Leben.
It is worth noting that Merton tapestries are
comparatively coarse in texture — from 10 to 16 ribs
to the inch.
THE ROYAL WINDSOR TAPESTRY WORKS
The organisation of the Royal Windsor Tapestry
Works in 1876 was due to Mr. H. Henry, art director
of a London decorative firm, and to Prince Leopold.
While Mr. Henry was on a professional visit to Boy-
ton Manor, the Prince's country seat, the latter, who
was examining a piece of old tapestry that hung in
the hall, said: "Ah, they don't make tapestry
now." "Only at the Gobelins and Aubusson,"
returned Mr. Henry. "Why don't they make it
in England?" asked the Prince. "Why don't you
start a manufactory?" "It ought to be a national
thing," responded Mr. Henry. "If your Highness
would only become president of such an establish-
ment and give me your support, a committee might
be organised who would carry the project out."
The Prince responded graciously and acted prompt-
ly, obtaining the sanction of his mother, the Queen,
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 139
and becoming president of the committee, of which
the distinguished sculptor, Lord Ronald Gower, was
secretary. Among the members of the committee
were the Duke of Westminster, Sir Richard Wallace,
Mr. Cunliffe Owen, director of the South Kensing-
ton Museum, the Duke of Leinster, the Marquis of
Bute, the Duchess of Cleveland. A small house
was leased at Windsor on the other side of the Long
Walk, and at the end of two years, eight looms
were in operation (See page 106 of the Art Journal
for 1878). For a series of panels picturing the Story
of the Merry Wives of Windsor, the Windsor Works
received a gold medal at the Paris Exposition of
1878. Among the first tapestries woven at Windsor
were a sofa covering for Queen Victoria; the Start
for the Hunt, the Boar Hunt, the Finish of the
Hunt; the Battle of Aylesford A.D. 455. Other
tapestries woven at Windsor were the Four Seasons ;
a set of the Morte d' Arthur; Views of the Royal
Residences, Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace,
Balmoral Castle, Osborne House; four for the
corporation of London entitled a Tournament on
London Bridge, Queen Elizabeth Opening the Royal
Exchange, the City Champion receiving the Banner
of the City on the steps of Old St. Paul's, Queen
Victoria visiting the Mansion House on the Occasion
of her Jubilee in 1887.
At the Chicago Exposition in 1893, Americans
had an opportunity to see in the Art Building a
number of verdure panels woven at Windsor.
Why the enterprise failed to achieve a lasting
140 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
success was suggested by the late William Baum-
garten in a lecture held before the Society of Anti-
quarians in the Art Institute of Chicago, March
25, 1897. He said:
"I had occasion in 1882 to visit the works for
the purpose of inspecting the progress of the tapes-
tries then being made for the hall and staircase wall
frieze in the residence of Mr. C. Vanderbilt. This
was intended for his new residence at the corner of
Fifth Avenue and 57th Street which was then being
erected, the first half of his present residence. The
works were located in an old roomy country house
surrounded with a large garden, shaded by vines and
large trees, and the looms were distributed over the
various rooms
"The works were managed by two different
councils — the Council of Patrons under the presi-
dency of Prince Leopold, and the Council of Artists,
five in number, under the presidency of Mr. Henry.
The duties of the Council of Patrons seem to have
been chiefly to constantly provide funds for carrying
on the works, and eventually to take a large part
of the product at enormous prices. The Council
of Artists held monthly meetings, discussing the
weal and woe of the new industry, drawing large
salaries and awarding to themselves the painting
of the cartoons, at large compensations.
"Of course the result was that the productions
became so high that the prices charged the noble
clients and patrons were out of all proportion to
their value, and while they allowed themselves to
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 141
be victimised for a few years in the interest of
national glory and in belief that, after a fair start
things would mend in the way of economy, they at
last became aware of the utter inability of the
management to make the work self-supporting and
virtually ceased their contributions from the Queen
down, and the collapse was the immediate result.
This occurred in 1887, after an existence of a little
over ten years."
That Ireland had a tapestry factory in the XVII
century is proved by the petition in 1689 of John
Lovett, late of Dublin, who stated that he had been
forced by troubles out of Ireland and brought with
him thirty-eight pieces of tapestries hangings "of
their Majesties Manufacture of Ireland containing
767^ ells."
OTHER ENGLISH LOOMS
During the XIV, XV, XVI centuries, tapestry
weaving in England was not an important industry.
The English were content, with a few sporadic ex-
ceptions, to ship wool to Flanders and get back arras
(tapestry), in exchange. And what tapestries were
woven in England, we may feel quite sure were
woven by Flemish weavers. The frequent occur-
rence of the word tapissier in early documents proves
nothing, for it denotes not only tapestry weavers
but also weavers of rugs and carpets, and draperies
not tapestries, and the upholsterers who kept local
wardrobes in repair. The term "weaver of arras,"
142 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
as employed in Edinburgh in 1467 to designate John
Dolace who, until 1486, received a regular annuity,
is more significant. In 1561 the municipal authorities
of Sandwich sent to Secretary Cecil as a present, six
arras cushions, the "first work of the strangers in
town," Flemish weavers who had emigrated because
of religious persecution.
That a tapestry factory was established in England
about the middle of the XVI century, at least one
tapestry remains to prove. This was illustrated in
colour in the Art Journal for November, 1911, and
described by Mr. Thomson in the Art Journal for
July, 1911. In the centre is the coat of arms of
William, First Earl of Pembroke (1501-1570). On
the right, a small circular panel picturing Luxuria,
one of the seven deadly sins; on the left, Superbia.
The ground and main part of the tapestry that is
7 feet 8 by 13, is covered with quaint designs in
the Grotesque style that Raphael and his followers
copied from ancient unburied Rome, and that is
incorrectly called Arabesque. The Grotesque de-
signs in this tapestry are rich with all the exuberance
of the Italian Renaissance.
It was woven about 1565 at Barcheston by
Richard Hyckes, who had recently established a
tapestry plant there and at Weston, under the
patronage of, and with financial backing from, an
English country squire, William Sheldon. It was
at his instigation that Hyckes had visited the Nether-
lands to study the weaving of tapestry, and doubtless
bring back with him Flemish weavers. Squire
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 143
Sheldon was anxious that his son should continue
to foster the infant industry, because it supplied
a trade to train youths in and was a means of
retaining great sums of money within the kingdom.
His words were listened to, for in 1592, twenty- two
years after Squire Sheldon's death, "Bess of Hard-
wycke," Countess of Shrewsbury, paid Mr. Sheldon's
man for "seventene armses to set upon hangings
XXXs. iiijd." and also ten shillings to hang the
tapestries.
In the Bodleian Library at Oxford University are
preserved two large fragments of tapestry maps,
one of which is signed WIGORN. COMI. COM-
PLETATA RIC. HYCKE which filled out and
translated means: Warwickshire (the county of
Warwick) executed by Richard Hyckes. Below
the signature that is on a ribbon half-way up on the
left side of the tapestry is a compass and a scale
of miles, three to the inch. The various towns,
villages, churches, manor-houses and bridges are
shown on the map after the manner of a birdseye
view, and accurately. The second Bodleian tapestry
map shows the valley of the Thames and the counties
of Oxford and Berks. Especially interesting is
the Thames from London Bridge to Brentford,
showing Westminster Palace, Hampstead Heath
with its three windmills, etc. The borders of both
maps are definitely Italian Renaissance in style
like that of the Pembroke Grotesque tapestry.
Much later in date as the borders show — borders
woven in imitation of heavy wooden frames, with a
144 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Cupid-borne cartouche above containing a blue
oval, and a cartouche below containing a tiny land-
scape with the goddess Ceres recumbent in the
foreground — are the three tapestry maps pre-
served in the Museum of the Philosophical Society
at York. One of them is signed by Francis Hickes,
OXONII ET BERCHERIAE COMITATUS
COMPLETATA PER FRANCISCUM HICKES.
The panel is 13 feet by 17 feet 9 inside of the border
that is 20 inches wide. It bears the coat of arms
of Ralph Sheldon, born in 1623 and died in 1684.
Among other tapestries attributed to the Sheldon
factory is the magnificent set of the Seasons at
Hatfield House. One of them, Winter, was illustrated
in half-tone in the Art Journal for August, 1911.
All the four tapestries bear the coat of arms of Sir
John Tracey of Doddington in Gloucestershire, who
was knighted by James I, appointed High Steward
in 1609, and became Viscount Tracey in 1642. The
style of the tapestries and borders is pronouncedly
Renaissance — luxuriant floral and fruit ornament.
The borders are filled with a wealth of small round
medallions that illustrate Latin captions placed
above or below each. Three signs of the Zodiac
also in small round medallions appear in the body
of each tapestry at the top. The colours are strong
and fresh, and the texture is fine.
The composition of the four tapestries is similar
—a large central figure, ALolus for Winter, Venus
for Spring, Ceres for Summer, Bacchus for Autumn,
in Winter is a majestic almost nude figure
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 145
seated on the four winds, crowned and holding a
bridle. On the left an ox is being slaughtered, on
the right a pig. In the background on the right
ships struggling in a Wintry sea, on the left dogs
and men hunting. In one of the borders, appended
to a Latin caption, appears the date 1611.
Mr. Thomson suggests that there is "reason to
believe" the fine set of four tapestries in Holyrood
Palace, picturing Children Playing after Giulio
Romano, came from the Sheldon looms. Under
the name of the Naked Boys this was a favourite
set at Mortlake. But the almost complete simi-
larity of the borders of the Holyrood tapestries
with the borders of the York maps mentioned
above, suggests a common origin. These borders
are certainly as late as the last half of the XVII
century.
In the latter part of the XVII century some of
the Mortlake workmen appear to have set up for
themselves on a small scale. In 1670 through the
influence of Sir Sackville Crow, William Benood,
tapissier of Lambeth, secured an order from the
Countess of Rutland for six pieces of Vulcan and
Venus tapestry 9 feet deep at 255. an ell. The set
was as follows:
Mars, Venus, and Apollo, 12 feet long.
Vulcan and the Gods, 10 feet long.
Neptune and Vulcan, 8 feet 9 inches long.
Vulcan drawing the Net, 8 feet 6 inches long.
Vulcan forging, 8 feet 6 inches long.
Vulcan and Cupid, 8 feet 3 inches long.
146 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
These tapestries were without borders and were
in sizes calculated from the wall spaces in the
Countess's new dining-room — shorter and much
narrower than the Vulcan and Venus tapestries
woven for Charles I at Mortlake. These Lambeth
tapestries are now in Haddon Hall.
In 1676 the King paid Thomas Poyntz, who in
1667, had joined Francus Poyntz in a memorial to
the King on the revival of tapestry weaving, £451
i8s. 4d., for eight pieces of tapestry at 273. 6d. per
ell. Ten years later he received £8 IDS. per ell
for three unusually fine tapestries enriched with
gold to decorate the Queen's chamber at Windsor
Castle. The subject was the Months. A panel
representing November and December, part of a
set formerly in Houghton and signed by Thomas
Poyntz, was sold in London in 1802. Thomas
Poyntz also wove four fine pieces at £8 per ell
(142^ ells), for the Queen's bedchamber in White-
hall.
After 1689, when John Vanderbank became
manager (yeoman arras-maker), of the King's Great
Wardrobe, Great Queen Street in Soho seems to
have become the centre of tapestry production.
So famous was he by 1718 that the Tatler says that
"no person ever represented Nature more happily
in works of Tapestry." At Glenham Hall there
are four Indo-Chinese tapestries woven by him,
that were formerly the property of Elihu Yale,
founder of Yale College. The designs like that of
plate 147, and like two at Belton signed by Vander-
148 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
bank, resemble those of contemporary lacquer work
from which they were probably adapted. Vander-
bank also wove the Elements, after Lebrun, for
several patrons. Three pieces bearing the arms of
John, fifth Earl of Exeter (1678-1760), at Burley
House are signed J. V. D. B., the initials of John
Vanderbank. Vanderbank wove a number of tapes-
tries for the Crown in addition to keeping the Crown
tapestries in repair, and was active until 1727, when
he was succeeded by Moses Vanderbank.
About Stephen Demay we know from the corre-
spondence and accounts preserved at Burley-on-the-
Hill, a mansion built by Daniel Finch, second Earl
of Nottingham, in the reign of William and Mary.
The documents date from the years 1700-1708, and
I am indebted for my facts about them to an article
by Pearl Finch in the Connoisseur, that contains
half-tone illustrations of two of the four Hero and
Leander, and two of the nine Acts of the Apostles
tapestries, woven by Demay for the noble Earl.
The two Hero and Leander panels are the same
pictures as, and undoubtedly copies of, Cleyn's
original cartoons mentioned earlier in the chapter,
from which was woven for King Charles I by Philip
de Maecht the set enriched with gold and silver
that is now in the Royal Swedish Collection (4^
pieces out of 6). The borders of the Nottingham
copies are much narrower and less interesting than
those of the original set, and of course contain the
Nottingham instead of the Royal arms. Miss
Finch thinks that the set cost from £300 to £400.
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 149
The set was recently repaired and restored, and
there is a similar set in the possession of Lord
Newton of Lyme. The Earl of Nottingham's ac-
count book shows under date of 1704, a small pen-
and-ink sketch and in his own handwriting:
"The Great Sweemer, 9 ft. 9 in.; The Temple, a
great piece reduced conveniently to the dimensions,
9 ft. 9 in.; Hero and Leander, both dead, 15 ft. 10
in.; Father, Son, and Ship, 15 ft. 10 in.; The Depth
—the first peece to have both borders — the second
only ye right hand border, the third only ye left
hand border, the fourth to have both borders."
Again in 1708: "The peece of the Ship contaign-
ing twenty-two ells, a quarter & half a quarter, the
peece of the Sweemer, twenty-one ells, three-quarters
& a half. The peece of the Dead contaigning
thirty-five ells. The ship, 35. The Temple, 22^.
The Sweemer, 21^. The Dead, 35. Total, 114^.
The goeing, £o 17 06. The Canvas, £i 08 oo.
Total, £2 05 06. For box & Carriche backward &
forward, £o 09 oo. Total £2 14 06." And earlier:
"Paid Mr. Demay ye Tapestry Maker more on
account of ye Leander Hangings, £50." "Mr.
Demay ye Tapestry maker on account, £100."
"Paid Mr. Demay in full for the Hero & Leandre,
£30."
Lord Nottingham's Acts of the Apostles were
the same pictures as those woven at Mortlake from
the Raphael cartoons now at the Victoria and Albert
Museum, except that Christ's Charge to Peter was
woven in two pieces with the figure of the Good
150 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Shepherd in a panel by itself; and the Death of
Sapphira was added, perhaps designed especially
for Lord Nottingham. The borders are distinctly
Late XVII century in style and much inferior to
the ones used at Mortlake. They show the Notting-
ham coat of arms in top border, and the side borders
are marble columns. The account book gives the
combined width of the nine pieces as 142 feet 7
inches and:
" Paid Mr. Demay in full for nine pieces of Apostle
Hangings, £700; paid Mr. Demay for twenty-nine
ells added to the Apostles Hangings in full of all
demands, £58. Total £758."
Very interesting is Demay's letter to Lord Not-
tingham on the completion of the cartoons:
"My Lord, — I make bold to acquaint your Lord-
ship that ye cartoons are done according to your
Lordship's dimensions. If his Lordship would be
pleased to send me how I must start them down:
and shall follow your Lordship's order accordingly.
I have got ye scratches of ye fine French roles, and
if your Ldsp. will be pleased to have them sent down
with ye hangings it shall be done. The piece of ye
Blind, three additions to four ells and half a quarter,
the addition of Paul preaching comes to eleven ells
a quarter and half a quarter, the addition of ye
piece of sacrifice comes to thirteen ells and three-
quarters, in all twenty-nine ells one quarter, at two
pounds per ell comes to fifty-eight pounds ten shillings
for fourteen days of three men's labour, or joining
them at two shillings a day per man four pounds,
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 151
wch in all comes to sixty-two pounds fourteen which
with ye fore bill, comes to £42 145., wch I beg ye
favour of your Lordship to be so kind as to send it
to me, I being in soe great want of it that I am forced
to send mans away for want of money, therefore I
hope your Lordship will have pitty upon me. . . .
I am with great respect to your Lordship.
"Your most humble and most obedient servant to
command,
"STEEVEN DEMAY."
Also interesting is Lord Nottingham's letter to
Demay dated August 23, 1700:
"These three pieces following must be enlarged in
which care must be taken first that the Coat of
Arms in ye upper border and ye blank space in ye
bottom border be placed in ye middle of each piece
when enlarged to ye following dimensions, herein-
after directed, and in this case either add all yt is
wanting to make up, the dimensions to one side of
ye piece of hangings, or part of one side and ye rest
on ye other, according as you find best, taking ye
border part of ye cartoon, which is not yet in ye
hangings to ye dimensions required, choose out of
ye other cartoons such figures as will best quit with
ye piece which is to be enlarged, and to the piece
of the Sacrifice sow on a piece of girt web one half
loose hanging to ye middle in ye corner of ye room
at ye distance from ye left hand."
Other XVIII century tapestry works in England
were those of Peter Parisot at Fulham, and of Paul
152 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Saunders at Soho. The Fulham works had a life
of only five years in spite of the backing of the Duke
of Cumberland. The catalogue of the closing out
sale in 1755 shows rugs in savonnerie weave, and
tapestry furniture coverings and screen panels, but
no important wall hangings. Paul Saunders merits
more attention. His work reminds one of that of
his Brussels contemporary Daniel Leyniers. A set
in the possession of the Duke of Cumberland, la'nd-
scape compositions with ruined temples and peasants,
is signed P. SAUNDERS SOHO, 1758. Other charac-
teristic tapestries by him show a laden camel with
attendant bearing a lance, a horse with pink drapery
and a man wearing a turban, two women playing
dice. From 1760 to 1770 Saunders did important
work altering and repairing the tapestries of the
Great Wardrobe. The English XVIII century
weaver named Bradshaw, we know from his signa-
ture on a sofa at Belton House — illustrated in
colour in the Art Journal for October, 1911, and
described by Mr. Francis Lenygon — and from two
overdoor pieces picturing Venus, Vulcan and Cupid,
made for Holkham House.
CHAPTER VI
FRENCH LOOMS
The Gobelins: Beauvais: Aubusson
FOR two and a half centuries the name most
famous in tapestry weaving has been the Gobelins;
since September, 1667, when Colbert, as it is put
in French by the inscription on the right of the
entrance gate, "established in the buildings of the
Gobelins the furniture factory of the Crown under
the direction of Charles Lebrun."
But the French, not satisfied with the glories of
the Gobelins and with their undoubted right to
share in the early tapestry glories of Arras and the
French Netherlands — especially before 1477, when
the French Netherlands passed by inheritance from
Burgundian to Imperial and Spanish control — are
always endeavouring to prove that Paris and other
French cities far from the Flemish frontier, excelled
in the art of tapestry weaving centuries before 1667.
The pre-eminence of one Paris maker — Nicolas
Bataille — at the end of the XIV century M. Guiffrey
has established (See my chapter on Gothic Tapes-
tries). That Gothic tapestries were woven in other
parts of France sporadically is also certain. But
that France was a serious rival or indeed a rival at
153
154 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
all of Flanders in tapestry weaving in the XV and
XVI centuries is not worthy of discussion.
About 1535 Frangois I installed weavers at
Fontainebleau under the management of the Treas-
urer of France, Philibert Babou, and under the
artistic direction of the celebrated Italian architect
Sebastien Serlio. The cartoons are said to have
been supplied by Primaticcio who was in the service
of Francois, and by his assistant, Matteo del Nassaro
of Verona. We know that Primaticcio made the
designs for a Scipio series of tapestries, and on the
King's order carried them to Flanders in 1534 to
have them woven there. The Fontainebleau tapes-
try plant is said to have continued active under
Philibert Delorme, during part of the reign of Henri
II. To Delorme are attributed four pieces pictur-
ing the Story of Diana now in the Chateau d'Anet.
The borders are particularly rich and ingenious and
distinctly French.
When Henri II resumed his residence in Paris, he
interested himself in tapestry weaving there, and
on September 12, 1551, Parliament confirmed the
royal letter establishing a tapestry school for orphans
in the H6pital de la Trinite, Rue Saint-Denis. In
this establishment Henri's queen Catherine de Medi-
cis was also interested, especially after the King's
death, when she had the celebrated Story of Mausolus
and Artemisia, symbolic of her own life-story, woven
into tapestry on the Trinite looms, after designs by
Henri Lerambert and Antoine Caron. The series
was immensely popular and was repeated many
156 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
times. In 1627 the French Royal Collection con-
tained 79 of these tapestries in 20 sets, to-day 27
in 4 sets. Another Trinite set was the Life of Christ
woven for the Church of Saint-Merri by one of the
orphan apprentices, Maurice Dubourg. The con-
tract bears the date 1584 and is preserved in the
Musee Carnavalet. Of the set only two fragments
now remain, a head of Christ at the Gobelins and of
Saint Peter at the Cluny. A set picturing, the
Story of Saint Crispin and Saint Crispinian was
presented to the Cathedral Notre Dame de Paris
by the shoemakers of the city. One of the pieces
bearing the date 1635 is now in the museum at the
Gobelins.
In 1607 we find that the Maurice Dubourg men-
tioned above had left the Trinite and was associated
with Henri Laurent at the Louvre in weaving tapes-
tries for the king Henri IV. Among tapestries
attributed to them by the Louis XIV Inventory, are
those designed by Simon Vouet, on Old Testament
subjects such as Moses Saved from the Waters, and
the Daughters of Jeptha, splendid examples of which
are in the French National Collection. Others that
have been preserved are the Sacrifice of Abraham,
the Translation of Elijah, Samson at the Feast
of the Philistines. The borders are sumptuous and
resemble the Mortlake ones to the Acts of the
Apostles.
The Gobelins is a most interesting place, cpen
to visitors on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons
from i to 3. The trip is an easy one by street car
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 157
or motor bus from the Halles across to the left bank
of the Seine and out the Avenue des Gobelins. The
entrance to the courtyard of the establishment with
LES GOBELINS on the gate beneath RF is simple
but impressive. On each side of the gate are tablets
bearing inscriptions.
The one on the left shows where the works got
the name: "Jean and Philibert Gobelin, merchant
dyers of scarlet, who have left their name to this
quarter of Paris and to the tapestry factory, had
their works here at the end of the XV century."
Jean Gobelin, it may be added, settled there about
1440. He left a large family. His descendants
prospered, and from dyers finally became financiers,
two of them at the end of the XVI century acting
as first presidents of the Chamber of Accounts, and
another acquiring the title of Marquis of Brunvillers.
By the beginning of the XVII century, dyeing
was an industry beneath the dignity of the family
of the Gobelins, and they were glad to dispose of
the property. But the name remained and attached
itself to the tapestry industry, established here by
Comans and Planche in 1601, to such an extent,
that in Germany gobelin still is, and elsewhere for
a time was, the name for any picture tapestry, even
one woven in Flanders long before Jean Gobelin
settled on the banks of the Bievre.
Part of the inscription on the right of the entrance
gate of the Gobelins has already been quoted. The
rest reads: "April, 1601, Marc de Comans and
Frangois de la Planche, Flemish tapestry weavers,
158 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
instal their workrooms on the banks of the Bievre."
The Bievre is the little stream in the rear, now
covered and no longer used, that was greatly cher-
ished by dyers of red in ancient days, because of
the special virtues that made its water suitable for
their purpose. Frans Van Den Planken (the Flemish
form of the name), came from Audenarde, Marc de
Comans from Brussels. Both claimed to be gentle-
men by birth and were very scrupulous about signing
themselves as such in commercial documents and
papers.
Although their partnership was formed and be-
came active in January, 1601, for the manufacture
of tapestries and other commercial operations in
France, such as draining the marshes of Charentes,
shipping wheat to the Knights of Malta, manufac-
turing soap, etc., the Royal Edict of Henri IV
officially incorporating the business, and granting
it large subventions and important privileges while
imposing on it heavy burdens like the training of
apprentices and the opening of tapestry works in
the provinces, is dated 1607. This is the edict, a
copy of which helped the English organise the works
at Mortlake.
As might be expected from the fact that Philip de
Maecht signed his monogram to tapestries at both
establishments, these early Gobelin tapestries resem-
ble the Mortlake ones in many respects, particularly
in the rich woven frames. That the enterprise
prospered is proved by correspondence discovered
in the archives of the Barberini family. That the
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 159
greatest painters were employed, by a letter dated
February 26, 1626, from Rubens dunning M.
Valaves for the money due on the designs for the
Story of Constantine. In the inventory of the
property of Francois de la Planche made on his
death in 1627, these designs are described as:
"Douze petits desseins peints en huille sur des
planches de bois, de la main de Pierre-Paul Rubens,
representant 1'Histoire de Constantin." These de-
signs were woven again and again and there are
several examples of each in the French National
Collection (See plate no. 331).
After the death of Planche, Comans and his sons
continued in business at the Gobelins, but Planche's
son, Raphael, drew out his interest and founded a
rival establishment in the Faubourg Saint Germain
on the Rue de La Chaise. The repertoire of his
establishment included, as shown in the inventory
made on the death of his wife in 1661, Ambroise
Dubois's Story of Clorinda, and Theagenes and
Charicles, both from the decorations of Fontaine-
bleau ; the Story of Achilles in eight scenes by Pere
Luc Recollet, the Story of Dido and ALneas in eight
scenes, the Stories of Psyche, Roland, Diana,
Constantine (the set by Rubens mentioned above),
Daphne; the Four Seasons, the Horse Pegasus.
Among sets woven before the split between Planche
and the Comans, was the Story of Diana in eight
scenes. There are identical sets in both Paris and
Vienna. The set in the Royal Spanish Collection
has different borders. Another popular set was the
160 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Story of Gombaut and Mace. One piece bearing
the Paris mark — a P with fleur-de-lis — and the
monogram of Frangois de la Planche is in the museum
of the Gobelins. In a contest instituted by Henri
IV between leading painters on the subjects of
Guarini's Pastor Fido, Laurence Guyot won. Of
the set woven from the designs, M. Guiffrey identified
one piece in the residence of the late Don Francisco
d'Assisi, grandfather of the King of Spain. The
Story of France, described in the 1627 inventory
mentioned above, pictured the Siege of Tunis by
Saint Louis, the Baptism of Clovis, Charlemagne
at Pampeluna, the Battle of Marignan, etc. Of
this, and the Story of King Frangois in eight pieces,
no examples remain.
Another tapestry works was that established at
Maincy near his wonderful estate Vaux-le-Vicomte
by Louis XIV's Minister of Finance, Foucquet.
The weavers were Flemish under a French overseer
Louis Blamard. The artistic director was the
painter Charles Lebrun, who had general charge of
the decorations of Foucquet's chateau. Two of
the most beautiful sets ever composed were by
Lebrun for Vaux, the Story of Constantine, and the
Hunts of Meleager and Atalanta, the weaving of
which began at Maincy but was finished at the
Gobelins. Other pieces composed by him for Vaux
were the Muses, the portieres of the Fames, Mars,
the Triumphal Car — often repeated at the Gobelins.
The Manufacture Royale des Meubles de la
Couronne formally established at the Gobelins by
Md
ftj
GOMBAUT AND MAC£
PLATE no. 161. Scene from the Story of Gombaut and Mace, an Early XVII century tapestry signed with the
Brussels mark. Peasant scenes like those pictured in the Wood Cutters at the Muse*e des Arts De'coratif s, and Sheep
Shearing at the Brussels Museum, were popular in tapestry from the earliest period. In the second half of the XV
century appears the story of Gombaut and Mace" that makes pass successively under our eyes the adventures, amuse-
ments, joys, toils, trouble, and miseries, of the peasant's life. In his study on the 7 pieces picturing this story in the
set of the Saint L6 Museum, published in Paris in 1881, M. Jules Guiffrey reproduces 8 Late XVI century engravings
with descriptive verses in French, undoubtedly the same or similar to designs then being reproduced in tapestry.
Some of the verses and some of the pictures contain a good deal of the " esprit gaulois."
162 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
royal decree in 1667, with Charles Lebrun as art
director, was not merely a tapestry factory. It was
a general furniture factory as the word meubles
suggests — a factory for the preparation of the
various kinds of interior decorations and furnishings
needed for the royal residences of Louis XIV.
To-day the activities of the Gobelins are confined to
tapestries and savonnerie rugs.
The tapestry part of the plant was not created
new or imported from Flanders. It was a combina-
tion of the various tapestry works described above
— those of Planche and the Comans, of the Trinite
and the Louvre, and of Maincy, from which, after
the fall and disgrace of Foucquet, came Lebrun to
satisfy Louis XIV's desire to emulate the example
of decorative magnificence set by his financial
minister.
The preliminaries took some time. In 1662
Louis XIV bought the Gobelin property. In the
succeeding five years he added to it and erected
buildings to accommodate the new royal enterprise.
The different tapestry plants were assembled there
by degrees. The first heads of the high warp shops
were Jean Jans, the father, 1662-1668; Henri
Laurent (from the Louvre), 1662-1669; Jean Le-
fevre, 1662-1700, the elder but son of the Pierre
Lefevre, director of the tapestry works in Florence,
who in 1647 had been called back to Paris to reor-
ganise the looms there for Mazarin.
When Laurent died in 1669, his shop was dis-
continued. The shop of Jans, who came originally
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 163
from Audenarde, was continued by his son of the
same name, 1668-1723; by Jean- Jacques Jans, 1723-
1731; by Michel Audran, 1732-1771; by Jean
Audran, 1771-1794. After the Revolution, day
work having been substituted for piece work, the
identity of the contractors is of less importance. The
shop of Lefevre was continued by his son of the same
name, 1699-1736; by Mathieu Monmerque, 1736-
1749; by Pierre-Frangois Cozette, 1749-1794.
The first low warp shop organised under the
management of Jean Delacroix 1662-1712, was in
1712 merged with the one organised by Jean-
Baptiste Mozin 1667-1693, and continued by Dom-
inique Delacroix 1693-1737. Another shop united
to that of Delacroix in 1724, was that of Souet and
Delafraye, 1693-1699, continued by Jean Souet,
1699-1724. The shop organised by Jean Delafraye,
1699-1730, continued by Mathieu Monmerque,
1730-1735, and by Pierre, Francois Cozette, 1735-
1749, in 1737 absorbed that of Delacroix. In 1749,
Cozette transferred his efforts from low warp to high
warp looms and, as shown above, assumed charge
of the old Lefevre high warp shop. Jacques Neilson,
1749-1788, took his place in the low warp shop and
two years later, in 1751, absorbed the shop founded
by Etienne Leblond, 1701-1727, and continued
by Etienne-Claude Leblond, 1727-1751. Neilson was
succeeded by Michel-Henry Cozette, 1788-1794.
These are the men directly responsible for the execu-
tion of the work at the Gobelins, and their names are
signed (See chapter IX) to many of the tapestries.
164 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
The organisation of the Gobelins, from 1662 to
1667, owed everything to the energetic care and
forethought of Louis XIV's great minister Colbert.
He was the moving spirit behind it all, and he saw
that the sinews of art in the form of money were
not lacking. The workmen received quarters on
the premises, together with a small garden, that is
still one of the attractions tending to reconcile them
to small wages. The different shop managers
worked each on his own account. The Crown
supplied them with wools, silks, gold and silver
tinsel, the cost of which is retained out of the fin-
ished tapestries paid for at a rate fixed in advance.
The shop managers were not, however, restricted
to work for the Crown. They were allowed to
accept commissions from dealers and from individ-
uals. They paid their men by the piece at a rate
varying for the different portions of a tapestry,
according to the difficulty of weaving and the skill
required.
For the supplying of new tapestry designs, Charles
Lebrun had many capable assistants, at the head
Adam Francois Vandermeulen who entered the
service of Louis XIV in 1664 and remained there
until his death in 1691. A memorandum, dated
1691, gives us the details of the collaboration on the
Royal Residences: "M. Yvart the father painted
most of the large figures, the rugs and the draperies;
M. Baptiste (Monnoyer) the flowers and fruits; the
late M. Boulle the animals and the birds; M.
Anguier the architecture; the late M. Vandermeulen
166 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
the small figures and part of the landscapes; MM.
Genouels and Baudoin the rest of the landscapes."
But no matter how many assistants Lebrun employed
he was always master and the inspiration and style
were always personally his own.
The studies of these artists are preserved in the
Museum of Versailles. The Royal Residences show
the 12 palaces that the King liked best, used to
background hunting scenes, promenades, cavalcades,
balls — scenes appropriate to the time of year-
framed on each side by columns of pilasters, while
in the foreground, valets in the royal livery spread
rich stuffs over the balustrades. During the King's
life it was rewoven at the Gobelins more often than
any other set. It appears in the Louis XIV Inventory
ten times, in 88 pieces — seven complete sets with
some to spare. The palaces pictured are the
Louvre, the Palais-Royal, Madrid, Versailles, Saint-
Germain, Fontainebleau, Vincennes, Marimont,
Chambord, the Tuileries, Blois, Monceaux.
The Elements and the Seasons, each in four
pieces, take one back to the days of Comans,
Planche, and Mortlake, or even earlier. The woven
frames are sumptuous and there are Latin captions
with allegorical emblems in the Renaissance fashion.
The Elements in four pieces with four narrow panels
(entrefenetres) to match was especially successful,
being reproduced six times at the Gobelins in the
XVII century and often at Brussels Aubusson, and
Felletin (See plate no. 165).
The Child Gardeners, in six pieces, is in an entirely
168 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
different spirit, light and gay and full of the fascina-
tions of out-of-doors and of children. This was a
very popular set and in twenty years it was woven
complete five times on low warp looms. Of course,
the greatest series of all, and the one that first
suggests itself to all who know about Gobelin tapes-
tries, is the Story of th^Kiag. Here we find the
solemn and official glorification of all of the important
events of the life of Louis XIV during the first twelve
years of his reign. Arranged in chronological order
they are:
1 Coronation of Louis XIV in the Cathedral of Reims,
June 7, 1654.
2 Interview of Louis XIV and Philip IV of Spain at the
Isle des Faisans, June 7, 1660.
3 Marriage of Louis XIV with Marie-Therese of Austria,
eldest daughter of Philip IV, June 9, 1660.
4 Satisfaction given to the King by the Spanish Ambassa-
dor, March 24, 1662.
5 Entry of the King into Dunkerque after having recovered
it from the English, Dec. 2, 1662.
6 Reduction of the city of Marsal in Lorraine, Sept. i .
1663.
7 Renewal of the Alliance between France and the Swiss,
at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, Nov. 18,
1663.
8 Audience given by the King at Fontainebleau to the
Pope's Legate Cardinal Chigi, July 29, 1664.
9 Siege of Tournai where Louis XIV exposed himself to
the enemy's fire, June 21, 1667.
10 Siege of Douai in July, 1667. The King in danger.
11 Capture of Lille in August, 1667.
12 Defeat of the Spanish under Count Marsin near Bruges,
August 31, 1667.
170 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
13 Visit of Louis XIV to the Gobelins with Colbert, Oct.
15, 1667.
14 Capture of Dole, Feb. 16, 1668, the King commanding
in person.
By the end of the year 1662, Lebrun was at work
on the designs for the Story of the King. Vander-
meulen, who had a salary of 6,000 livres a year and
apartments at the Gobelins, was given the land-
scapes and views of cities to prepare and accom-
panied the King on his campaigns. The high warp
cartoons were executed by Yvart the elder, Mathieu
the elder, De Seve the younger, and Testelin. The
first pieces were put on the looms in 1665 in the
shops of Jans, Lefevre, and Laurent. The differ-
ent pieces bear descriptive captions in French in a
cartouche in the middle of the lower borders. They
also show the date when the weaving of the
piece began, in the left border, and when it was
completed, in the right border. For instance, in
the Coronation of Louis XIV, we find on the left
LVDvs XI III and under it ANo. 1665; on the
right the name repeated and under it ANo. 1671.
The average time of weaving was about five years
each.
This first set was the only complete one ever made
on high warp looms at the Gobelins. It comprised
14 pieces 4^ aunes (French ell equals 46^ inches)
high, with a combined width of 88^ aunes — about
17 feet by 354. It cost 166,698 livres to weave and
is rich with gold. The complete set is still preserved
and forms a part of the French National Collection,
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 171
one piece being exhibited at the Gobelins and three
at Fontainebleau.
There were three complete sets woven on the low
warp looms of the Gobelins, all with gold, one
1665-1680, one 1707-1715, one 1729-1735, besides
miscellaneous pieces. The low warp sets were only
three-quarters as high as the high warp sets, and
narrower in proportion.
The Story of Alexander was in special favour at
the Court on account of the direct allusions
found in it to the principal events in the life of
Louis XIV. It was reproduced eight times at the
Gobelins during his reign and often in Brussels,
Audenarde, and Aubusson. Lebrun painted the
five pictures entirely with his own hands, one of
them, the Family of Darius at Alexander's Feet, at
Fontainebleau in the presence of the King himself.
The other scenes were the Passage of the Granicus,
the Battle of Arbela, the Battle with Porus, the
Triumph of Alexander. The three battle scenes
were so large that no space could be found to receive
them, and each was accordingly made in three
separate pieces, making the total set consist of n
pieces instead of five.
As the King grew older and France less successful
in war and commerce, the opportunities for glorifica-
tion became fewer. The nature of the subjects
chosen for tapestry changed. Instead of the Story
of the King, we have the Story of Moses in ten
pieces, 8 after Poussin, 2 after Lebrun. Even
before this, ancient models had been reproduced,
172 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
notably Raphael's famous Acts of the Apostles.
But now there was a distinct movement backwards,
away from contemporary history to Biblical and
Greek and Roman, and to the reproduction of XVI
century cartoons.
Among the various sets were the Chambers of
the Vatican copied after Raphael's paintings there,
the Sujets de la Fable after Giulio Romano, the
Sujets de la Fable after Raphael, the Fruits of War
after Giulio Romano, the Story of Scipio after
Giulio Romano, the Hunts of Maximilian after
Barend Van Orley, the Arabesque Months, the
Months of Lucas, the Triumphs of the Gods after
Noel Coypel, the Gallery of Saint-Cloud after Pierre
Mignard, the Indies.
The subjects of the ten pieces of the Chambers
of the Vatican are: of three, the Battle of Constan-
tine against Maxentius; the Vision of Constantine,
the School of Athens, the Pope's Mass, Attila
Driven from Rome, Parnassus, Heliodorus Driven
from the Temple, Burning of the City of Rome.
The Sujets de la Fable (classic stories) in eight
pieces after Giulio Romano tell the Story of Psyche
and are also called the Amours de Psyche. The
Sujets de la Fable after Raphael, also in eight pieces,
are the Judgment of Paris, the Elopement of Helen,
the Marriage of Alexander and Roxane, the Marriage
of Cupid and Psyche, Venus and Adonis, Venus in
her Car, two nymph-and-satyr dances. The Fruits
of War in eight pieces, was copied from a Brussels
XVI century set in the Royal Collection. Later,
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 173
in the time of Louis XVI, the French Crown acquired
three of Giulio Romano's original cartoons that had
been preserved in the Duke of Mantua's palace until
1830, when it was raided by the Imperial troops.
The Story of Scipio in ten pieces, the Hunts of Maxi-
milian in twelve pieces (one for each month in the
year), the Arabesque Months, the Months of Lucas
were also copied from precious old Brussels tapes-
tries in the Royal Collection.
The Old Indies as they are called to distinguish
them from the New Indies designed by Desportes
in the XVIII century, were taken from eight paint-
ings that had been presented to the King by the
Prince of Nassau (See plate no. 333). In them
are pictured in rich profusion the men, animals,
plants and fruits of the Indies "painted on the
spot." In token of the visits of the Russian Em-
peror Peter the Great to the Gobelins, May 12
and June 15, 1717, the first high warp set of the
Indies was presented to him with others. This
set was used in St. Petersburg as a model in the
tapestry works founded by Peter the Great (See
chapter VII). In 1900, according to M. Fenaille,
only a fragment of the original piece picturing
Animals Fighting, remained in St. Petersburg — in
the Imperial Carriage Museum.
Pierre Mignard, painter of the Gallery of Saint-
Cloud, succeeded to Lebrun's position on his death
in 1690, and had undermined his influence after
the death of Colbert, with the support of Louvois,
as far back as 1685. The six subjects from Saint-
174 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Cloud, reproduced in tapestry, were Spring, Summer,
Autumn, Winter, Parnassus, Latona (See plate no.
357). The set is very attractive.
At least seven of the eight pieces of the Triumphs
of the Gods were copied by Noel Coypel from old
Brussels tapestries called, on the book of Gobelins,
"Rabesques de Raphael." Certainly several of the
smaller figures are the same as those in the decora-
tions of the Loggie of the Vatican and in the borders
of the original XVI century sets of the Acts of the
Apostles tapestries.
Among the most successful of the new sets, after
the period of stagnation at the Gobelins from 1694
to 1697, due to lack of money in the Royal Purse,
were the Four Seasons and the Four Elements (the
Portieres of the Gods), by Claude Audran the
younger. These panels are in the Grotesque style
of the Arabesque Months and the Triumphs of the
Gods, but made thoroughly French and fascinating
to a degree. Spring is typified by Venus, Summer
by Ceres, Autumn by Bacchus, Winter by Saturn,
Air by Juno, Earth by Diana, Water by Neptune,
Fire by Jupiter. There is a perfect set of the Four
Elements in at least one New York residence. These
Portieres of the Gods were woven over and over
again in the XVIII century, and finally in 1771,
Jacques Neilson, who had been so successful with the
crimson damasse ground for the Don Quixote series,
applied it also to this series, and with equal success.
Among tapestries copied and remodelled by differ-
ent painters from old XVI century designs were
PLATE no. 175. Diana, a Grotesque panel after Claude Audran, designed and woven at the beginning of the XVIII
century. It is one of the four portieres symbolizing the Elements: Diana Earth, Neptune Water, Juno Air, Jupiter
Fire. The example illustrated is in the French National Collection, but there is at least one perfect set in a New York
private collection.
176 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
those picturing Ovid's Metamorphoses — Renaud and
Armide, Diana Back from the Hunt, Apollo and the
Python, Argus and Mercury, Psyche and Cupid,
Apollo and Hyacinth, Flora and Zephyrus, Narcissus
and the nymph Echo, Venus and Adonis, Vertumnus
and Pomona, Bacchus and Ariadne, Cephale and
Procris.
Other sets begun in the declining years of Louis
XIV were the Twelve Grotesque Months after
Claude Audran (in narrow vertical bands assembled
into three pieces, the first three months, the next
six, the last three) ; the Old Testament in eight pieces
after Antoine and Charles Coypel; the New Testa-
ment in eight pieces after Jean Jouvenet and Jean
Restout; a new set of the Metamorphoses of Ovid
in 15 pieces after different painters.
Of all XVIII century Gobelin tapestries, the Don
Quixote series was most admired and most repro-
duced. All the 28 scenes were the work of Charles
Coypel, who was barely 20 when he completed the
first in 1714 — which for a long time caused part of
the credit to be given to his father Antoine. Charles
Coypel added a scene a year until 1734, and finally
in 1751, a few years before his death, the last, Don
Quixote with the Kitchen Maids. Coypel first
appears to have been paid for one of his Don Quixote
paintings on Oct. I, 1716, when he received 400
livres. On Jan. I, 1717, he received 400 livres for a
second; on March 25, 1717, 2,800 livres for 7, etc.
The frames of these Don Quixote tapestries were
quite as important as the pictures, and take up a
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 177
great deal more room. Indeed the pictures are but
miniatures set in a decorative mat that is framed
inside and outside with woven mouldings in imita-
tion of wood. Of these frames, there were no less
than seven different ones designed and used during
the century.
The first five had mosaic ornamental grounds, the
others a damasse ground first employed by Neilson
in 1760 on his low warp looms, in crimson tones
derived from cochineal, much more durable than
the yellows previously employed. One of the Don
Quixote set, woven by Neilson, signed with his name
and the date 1783 in the lower right-hand corner,
is now in the Metropolitan Museum, lent by Mr.
Morgan, having been presented by Napoleon in
1810 to the Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt and ac-
quired by Mr. Morgan from the estate of Don
Francisco d'Assisi grandfather of the present King
of Spain. Four others of the Don Quixote tapes-
tries with the jiew_damasse ground, but high warp
instead of low warp, also acquired by Mr. Morgan
from the estate of Don Francisco and also lent to
the Metropolitan Museum, are signed, three of
them COZETTE 1773, and one AUDRAN, inside the
woven frame. Audran evidently having forgot the
date made amends by also weaving his name with
the date 1773 in red in the bottom selvage. These
four high warp pieces were presented in 1774, to
Cardinal Charles-Antoine de la Roche-Aymon, Arch-
bishop of Reims, Grand Almoner of France, who had
baptised Louis XVI, given him his first communion,
178 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
and married him, and who later crowned him at
Reims, June n, 1775. The subjects of these four
are Don Quixote Served by the Ladies, the Peasant
Girls, the Departure of Sancho, the Princess at the
Hunt; of the low warp one Don Quixote Guided by
Folly.
All the five pieces were woven 3 aunes 2 seiziemes
high which is about 4 inches more than the present
height of 3.60 metres (n feet 10 inches), thus illus-
trating the fact that tapestries shrink when taken off
the loom. The combined width of the five was
originally 18 aunes 2}4 seiziemes (about 65 feet).
All have two or three lines of caption at the bottom
in golden brown, and woven gold frames around the
picture, inside the damasse ground as well as around
the whole. It is the triumph of ornament at the
expense of picture. From 1717 to 1794, about 250
Don Quixote tapestries were woven at the Gobelins,
many of the subjects being repeated many times.
Upon the death of Louis XIV (king 1643-1715),
he had been succeeded by his five-year-old great-
grandson, Louis XV (1715-1774), during whose
minority (1715-1723), Philip Duke of Orleans was
Regent. Compared with the age of Louis XIV,
the period of the Regence and Louis XV was frivo-
lous. In his youth Louis XIV adored War and
Glory, in his old age Religion and the Church. The
whole reign of Louis XV was above all human —
petty if you will — but a reign that spread abroad
among the many blessings previously confined to
the few. The contrast is quickly visible not only
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 179
in the Don Quixote tapestries as compared with
the - Story of the King and the Royal Residences,
but even in imitations of the ancient style like the
Turkish Embassy in two pieces after Charles
Parrocel, and the Hunts of Louis XV in nine pieces
after J. B. Oudry. The first new set during the
Regency had been the Story of Daphnis and Chloe
in four pieces designed by the Regent himself in
collaboration, some say, with Charles Coypel. An-
other Regency set by Antoine and Charles Coypel,
was the Iliad in five pieces.
Charles Coypel's Opera Fragments in four pieces
was first put on the looms in 1733. One piece was
taken from Quinault's opera Roland, the other
three from his Armide. The designs in character
suggest the coming of those that Boucher was to
make famous at Beauvais. Other Louis XV sets
were the Story of Esther in seven pieces after Jean-
Francois de Troy, first put on the looms in 1737, and
often repeated both with the original border and
with a new border (after 1772); the New Indies, in
eight pieces, after Alexandre-Francois Desportes,
called new to distinguish them from the Louis XIV
set named above, upon which they were based;
Daphnis and Chloe in seven pieces after Etienne
Jeaurat; the Arts in four pieces after Jean Restout;
the Story of Mark Antony in three pieces after
Charles Natoire; the Story of Jason in seven pieces
after Jean-Francois de Troy; the Story of Theseus
after Carle Vanloo (one piece) ; Stage Scenes in
five pieces, from Corneille's Rodogune, Racine's
180 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Bajazet,Quinault'sAlceste, Moliere's Psiche, Racine's
Athalie, all after Charles Coypel; the Loves of the
Gods, twenty-two pieces of which Venus and Vulcan,
Cherubs, the Genius of the Arts, were by Boucher;
Turkish Costumes in three pieces after Amedee
Vanloo.
One of the most interesting points in the XVIII
century history of the Gobelins is that about the
middle of the century the three contractors there
became intensely — and with justice — jealous of the
Royal Works at Beauvais. In a memorial to the
administration dated March 10, 1754, and signed
Audran, Cozette et Neilson, they say that "to prevent
the decadence of the Gobelin Factory, it would be
necessary to attach to it Sr. Boucher," giving him
the assistance of other painters of the Academic
such as "Sieurs Dumont, Le Remain, Jeaurat,
Halle, Challe, Vien." For lack of suitable designs
the Gobelins cannot get private work, "and for
nearly twenty years the Beauvais Factory has been
kept up by the attractive paintings made for it
by Sr. Boucher," while the "Srs. Charon, who are
now head of the Factory, are arranging with him
to compose a set of hangings to present to the King,
their intention being to spare nothing to render the
establishment more prosperous than ever."
The response from the authorities was finally
favourable when on June 6, 1755, the Marquis de
Marigny wrote to Frangois Boucher appointing
him to succeed J. B. Oudry just deceased, as inspector
at the Gobelins. On July 3, he wrote to the three
VERTUMNUS
PLATE no. 181. Vertumnus and Pomona, designed for the Gobelins by Francois Boucher after he
became chief inspector there. The picture is interesting to compare with the far superior Vertumnus and
Pomona designed by Boucher for Beauvais, and illustrated in color as the frontispiece of this book. The
ornamental frame with damasse mat was designed by Tessier.
182 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Gobelin contractors assuring them that Boucher
would co-operate with them in every way and that
"M. Boucher not only has refused the inspection
of the Beauvais Factory with the intention of giving
his attention to the Gobelins, but he has even re-
fused an interest that the Beauvais directors wished
to give him in their enterprise."
Already Boucher had executed for the Gobelins
the Rising of the Sun and the Setting of the Sun,
and a series of twenty paintings for Madame de
Pompadour's chair coverings. The subjects of the
most important ones executed by him after he
became chief inspector are, in addition to the three
in the Loves of the Gods series named above: Ver-
tumnus and Pomona, Aurora and Cephalus, Neptune
and Amymone, Venus at the Forge of Vulcan,
Venus Leaving the Water, Fishing, the Fortune
Teller, Jupiter and Calisto, Psyche Looking at
Cupid Asleep, and four that tell the story of Amintas
and Sylvia. Like the Don Quixote series of
Charles Coy pel, these were reproduced small with
wide damasse mats between inner and outer woven
mouldings. The frames were by Jacques and Tessier.
During the XVIII century the Gobelin contractors
executed many portraits in tapestry, for individuals,
that did not appear on the official books. The
first portrait that appears on the accounts of Au-
dran's shop is the life-size, full length one of Louis
XV standing, after Louis Michel Vanloo. For
weaving that portrait Audran wanted to be paid
10,000 livres, but was obliged to accept 7,252 livres.
184 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
The portrait contained 192 batons (48 batons -is a
square French ell, 16 a Flemish ell), and took 45
weeks to make — n weeks for the sleeves and the
head containing 9 batons, 34 weeks for the remaining
183 batons, which is a little less than 2^4 batons per
week for each of the two weavers. The portrait
was presented in 1768 by Louis XV to the King of
Denmark, together with an Esther set and a set of
the New Indies.
Portraits executed in tapestry by Cozette were
a bust of Louis XV after Vanloo; of the Queen
Marie Leczinska, after Nattier; of the Dauphin
(later Louis XVI), after Vanloo; of Marie Antoi-
nette after Drouais; of Joseph II Emperor of Austria,
and his Empress Marie Therese; of Catharine the
Great, Empress of Russia. The last is now in the
palace of Tsarkoe-Selo and bears Cozette's signature.
Of all these portraits, and others, there are numerous
duplicates and variants, for portraits of individuals
in tapestry seemed to appeal to late XVIII century
and XIX century taste. As works of art they do
not rank high.
Beginning about 1750, as a result of the influence
of Madame de Pompadour, many furniture tapestries
— seats and backs for chairs and sofas, and panels
for screens — were executed at the Gobelins after
models of Tessier, Jacques, and Boucher.
The only new sets originated at the Gobelins
during the reign of Louis XVI — the History of
Henri IV in six pieces, after Frangois Andre Vincent;
the Seasons in four pieces, after Antoine Callet;
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 185
the History of France in nine pieces, after different
painters, were unimportant from the tapestry point
of view.
To follow the destinies of the Gobelins during
the XIX century and since — would, as is perti-
nently said by the learned Curator of Art Objects
of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance at the
Louvre, be both "sad and useless." But while
great tapestries are no longer originated at the
Gobelins, it must be admitted that upon the existence
of the Gobelins in the XIX century, the survival of
the art probably depended, and that to the exist-
ence of the Gobelins the Renaissance of tapestries is
largely due. Personally, I got more at the Gobelins
than anywhere else, and am profoundly grateful to
every member of the personnel, from M. Guiffrey
down, who in 1906 received me so cordially and
made me free of the work rooms and the library.
I believe it is possible at the Gobelins to revive the
art in its pristine vigour, if they will deliberately
forsake XVII and XVIII century precedents, and
return to XVI century texture and method.
THE BEAUVAIS TAPESTRY WORKS
While the Furniture Factory of the Crown at the
Gobelins was a State institution organised by
Colbert to produce tapestries and other art objects
for the King, the business at Beauvais was a private
one established by Louis Hinart, a native of Beauvais
who was an experienced maker and merchant of
186 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
tapestries, having a shop in Paris where he disposed
of the goods made at his factory in Flanders. Col-
bert gave him every encouragement to transfer his
looms to France, and on August 5, 1664, the King
signed an edict subsidising and conferring special
privileges on "the royal manufactures of high and
low warp tapestries established at Beauvais and
other places in Picardy." Of the amount necessary
for the acquisition of real estate and buildings,, the
King agreed to advance two-thirds, up to 30,000
livres. » But the money advanced by the King was
secured by mortgage on the property. The King
also lent Hinart another 30,000 livres for the pur-
chase of wool, silk, dyes, etc., which the latter and
his associates undertook to repay within six years.
They also bound themselves to employ the first
year not less than 100 workmen, and to increase the
number annually so that it should be 600 at the end
of six years. Upon the accomplishment of which
the King waived the repayment of the first 30,000
livres advanced by him. The royal treasury was
also to pay 20 livres for every foreign workman
attracted to France. Hinart was to have always
in training at least 50 apprentices, towards whose
maintenance the King allowed 30 livres a year each.
For every set of tapestries over 20 aunes long (78
feet) exported to foreign countries Hinart was to
receive a bonus of 20 livres.
The King was better than his promise. Hinart
received not only the first 30,000 livres in 1664, but
10,000 livres more in 1665 to continue the buildings,
VULCAN
PLATE no, 187. Beauvais XVm century tapestry Screen Panel bearing the imperial double-headed eagle that clasps
in its talons the imperial sceptre and globe with cross. Size 3 feet 2 by 2 feet 6 and subject Vulcan at the Forge, after
Boucher.
188 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
and a further 20,000 livres in 1667. He also re-
ceived in 1664 the 30,000 livres for the purchase of
materials, together with 2,077 livres in 1666, 5,400
livres in 1667, 16,200 livres in 1669, 4,957 livres in
1670, 5,285 livres in 1672, 5,066 livres in 1673, in
accordance with the agreements about apprentices
and foreign workmen. The King also, in 1668,
released Hinart from the obligation to repay 12,000
livres of the money advanced, and what was of
even greater importance bought tapestries of him
regularly and largely.
From 1667 to 1671 Hinart received 16,519 livres
•I 8 sous 4 deniers, for 6 sets of tapestry in 39 pieces
—four verdures, one set of animal verdures, one of
small personages and animals. In 1669 he received
41,789 livres for thirteen sets in 78 pieces described
in the Louis XIV Inventory. Among them Children
Playing, a set of 8 pieces 25^3 aunes long enriched
with gold, and numerous verdures, some of which
are described as after Fouquieres the well-known
landscape painter. In 1670, 2,700 livres for a
Village Marriage in six pieces. In 1675, 12,552
livres for 8 sets in 49 pieces, one set of six at 40
livres an aune, the rest at 30 livres an aune. The
prevailing prices at the Gobelins were 200, 300 and
even 400 livres an aune. This comparison gives
an idea of the relative positions of the two institu-
tions, while Hinart continued in management. The
royal subventions amounting in all to 250,000
livres and the royal purchases of 254 tapestries for
94,666 livres, were not enough to make the enter-
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 189
prise prosper at Beauvais. In 1684 Hinart was at
the end of his resources and obliged to retire.
Cronstrom, the Paris agent of the Swedish Crown,
in his letters home (page 83 of volume IV of Boettiger
Swedish), gives as the reason for Hinart's creditors
throwing him into bankruptcy: that Madame de
Montespan had entrusted Philip Behagle's Paris
factory with the execution of the beautiful tapestries
she was having made after the designs of Berain
for her son the Count of Toulouse, and that Hinart's
best workmen had left him to go with Behagle.
When Hinart retired Behagle, who was a native
of Tournai, was chosen to succeed him. He did
not content himself with weaving verdures, but
boldly launched forth into the production of large
figure tapestries. That he was encouraged by the
King is clear from the inscription engraved on the
garden wall of Beauvais that says: "King Louis
XIV rested under this shade in 1686. Sieur Behagle
was then director of the Factory." But the en-
couragement did not extend to such constant sub-
ventions and large purchases of tapestries, as under
Hinart. The only advance Behagle received was
one of 12,000 livres when he took charge in 1684, and
from 1684 to 1700 he sold to the Crown only 12
sets of tapestries in 70 pieces besides a high warp
set for 5,000 livres. Among important sets pro-
duced for individuals was that of the Conquests of
Louis the Great. Of the set that was enriched with
gold only two pieces are known to survive, now in
the possession of Signor Candido Cassini of Florence.
190 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Another splendid set woven by Behagle was Ra-
phael's Acts of the Apostles in eight pieces, copied
from the set formerly exhibited at the Cathedral of
Meaux. This set signed by Behagle (See plate no.
91) is now in the Beauvais Cathedral, and there
is a duplicate of it in the French National Collec-
tion. Other sets were the Adventures of Tele-
machus in six pieces (after cartoons by Arnault,
acquired in Brussels), of which there is an example
in excellent condition in the Royal Spanish Collec-
tion and several in Paris private collections: the
Story of Achilles, the Marine Divinities in four
pieces bearing the arms of the Count of Toulouse
High Admiral of France; the Chinese Grotesques
after Berain, of which many copies were woven,
and of which the Musee des Arts Decoratifs has a
remarkable example with a delightful border (illus-
trated on page 12 of Badin Beauvais).
Especially interesting from the historic, as well
as from the tapestry point of view, is the set of 4
pieces in the Royal Swedish Collection woven for
the King of Sweden, under the direction of Cron-
strom mentioned above, after the battle painting
of Ph. Lemke. The cartoons were painted at
Beauvais by Jean Baptiste Martin, and the border
cartoons by Vernansal after designs by Berain.
The subject of the series was the Battles of the
Swedish King Charles XI: the Siege of Malmo,
the Battle of Landskrona, the Second Day of the
Battle of Lund, the Third Day of the Battle of
Lund. The average size of the pieces is 13 by
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 191
feet, and all are illustrated in volume II of Boettiger
Swedish, one of them in Badin Beauvais. The first
is unsigned, the second and fourth are signed
BEHAGLE, the third D. LACROIX. The Dela-
croix is undoubtedly the Gobelin low warp contractor
who, like many of the Gobelins weavers during the
years that the Gobelin plant was shut down, sought
work at Beauvais. All are enriched with gold and
show the arms of the Swedish Crown in the top
border with a Latin inscription in the bottom border,
and Charles XI's monogram in the side borders.
The contract price for weaving was 11,000 livres
(135 livres an aune), a sum increased by extras
later. Charles XI never saw the tapestries as
the first was not finished until 1699, and he died
in 1697. Originally it had probably been the inten-
tion to reproduce in tapestry the whole series of
ten paintings that pictured the actions of the war
waged by Charles XI against Denmark.
Among others who bought from Behagle were the
Duke of Bourbon, the Duke of Maine, the Duke
of Bavaria, the Duke of Duras, the Duke of Saxony,
the Archbishop of Reims. The prices varied from
45 to 100 livres an aune, and in an interesting mem-
orandum Behagle estimates his profit on each at
from one-quarter to one- third.
When Behagle died in 1706, he left the business
in a flourishing condition. But his widow and sons
were not equal to the task of keeping it up, and in
1711 the brothers Filleul succeeded. They, too,
although they enjoyed the favour of the Regent,
192 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
failed to put the business on a sound footing, and
in 1722 were succeeded by Sieur de Merou. Tapes-
tries dating from the period of the brothers Filleul
are the Chinese set in six pieces after Vernansal, Blin
de Fontenay and Dumons, of which there is a
splendid set in the Chateau de Compiegne; and the
Metamorphoses in eight pieces, after Houasse.
The subjects of the former are the Prince's Audience,
the Prince Travelling (illustrated mBadin Beauvais),
the Astronomers, the Luncheon, Gathering Pine-
apples, Picking Tea; of the latter, lo changed into
a Cow, the Palace of Circe, the Fish of Glaucus, the
transformations of Ocyrhoe into a Mare, Cadmus
into a Serpent, Jupiter into a Bull, Acteon into a
Stag, Hippomenes and Atalanta into Lions.
The important event of the twelve-year ad-
ministration of Merou was the appointment of Jean
Baptiste Oudry July 22, 1726, at a salary of 3,500
livres a year to succeed the painter Duplessis as
art director of the Beauvais Tapestry Works. In
return for the salary he was to furnish eight original
cartoons 28 aunes long every three years.
Among new designs employed by Merou were the
Animal Fights in eight pieces after Souef; the
Grotesques after Vernansal, Blin de Fontenay, and
Dumons; Children Playing, in six pieces after
Damoiselet of Brussels; Seaports in six pieces after
Kerchooe and Campion; Cephale and Procris in
four pieces after Damoiselet; Fine Verdures with
Birds in six pieces after Firens, the Fair at Bezons
with small figures in six pieces after Martin, the
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 193
Temple of Venus in six pieces after Duplessis.
The first cartoons delivered by Oudry were the New
Hunts in six pieces (the Wolf, the Stag, the Fox,
the Wild Boar, the Hound, the Deer); Outdoor
Games in four pieces; the Comedies of Moliere in
four pieces (For illustrations of these see Kann
Collection 1907). During the nine years from 1722
to 1731, Merou produced 38 sets of tapestries be-
sides a few portieres and furniture coverings. But
of the 38 sets only 13 had been sold in 1731 and
most at considerable loss. The Temple of Venus,
that cost 28,755 h'vres to make, was finally, after
vain efforts to find a purchaser, disposed of in
Leipsic to King Augustus of Poland for only 13,755
livres. The selling cost at the Paris shop was 7 per
cent, and at the shop that represented the works in
Leipsic was 10 per cent., transportation and customs
duties not included. Naturally enough Merou could
not go on for ever doing business at a loss, and in 1734,
being unable to meet his financial obligations, was
obliged to retire.
His successor was Nicolas Besnier, a practical
man of affairs who took up his residence at Beauvais,
and splendidly seconded the efforts of Oudry whose
academic duties and position as chief inspector of
the Gobelins (1733-1755), obliged him to live in
Paris, visiting Beauvais but seldom. Any tapestry
signed BESNIER ET OUDRY in the bottom
selvage is worthy of careful attention. With the
accession of Besnier prosperity arrived. Oudry
continued to turn out cartoons that enjoyed immense
194 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
popularity, some of them being reproduced ten or
a dozen times. Among these cartoons were new
subjects from Ovid's Metamorphoses in eight pieces,
ten Fine Verdures (the Pheasant, the Eagle, the
Fox, the Wild Duck, the Bittern, the Clarinette, the
Bustard, the Charmille, the Dog and the Pheasant,
the Lion and the Boar) ; and the Fables of Lafontaine
(the Dog and her Companion, the Two Hares, the
Lion and the Boar, the Fox and the Grapes, the
Wolf and the Fox), that were constantly on the
looms at Beauvais for forty years and were copied
and recopied by most other tapestry factories French
and foreign. Not content with what he accom-
plished himself, Oudry invited the co-operation of
the artists then most in vogue. Incited by the
success of Charles Coypel's Don Quixote series for
the Gobelins, Charles Natoire designed a set of ten
Don Quixote tapestries for Beauvais. These tapes-
tries, ordered in 1735 for M. de Durfort, are now in
the Archbishop's palace at Aix-en-Provence. Several
of the cartoons are in the Chateau de Compiegne,
and one of them is illustrated in Badin Beauvais.
Most famous of Oudry's collaborators was Fran-
cois Boucher who supplied him with designs for
six sets of tapestries in forty-five pieces. In 1736
the Italian Fetes in fourteen pieces, some of which
were reproduced sixteen times (113 tapestries in
all); in 1741 the Story of Psyche in five pieces
reproduced seven or eight times; in 1743 the Chinese
Set for which Dumons painted the cartoons after
Boucher's sketches; in 1749 the Loves of the Gods
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 195
in nine pieces; in 1752 Opera Fragments in five
pieces; in 1764 the Noble Pastoral in six pieces for
the apartments of the Dauphine at Fontainebleau
(the Fountain of Love, the Flute Player, Bird
Catching, the Fisherman, the Luncheon, all illus-
trated in Kann Collection 1907).
One piece of the Psyche set sold not long ago for
$60,000, and the Vertumnus and Pomona tapestry
from the Loves of the Gods series, illustrated in
colour as the frontispiece of this book, is valued at
$120,000. Rather different that from the 8,835
livres 12 sous 8 deniers paid in 1745 by the King
of Sweden for an entire set without borders of the
Story of Psyche (the livre being before 1 795 the name
of the coin now called the franc). The set is still
in the Royal Swedish Collection and is illustrated in
Boettiger Swedish. There are a number of excellent
examples of Beauvais-Boucher tapestries in New
York private collections.
Just as Louis XIV visited Beauvais under Behagle,
so Louis XV visited it under Oudry. Voltaire
spoke of it as "le royaume d'Oudry" (Oudry's
kingdom). Oudry's arrangement with Besnier was
very favourable, for, in addition to his fixed salary,
he shared in the profits, but not in the losses.
Besnier's death in 1753 preceded that of Oudry
by two years. He was followed by Andre Charle-
magne Charron (1753-1780), who was able to con-
tinue his successes. New designs woven while Char-
ron was manager are Scenes from the Iliad in seven
pieces after Deshays, bought by the King for 575
196 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
livres an aune; the Story of Astraea in three pieces,
after Deshays; the Russian Games in six pieces
after Leprince; Country Sports in eight pieces, the
Bohemians in six pieces, the Four Ages in four
pieces, after Casanova
The King bought regularly from Charron, paying
him, from 1754 to 1779, no less than 450,000 livres
for sets of tapestries complete with furniture cover-
ings to match, sent as presents to foreign courts.
Very interesting is the story of the adventures of a
Chinese Set that went to China in 1763, and finally
returned to France. The expenditure for cartoons,
from 1754 to 1780, was 63,956 livres.
In 1780 Sieur de Menou, a tapestry manufacturer
from Aubusson, successfully introduced the making
of pile rugs of the savonnerie type at Beauvais.
Among new designs woven by him in tapestry, were
the Pastorals with Blue Draperies and Arabesques
in eight pieces after J. B. Huet; the Conquest of
the Indies in three pieces after Lavallee Poussin;
Military Scenes in six pieces after Casanova; the
Sciences and the Arts after Lagrenee ; the Four Parts
of the World after Lebarbier ; the Story of Alexander
in four pieces after Lavallee Poussin ; Aristotle draw-
ing Aspasia's carriage Surprised by Alexander, and
Alcibiades discovered among the Courtesans by
Socrates, two pieces after Monsiau; two pieces
illustrating the Story of Achilles after Desoria.
Menou 's success is shown by the increase in the
number of workmen from the 50 of Charron's time
to 1 20. But when the Revolution came they de-
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 197
manded higher pay and finally took their grievances
to the National Assembly. Menou declared himself
unable to meet the demands and retired in 1793.
Then the works were shut down for a year, and when
reopened were put under State control, with wages
for piece work tripled, and six men employed. At
the Gobelins day wages had already been substituted
for piece work. This example was followed at
Beauvais in 1825.
To-day the Beauvais Works confine their efforts
ior the most part to the production of furniture
coverings and use the improved low warp loom
designed by Vaucanson for Neilson at the Gobelins.
Since 1854 the smaller looms at Beauvais are of
iron, which makes them lighter and easier to manipu-
late, but the large looms are still of wood, because
wood alone gives the elasticity necessary to preserve
uniform tension in a very wide warp. The use of
high warp looms was practically dispensed with at
Beauvais in the time of Oudry, and the last high
warp looms there were sent to the Gobelins in 1827,
when the Gobelins sent its last low warp looms to
Beauvais.
The City of Beauvais is 55 miles by rail north of
Paris, and the tapestry works are open to visitors
every week day from 12 to 4. There is an interest-
ing museum, and a school of design and tapestry
weaving. The annual budget for salaries and
materials amounts to about 115,000 francs. Among
picture wall tapestries woven at Beauvais in recent
years is a scene from the Story of a local heroine,
198 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Jeanne Hachette, designed by M. Cormon for the
Beauvais Lyceum. I saw it on the occasion of my
visit to Beauvais in March, 1906, and liked it much.
AUBUSSON LOOMS
A set of Aubusson tapestries to cover five pieces
of furniture — sofa, two arm-chairs, two side chairs —
weighs ten pounds, measures nine square yards, ancl
costs in the United States from $1,000 to $5,000.
That is to say, if you bought it by weight, you would
pay from $100 to $500 a pound. If you bought it
by area, you would pay from $110 to $550 a square
yard. To an Aubusson set that costs $1,400 corre-
spond a Belleville set at $950 and a Nimes set at
$700 — both the latter broche imitations of real
tapestry that are sometimes mistaken for it.
Aubusson tapestries are woven in the little town
of Aubusson in France, 207 miles by rail south of
Paris. Tradition says that the industry was estab-
lished there in the year of our Lord 732 by stragglers
from the Saracen army that Charlemagne's grand-
father, Charles Martel, defeated near Tours, thus
saving Europe to Christianity. In 1664 the tapes-
try merchants and weavers of Aubusson, in a report
to the King on the condition of the manufacture,
declared that it had been "established from time
immemorial, no person knowing the institution of
it." But the first documentary evidence that has
been discovered of tapestries woven in the Aubusson
district, is in the will dated 1507 of the Duchess of
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 199
Valentinois, who had the somewhat doubtful dis-
tinction of being the widow of the notorious Caesar
Borgia. In the will are enumerated numerous
tapestries from the looms of Felletin, mostly ver-
dures, several of them being described as "tappicerie
de Felletin a feuillages."
Colour plate no. IV illustrates the front and the
reverse of an Aubusson chair-back. The ribs run
vertically instead of horizontally as on wall tapes-
tries. In furniture tapestries the ribs are either
vertical or horizontal as is most convenient for the
weaver, and the texture is often as fine as 24 ribs to
the inch. The warp of the tapestry before us is of
wool and the weft is of silk and wool, principally silk.
Aubusson seats and backs are largely in the style
of Louis XV or XVI, and consequently in delicate
tones that are most easily secured in silk.
Returning to the colour illustration, I would ask
the reader to note that the reverse of a tapestry
furnishes a quick test to enable the novice to dis-
tinguish real tapestry from Belleville and Nimes
broche imitations. In the broche the floats on the
back are all parallel with the weft — that is to say
perpendicularly across the warp. But in real tapes-
tries the back is covered with loose threads — not
parallel — that mark the transition of bobbin from
section to section of the same colour. When the
loose threads are shaved off, the back is seen to be
exactly like the face, except that the direction of
the design is reversed.
In A.D. 418, the land of the Lemovices, that
200 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
in four and a half centuries had become more Ro-
man than Rome itself, was granted by the Roman
Emperor Honorius to the invading Visigoths —
barbarians from the forests of Germany and Russia
—as their "mark." Hence its Latin name Marchia
Lemovicina that in French became La Marche.
Auvergne got its name from the Arverni, and in the
seventeenth century Aubusson tapestries were often
called "tapisseries d'Auvergne," while tapestries
made in Felletin were called "tapisseries de La
Marche." The modern name for the political
division in which both towns are situated is the
Department de la Creuse, named from the river that
flows through Aubusson, which was said to possess,
like the Bievre of the Gobelins, and the Bronx at
Wiltiamsbridge, certain mysterious qualities that
endear its water to the dyers of wool.
In the year 1581 an ordinance of Henri III speaks
of tapestries from Felletin and Aubusson as "tap-
pisserie ou tapis dit Feletin, d'Auvergne." In 1601
Henri IV encouraged the industry greatly by for-
bidding the importation of Flemish tapestries into
France. But the Parisians were not content to
share prosperity with Aubusson. They wanted a
monopoly of the Paris market. They wanted to
tax the Aubusson tapestries on entry to Paris, and
to allow them to remain there on exhibition only a
fortnight. Evidently they feared the competition
of the hardy mountaineers of Auvergne and La
Marche. Fortunately the Government did not
share their local selfishness, and a royal decree dated
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 201
February I, 1620, confirmed Aubusson and Felletin
in their rights.
An indication of the high quality of the work
being done at Aubusson in the first part of the
XVII century is the fact that, in 1625, a tapestry
merchant of Aubusson received an order to supply
the cathedral of Reims with four figure tapestries
on religious subjects — the Assumption, the Virgin
with the infant Christ, Saint Nicaise, and Saint
Remi. Contemporary evidence about tapestry
weaving at Aubusson in the XVII century is also
to be found in the article on the Haute Lisse in
Savary's Dictionnaire du Commerce, published in
1641. He says: "There are also two other French
tapestry factories, one at Aubusson in Auvergne, and
the other at Felletin in La Marche. It is the
tapestries made in these places that are called
tapisseries d'Auvergne. Felletin makes the best
verdures, and Aubusson the best figures. It is a
long time since anything but the basse lisse [low
warp loom] has been used either in Auvergne or
Picardy."
By 1664, however, the industry appeared to be in
a bad way. According to the report made to Col-
bert, the number of weavers had decreased, there
was a lack of good cartoons, and wool was coarse,
and the dyes were bad. The tapestry merchants
and weavers of Aubusson requested the services of
a good painter and an able dyer. They were not
willing to have all the royal favours showered on the
Gobelins and Beauvais, while Aubusson got nothing.
202 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
I suspect that they may even have exaggerated their
woes in order to move the royal compassion. In
response to their petition, the King the next year
authorised them to use the title "Royal Manu-
factory." It was also ordered that "as the perfec-
tion of the said tapestries depends especially on good
designs and the dyeing of the wools, in order to
improve the said works and to treat favourably the
workmen, a good painter chosen by the Sieur .Col-
bert, should be maintained at the expense of the
King to make designs for the tapestries manufactured
in the said town; and there should also be estab-
lished in it a master dyer to colour the goods em-
ployed in the said manufactory." Why the prom-
ised painter and dyer were not sent at once we do
not know. Perhaps the fact that Aubusson was a
Protestant town may have had something to do
with it. At any rate, a few years later, in con-
sequence of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes
in 1685, Aubusson lost an important part of its
population. Together with other Protestants two
hundred of the best weavers of Aubusson had to
leave France. Pierre Mercier, with nine others,
went to Germany, and was successful in establishing
himself there.
The promised painter and dyer were finally sent
in the year 1731, in the reign of Louis XV. The
painter was Jean Joseph Dumons; the dyer was
the Sieur Fizameau, who was succeeded shortly
by Pierre de Montezert. An ordinance of 1732
provided that the work of Aubusson should be
CHINESE SCENE
PLATE no. 203. A Chinese Return from Pishing. An Aubusson XVm century tapestry in the collection of M. Martin Le Roy,
•eversed and modified from one of the nine Chinese designs painted by Francois Boucher in 1742 for the Beauvais Tapestry Works,
low preserved in the Museum of Besanc,on. The maker was Pierre Picon who signed duplicates of two of the companion pieces in
the Le Roy collection: M. R. D'AVBVSSON. PICON (Royal Manufactory of Aubusson, Picon).
204 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
distinguished by weaving the name of the town and
the initials of the weaver into the border. After
the arrival of Dumons and largely as the result
of his efforts, the industry became again prosperous.
During the French Revolution, weaving was prac-
tically suspended both here and at the Gobelins.
The condition of Aubusson a little later can be seen
from a report made to Napoleon in 1804. It gives
the number of workmen on flat rugs, hangings, and
furniture coverings as 240 to 250, and on pile rugs
as 50 to 60. The looms, except those for pile rugs,
were at the houses of the workmen. Linen came
from Flanders, silk from Lyons, wool from Bayonne.
Work was partly by the piece, partly by the day, and
wages were from a franc to a franc and a half a day.
The total production was about $30,000 a year.
Tapestries in fine wool were from $10 to $18 a yard,
in silk from $24 to $30.
At the present time 1,800 men and women are
employed at Aubusson in making rugs and tapestries
by hand, the total product being about $200,000
yearly. The best foreign customers are the United
States and England. The weavers are contented
with from $i to $2 a day according to ability. In
1804 they got from twenty to thirty cents only.
The painters who produce the coloured cartoons,
some original and some copied or adapted from the
antique, receive from $80 to $120 a month. For a
training school, Aubusson has a "National School
of Decorative Art." Apprentices are received in
the different ateliers at the age of thirteen and by
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 205
the end of the first year are paid two or three cents
a day. Their assistance in the simpler and easier
work is important in keeping the cost of production
down.
At the Paris Exposition of 1900, the exhibits of
three Aubusson manufacturers were of such ex-
cellence as to be awarded Grand Prizes — the same
award as to the Gobelins, the product of which is
reserved for the French Government.
Among the tapestries that helped to win these
grand prizes, were reproductions of one of Oudry's
XVIII century Hunts of Louis XV, of the panel
Venus and the panel Jupiter from Claude Audran's
Grotesque Months; in silk and gold of the Chateau
de Blois and the Chateau de St. Germain, from
Lebrun's XVII century series the Royal Residences.
Of these reproductions the jury said: "They are
so like the originals as to be mistaken for them."
Of an Empire set of furniture coverings, part antique
and part Aubusson restoration, the jury said:
"Only the most experienced eye can tell the new
from the old."
CHAPTER VII
OTHER LOOMS
American, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian
THE late William Baumgarten was a man of
strong personality and great executive ability. In
a lecture held before the Society of Antiquarians
at the Art Institute, Chicago, March 25, 1897, he
told the story of the founding at Williamsbridge
in New York City, of the first tapestry works in
America. He said:
"The history of our enterprise is soon told. When
the thought first came to me of attempting the
introduction of tapestry-making in this country, I
was fully aware of the magnitude of the task and
of the serious obstacles to be overcome. It was, of
course, necessary to bring the artisans over from
France, and to build the looms as a first step. This
seems simple enough, and yet, had we not had the
good fortune of finding M. Foussadier, the former
master workman of the Royal Windsor Tapestry
Works in England, it might have been very difficult
to get other first-class men to come after him.
They were all unwilling to leave France, and could
only be induced by the promise of higher wages,
the guarantee of steady work for at least a year
and free passage over and back.
206
GOTHIC HUNTING TAPESTRY
PLATE no. 207. A Late Gothic Hunting tapestry designed in America, and woven at Williamsbridge. Interesting to compare
with it is the hunting scene in the Hoentschel Collection lent by Mr. Morgan to the Metropolitan Museum.
208 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
"M. Foussadier, with his family, came over the
early part of January, 1893, bringing with him a
small loom which was at once set up in one of our
rooms at No. 321 Fifth Avenue, and work began.
I can here show you the first piece of tapestry
produced. It is a small chair seat, and took about
two weeks to make. It is a simple and modest
production, but is not for sale, and is intended to
remain an heirloom in my family as the first piece
of tapestry produced in America. The second
piece, exactly the same, was soon produced, and
this found its way, through the kindly interest of
its wide-awake Director, to the Field Museum in
Chicago.
"Four more weavers soon followed my new
superintendent, one after another, in the first few
months. In the meantime we had built more
looms, and it had become necessary to find a suitable
home for their ateliers, and my choice fell on a
house in Williamsbridge, which was in former years
a French restaurant and hotel, where I spent many
a happy Sunday in the springtime of my Bohemian
days, 30 years ago. There is quite a French settle-
ment there, and I thought my men would feel more
at home there than elsewhere. As a matter of
fact, they have found here a little paradise.
"But we soon made another happy discovery.
M. Foussadier, who is as expert a dyer as he is a
weaver, soon discovered, at his first experiments,
that the water of the Bronx River, which flows at
our door, possesses the most excellent qualities for
WINTER
PLATE no. 209. Winter, one of a set of tapestry portieres designed and made at Williamsbridge for the
dining room of a residence in New York City. In the right selvage appears the mark of the maker, a B
with shield.
210 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
dyeing purposes. This is owing to the dissolved
vegetable substances which it contains. I may
here mention that this same quality was attributed
to the water of the little river La Bievre in the
Faubourg St. Marcel in Paris, where the Gobelins
located their dye-works in the XV century, and
which became so famous on account of their supe-
riority over all others.
"The next step was to secure apprentices, with
the view of making the industry gradually a native
one and independent of foreign workmen. This,
however, proved more difficult. It is one of the
evils of this country that boys, after leaving school,
are not permitted or bound to serve a regular ap-
prenticeship for three or four years, as in Europe,
to properly learn a trade. They are required by
their parents to earn at once $3 or $4 a week, which
drives them into the stores and messenger offices,
etc. It is evident that for the first year or two
little, if anything, is of value to me that can be done
by these boys. On the contrary, they require
constant tuition and use up material which consti-
tutes an actual loss to me. However, I determined
to make the sacrifice in order to make a beginning,
and we took on two boys to whom we promised $2
per week the first year, $4 the second year, $6 the
third and $8 the fourth. These were followed by
two more boys the second year, and again by two
more the third. All six are now doing very well,
and the first two are already producing quite good
work.
PLATE no. 211. Cautonniere designed and made
in Williamsbridge for a residence in Kansas City.
212 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
"Thus, the first year was employed to get well
started and to produce a number of specimens, such
as curtains, portieres, borders, chair coverings, etc.,
of various qualities to show what we could do. It
was at the end of the first year, in April, 1894, that
I had the honour to read before the National Society
of Sculpture, New York, a little paper on our tapestry
industry, and to submit to their inspection some of
our first productions. They were not very pre-
tentious, to be sure, and I said then that my ambition
and aim was much higher, that I hoped some day
to make wall panels of as high an artistic merit and
as excellent in workmanship as the best of the
preceding centuries. For such work, however, one
must have orders, and in these depressed times they
were not easily obtained.
"Shortly after this lecture before the National
Sculpture Society, I arranged a little exhibition of
the first year's products, in one of our warerooms,
and sent out cards. This was in May, 1894. In
response to the invitation, among many others a
gentleman from Philadelphia walked in on a fine
May morning, saying he wished to see the show.
He liked to take in shows that cost nothing, he said.
After some conversation and a careful inspection
of our new productions, he said, 'So you would like
to make more ambitious things, wall panels with
figure compositions, eh? Do you think you could
do as well as those old fellows of a hundred or two
hundred years ago?' To which I meekly answered
that I would try, if I had the opportunity. 'Well,'
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 213
he said, ' I will give you the opportunity. Come
over to Philadelphia next week and I will show you
the room.' The result was that, after making
coloured sketches, which took about a month and
which were approved, I received my first com-
mission for a complete set of wall panels for a
Parlour, 13 in number, all in the genre of Boucher,
with what is called 'Pastoral Scenes.' It also
included the furniture coverings and two pairs of
portieres, and the cost amounted to over $20,000.
The work was completed by the first of December,
1895, m about 15 months. I had the gratification
of having our work pass muster before the critical
eyes of many leading artists and connoisseurs, and
it has given the greatest pleasure ever since to my
courageous and generous client in Philadelphia, Mr.
P. A. B. Widener.
"The number of workmen were, of course, im-
mediately increased by fresh importations from
Europe. Six of them came in a lot, and were duly
stopped by the Immigration Commissioners as
contract labourers. Then began my troubles. I
was ordered to appear before this august tribunal
of wise judges, six in number, mostly Irish and
German politicians, who knew absolutely nothing
about tapestry, and could not be made to believe
that in this, the greatest of all the countries in the
world, there were no such beings as tapestry weavers
to be found, and that it was absolutely a new in-
dustry I was founding, for which the law allows the
admission of imported workmen. I gave them a
214 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
most exhaustive lecture, with historical and statisti-
cal data, while my poor Frenchmen sat by like
prisoners, not knowing what it was all about.
However, to make a long story short, after a few
days, they were liberated by an order from the
Secretary of the Treasury, and thus escaped the
dreadful fate of being returned to their own lovely
country, la Belle France."
Of the six large tapestry plants in this world— -
the Gobelins, Beauvais, three at Aubusson, Williams-
bridge — the American one is by no means the
least important, as regards either quality or quantity
of output. It was awarded a Grand Prize for two
panels exhibited at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904,
and has executed commissions for a large proportion
of the leading families of this country. Illustrations
nos. 207, 209, 211, 247, 249, 251, 253, are of Williams-
bridge looms, materials, processes, and product.
THE HERTER LOOMS
Four years ago, in February, 1908, to be exact,
Albert Herter established on East 33d Street in the
heart of New York City, the looms that bear his
name, and started to weave tapestries of the kind
woven in the Netherlands in the time of Philip the
Handsome, Margaret of Austria, and Charles V.
Though a painter by profession, Mr. Herter has a
keen appreciation of tapestry texture, which he has
developed by personal work at the loom. In this
he follows William Morris whose views and practice
216 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
are expressed in chapter V. Like Morris, he has a
particular liking for Late Gothic "verdures with
personages," as illustrated by the tapestry I re-
produce on plate no. 215, and by the one woven
for the upper wall of the hall in the house of Mrs.
E. H. Harriman at Arden. The latter is fifty feet
long by five feet high, and backgrounds American
dryads and nymphs of forest and fountain, with
trees and flowers, birds, rabbits and foxes, native
to Arden. Later in style — definitely Renaissance
with wide and luxuriant borders — are two panels
each 9 feet n by 7 feet 8, picturing one a hunter
with his dog, the other a lady and a flower girl.
Quite different in type is the armourial panel 8 feet
by 5, woven for Mr. John De Kay to hang in his
French castle, the Chateau de Coucy. Especially
interesting should be the set of 26 panels now on
the looms, picturing the Story of New York back to
the days when Peter Stuyvesant smoked his long-
stemmed pipe and cursed in Dutch.
OTHER AMERICAN LOOMS
Among other American tapestry looms, the most
important are those established two years ago on
Lexington Avenue in New York City by Pettier &
Stymus.
ITALIAN LOOMS
Tapestries and rugs are, for Italians, an acquired
taste, not made necessary by the climate of Italy,
where frescoes and mosaics are the natural and
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 217
obvious ornamental coverings for walls and floors.
But in Italy, as elsewhere, national custom and in-
dividual taste bow before the great god Fashion.
Italian noblemen of the XV century were quick to
appreciate the beauty of the hangings turned out
from Flemish looms. In 1376 the Count of Savoy
placed an important order with the great Parisian
manufacturer Nicolas Bataille. In 1399 Francesco
Gonzaga sent a set of tapestries to Paris to have the
arms of Bohemia replaced by those of the Visconti.
In 1406 an inventory shows that he possessed more
than 50 tapestries.
About this time French-Flemish tapestry-weavers
began to cross the Alps, and set up small plants
under the protection of different nobles and cities.
The most ancient one with which we are acquainted
is that of the Gonzagas, at Mantua, which was in
operation by 1419 under the management of Johannes
Thomae de Francia (John Thomas of France), and
which executed work for Pope Martin V. Later
managers were Nicolas, Guidone, Adamante, all
French; Rinaldo Boteram of Brussels, Rubichetto.
Among painters who furnished cartoons were Gio-
vanni dei Conradi, and the famous master, Andrea
Mantegna, whose paintings that picture the Triumphs
of Caesar were acquired by Charles I of England, and
are now at Hampton Court (See chapter IX).
At Venice, in 1421, John of Bruges and Valentine
of Arras set up short-lived looms and Alviso Vivarini
painted cartoons for the Story of Saint Theodore.
At Siena, in 1438, Rinaldo Boteram of Brussels set
218 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
up looms, receiving a bounty from the city. In
1442 he was replaced by Jacquet, son of Benoit of
Arras. The latter wove the Story of Saint Peter,
in six pieces, besides many small decorative pieces
and furniture coverings.
At Rome, about 1455, Renaud de Maincourt
executed for Pope Nicolas V the Creation of the
World that was much praised by contemporaries.
In Ferrara the Flemish weaver, Giacomo de Angelo,
was joined at the Court of the Estes by his com-
patriot, Pietro di Andrea, in 1441, and later important
tapestries were woven under the direction of Lievin
of Bruges after cartoons by Cosimo Tura, Gerardo
di Vicence, Ugolino. Sabadino, an Egyptian weaver
of rare ability, also worked for Duke Hercules I.
In the XVI century the tapestry works at Ferrara
were revived after a long period of rest by Duke
Hercules II (1534-1559). Employed by him were
the two famous Flemish weavers, Nicolas Karcher
and John Karcher, the former of whom brought six
workmen with him from Flanders, among them
John Roost. Also at Ferrara was a Brussels weaver,
Gerard Slot, until 1562. In five years not less than
25 tapestries came from the looms of John Karcher,
who was succeeded by his son Louis, painter and
weaver. The death of Duke Hercules II ended the
period of prosperity. The head painter of the
works was Battista Dossa, who designed a Life of
Hercules and Scenes from the Metamorphoses. It
is also said that Giulio Romano designed his Story
of Scipio, and Combat of the Titans, for Ferrara. Of
220 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
tapestries woven here, the Cathedral of Ferrara has
the Story of Saint George and Saint Maurelius, the
Cathedral of Como the Story of the Virgin. In
the XVII century the store-rooms of the Estes con-
tained more than 500 pieces, some made in Ferrara,
some in Flanders.
At Florence, the Medicis were inspired to imitate
the example of the Estes, and for a hundred years
—from 1546 to 1737 — the Arazzeria Medicea flour-
ished. The founders were Jean Roost and Nicolas
Karcher whom the Duke Cosimo I agreed to supply
with factory space free, and pay each 600 golden
ecus per year in addition to what he paid for work
done. They were left free to accept outside com-
missions, but must train apprentices and were to
set up 24 looms, 12 of them low-warp. In the
Florence Tapestry Museum are many examples of
their work, Karcher signing tapestries with his
initials, Roost with a crude picture of a roast turning
on a spit. The chef-d'oeuvre of Roost and Karcher
was probably the Story of Joseph in 20 pieces that
must have cost not less than 60,000 golden ecus.
It was designed by the painter Bronzino who also
designed a Parnassus, a Hippocrene, a Marsyas.
In 1550 Roost wove the Story of Saint Mark for the
ancient basilica of Venice, after cartoons by Jacopo
Sansovino. Other cartoons were those of Ecce
Homo, a Pieta, a Lucretia, a Story of Alexander, by
Salviati ; and of the Twelve Months (See plate no.
219) and the Grotesques (See plate no. 353), by
Bachiacca. None of the designs rank high as works
222 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
of art. They are distinguished by showy affectation
and theatrical pomp. The extreme of decadence
was reached by a Flemish painter named Jan Van
Straaten (Stradano), who was the art director of
the works during the last few years of the XVI
century.
One of the first tapestry plants to develop in
Italy in the XVI century was at Vigevano, under
the management of Benedetto da Milano. Here
were woven the Triulce Months, ordered by Marshal
Triulce and still preserved in the family palace at
Milan. The designs are attributed to Bramantino
but do that artist no credit, being heavy and poorly
composed. One of the pieces bears the inscription:
EGO BENEDICTUS DE MEDIOLANI HOC
OPUS FECI, CUM SOCIIS IN VIGLEVANI.
In the XVII century among master- weavers in
Florence were Papini, Jacques Elbert Van Asselt,
Pierre Lefevre (Pietro Fevere or Lefebvre), Giovanni
Pollastri, Bernadino Van Asselt who signed the
Moses Striking the Rock lent to the Metropolitan
Museum by Mr. Rhinelander, Giovanni Battista
Termini and his brother Stefano, Matteo Benvenuti,
Bernadino Masi, Philip Lefevre son of Pierre named
above, Nicolo Bartoli, Andrea and Bernardino Manzi,
Angiola Masi, Giuseppe Cavalieri, Alessandro Ligi,
Michele Bucci.
Especially interesting to Americans is the factory
founded in Rome in 1633 by Cardinal Francesco
Barberini, nephew of Pope Urban VIII. The
Cardinal, during his visit as legate to the Court of
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 223
Louis XIII, in 1625, had been inspired by the wealth
of tapestries seen and by the flourishing condition
of the French tapestry works of Comans and Planche,
and had made exhaustive investigations into the
origin, quality, and character of wools, silks, and dye-
stuffs, and into methods of weaving and dyeing.
The replies were preserved in the Barberini library,
in a huge case labelled DIARIUM, and there con-
sulted by Mr. Charles M. Ffoulke, who, in 1889,
purchased the Barberini collection of tapestries and
brought it to the United States. While Nicolas
Poussin and Pietro de Cortona supplied designs for
the Barberini works, the regular art director was
Jean Francois Romanelli, and the manager of the
works was Jacopo della Riviera. Among sets de-
signed by Romanelli and woven by Riviera were
the Life of Urban VIII, in six pieces, of which three
are described (one illustrated) in Somzee Sale 1901
and Scenes in the Life of Christ in n pieces. The
latter set passed from Mr. Ffoulke's possession into
that of Mrs. John W. Simpson, who presented them
to the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New
York. For a time (1907-8), they were on exhibition
at the Metropolitan Museum, but now hang in the
Cathedral. Several of the pieces are signed JAC.
D. L. RIV. and all bear the arms of Urban VIII in
each of the four corners — three golden bees, mon-
tantes, shaded with sable, posed two and one on an
azure field. In the middle of the top borders of
some is the Sun adopted by the Barberini as crest;
in the top border of some of them is a plough drawn
224 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
by two bees and guided by a third ; in the middle of
the side borders of most, on the right Faith holding
a cross, on the left Hope with clasped hands; in
the bottom border of most, Charity suckling a child.
The subjects are: (i) the Annunciation, (2) the
Adoration of the Shepherds, (3) the Adoration of
the Magi, (4) the Flight into Egypt, (5) the Bap-
tism of Christ, (6) the Transfiguration, (7) the Last
Supper, (8) the Mount of Olives, (9) the Crucifixion,
(10) the Resurrection, (n) Giving the Keys to
Saint Peter. With these is included a tapestry not
belonging to the set but appropriate in subject, No.
12, a Map of the Holy Land.
The tapestries are 15 feet 8 inches high and vary
in width from 12 feet 10 to 19 feet i. In the weaving
Riviera was assisted by his son-in-law Rocci, a fact
that makes interesting the following extract from the
Papal archives:
"On the 25th day of February, 1643, one hundred
and thirty-four scudi were paid to Gasparo Rocci,
tapestry weaver, completing the sum of four hundred
and eighty-four of the same received as the price of
a piece of tapestry; height 5^ yards by 5^4 yards,
woven with gold, silk, and yarn in which is repre-
sented the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the design of Francesco Romanelli, making in all ZQlA
yards at sixteen scudi the yard."
In 1737 the Medici factory in Florence came to
an end with the death of the last of the family and
the weavers went to Naples and established a factory
that lasted until the French conquest in 1799. In
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 225
1758 Pietro Durante was manager of the high -warp
looms and in 1761 Michele Angelo Cavanna of the
low-warp looms. Among tapestries woven were the
Elements, after Lebrun, the Consecration of the
Virgin, the Story of Don Quixote, the apotheosis of
Charles III. One of the last pieces woven was signed
DESIDERIO DI ANGELIS 1796.
The manufacture of tapestries in Rome was re-
vived in 1710, at the Hospital San Michele, by Pope
Clement XI, with Jean Simonet of Paris as manager,
and Andrea Procaccini as art director. From 1717
to 1770 the manager was Pietro Ferloni whose
signature P. FERLONI F. ROMAE appears on
one of the Jerusalem Liberated tapestries belonging
to the Metropolitan Museum.
High-warp looms active in Rome to-day are those
of San Michele, and of Erulo Eroli who has woven
tapestries for the city of Rome that are illustrated
in Rossi Arazzo.
GERMAN LOOMS
German tapestry looms were among the first to
become active, as we have already seen in the chapter
on Gothic Tapestries. But no German city ever be-
came an important centre of tapestry-weaving.
Among primitive German tapestries — besides the
Saint Gereon and Halberstadt pieces — are the 12
pieces at the Ratisbon Rathaus that picture men and
women in strange costumes playing cards or dancing;
the Saint Catherine and the Apostles tapestries at
226 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Saint Laurent in Nuremberg; the one in the Nurem-
berg Museum that pictures games and recreations
on the walls of a fortified city; the one in the Brussels
Museum 1.14 metres by 3.85, that pictures, against
a verdure background with long descriptive scrolls,
the Return of the King, the Banquet, the Game of
Backgammon, the Visit to the Hermit, with tiny
scenes from everyday life beneath the main scenes;
Mr. Morgan's Solomon and the Queen of Sheba,
lent to the Victoria and Albert Museum; the two
long bands of tapestry exhibited at the Brussels
Tapestry Exposition in 1880, one belonging to the
Victoria and Albert Museum, the other to Prince
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, with long scrolls in-
scribed in German, one of which reads: " ForWilhelm
loves one of the beauties, Amely."
In the Munich Museum are three large genealogi-
cal tapestries that Ott-Heinrich had woven early
in the XVI century at his own factory in Lauingen,
after designs by M. Gerung. Also in the Munich
Museum, the Four Seasons, Day, Night — six XVII
century tapestries woven in Munich for Duke
Maximilian I, of Bavaria, by Hans Van Der Biest
after designs by Peter Candid; also the Twelve
Months by the same masters. During the XVIII
century a number of rather mediocre tapestries were
woven in Munich and also in Berlin.
A modern high warp plant in Germany is that of
W. Ziesch & Co., established in Berlin in 1879. A
booklet published on the occasion of the jubilee
celebration of the XXV anniversary in 1904, con-
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 227
tains photographic illustrations of aged tapestries
before and after repair (See plate no. 319), and a
colour plate of a tapestry woven after a cartoon
by the historical painter Julius Jiirss for the Dort-
mund Rathaus, picturing "the Empress Elizabeth
at the Rathaus Celebration in 1378." The four
scenes are framed in jewelled Gothic columns, and
the artist evidently made a serious attempt to re-
produce the costumes and atmosphere of the XV
century.
SPANISH LOOMS
In 1720 Philip V of Spain encouraged Jacques
Vandergoten of Antwerp, with his four sons, to start
in Madrid the Santa Barbara factory that is still in
operation. The Vandergotens began by copying
old sets of tapestries in the Royal Spanish Collection,
among others the Conquest of Tunis, and the Story
of Cyrus. Among new designs one of the most
popular was the Story of Don Quixote, by Andrea
Procaccini from the San Michele works in Rome.
But the reputation of the Santa Barbara factory
rests mainly on the 92 tapestries woven in the last
quarter of the XVIII century from the 45 cartoons
of Don Francisco de Goya (See Goya Tapices).
Goya's tapestries are all characteristic pictures
of contemporary Spanish life. Among these illus-
trated in half-tone by Albert F. Calvert in his "Es-
corial" London, 1907, are: the Gardens of Buen
Retire, Child Riding a Sheep, the Country Dance,
228 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
the Kite, the Washerwoman, the Little Giants, the
Grape Sellers, the Card Players, the Wool Cutters,
the See-Saw, the Reapers. In the same writer's
"Goya" London, 1908, are illustrated many of
Goya's tapestry cartoons that are preserved in the
Prado. The cartoons are interesting to compare
with the tapestries, as those that were executed on
the low warp loom reverse the direction of the de-
sign. In Calvert's "Escorial" are also illustrated
a number of tapestries by F. Bayeu, painter to the
King of Spain and Goya's master and father-in-law.
The most interesting is Children Playing at Bull
Fighting.
RUSSIAN LOOMS
The Imperial Tapestry works, founded by Peter
the Great in St. Petersburg in 1716, with workmen
from Beauvais under Behagle the younger, produced
a number of important tapestries in the XVIII
century, of which there are examples in the Imperial
Carriage Museum. The Royal Swedish Collection
has a number of tapestry portraits executed on these
looms, illustrated in Boettiger Swedish. For illustra-
tions of Russian tapestry portraits of Catherine the
Great and Peter the Great, the former in the Metro-
politan Museum, the latter in the Moscow Museum
of Arms and Armour, see plate no. 229. For history
of these works that suspended operation in the middle
of the XIX century, see Spiliotti Russian, who also
gives a descriptive list of the tapestries produced.
230 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
PEASANT TAPESTRIES
An idea of the extent to which tapestry weaving
—of a rustic but not uninteresting type — has been
taken up by museums and arts-and-crafts associa-
tions in different parts of Europe, particularly in
Norway and Sweden, can be got from the fact that
for exhibits of picture tapestries at the Paris Ex-
position of 1900, gold or silver medals were awarded
to:
The Akteselskalbet of Christiania, Norway, for
tapestries woven by Madame Frida Hansen (See
plate no. 231). The jury commented particularly on
Madame Hansen's openwork portieres.
The Art Industry Museum of Trondhjem, Nor-
way, for tapestries designed by M. Gerhard Munthe,
and woven by Mile. Augusta Christiansen.
The Handarbetets Vanner (Friends of Hand-
work) of Stockholm, Sweden, with special mention
of a large tapestry designed by the famous painter
Carl Larssen.
The City of Pirot in Servia.
The Textile School of Scherrebeck in Schleswig-
Holstein, Germany.
The Misses Brinkman of Hamburg, Germany.
The Society for the Encouragement of House
Industry of Presburg, Hungary.
Madame Kovalski of Torental, Hungary.
The Finnish Society of Friends of the Manual
Arts, of Helsingfors, Finland.
The Roumanian textile exhibit.
is •«
CHAPTER VIII
THE TEXTURE OF TAPESTRIES
Arras Tapestries. Greek and Roman Tapestries. High Warp
and Low Warp. The Process of Weaving
ARRAS tapestries have a more wonderful and
fascinating texture than any other material. I say
arras tapestries because I wish definitely to limit
the statement to wall hangings with horizontal
woven ribs in relief, and vertical hatchings (hach-
ures), in colour — the type developed and made
famous in French Flanders in the XIV and XV
centuries, continued in the XVI century at Brussels
(in French Flanders that had passed under Spanish
control), in the XVI I at Brussels, M or t lake, and the
Gobelins; in the XVIII at the Gobelins, Beauvais,
Brussels, and Aubusson. The progress after the
middle of the XVI century was constantly down-
ward. And while the most exquisite tapestries ever
produced were woven in the first third of the XVI
century, the most characteristic ones and those that,
with least effort and most naturally expressed
pictures and stories in true tapestry texture, date
from the XV century.
Arras tapestries are in their essence line drawings
formed by the combination of horizontal ribs with
232
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234 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
vertical weft threads and hatchings. There are
no diagonal or irregular or floating threads as in
embroideries and brocades. Nor do any of the
warp threads show as in twills and damasks. The
surface consists entirely of fine weft threads that
completely interlace the coarser warp threads in
plain weave (over and under alternately), and also
completely cover them so that only the ribs mark
their position — one rib for each warp thread. In
other words every arras tapestry is a rep fabric.
The number of ribs — from 8 to 24 to the inch —
has much to do with the texture. Just because the
Mazarin tapestry is very fine (22 ribs to the inch),
and many cheaply woven tapestries are coarse, there
is a tendency on the part of both dealers and amateurs
to exalt the virtues of fineness. This is a serious
error. The most marvellous tapestries of the XV
century were comparatively coarse (from 8 to 12
ribs), and of the XVI moderately coarse (from 10 to
16). For anything finer than 20 in wall tapestries
there is no excuse, except perhaps in a tour-de-force,
where the design is so complicated and the figures
so many and the weft threads so fine, that by com-
parison the ribs are coarse, and the texture remains
true tapestry texture — a line drawing.
As regards materials, there is also a vast difference
between the XV and later centuries. For tapestries
as for rugs the best basic material is wool, and it is
woollen weft on linen or woollen on hemp warp that
composes the body of the great Gothic tapestries,
whose texture is enriched with gold and silver thread
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 235
to a warmth and wealth of colour impossible in other
materials.
Nowadays we seem to be too poor to use gold and
silver. At the Gobelins they let a weaver spend
a year weaving a square metre, but refuse him the
precious metals. In France, at the end of the XVIII
century as pointed out in chapter I, they even
burned up ancient and invaluable Gothic tapestries
for the sake of the gold they contained.
Silk is the fashion of the day. In all tapestries
the tendency now is and has been since the XVI
century to use too much silk. Mortlake and
Gobelin and Brussels tapestries make this obvious.
But Gobelins of the Louis XIV period, less than
those woven since. Many of the Louis XIV Gobe-
lins and Charles I Mortlake sets were heavy with
gold.
Too many colours are used to-day. They try
to do in the dye-pot what ought to be done on the
loom. In the XV century, 15 or 20 colours were
enough. In the Renaissance, 20 or 30. Now there
are available at the Gobelins no less than 14,400
different tones, besides the 20 grey tones called
normals, all worked out and developed by Chevreul,
chemist and manager of the dye-works at the Gobe-
lins in the XIX century, who lead the march in the
wrong direction.
The movement started in the XVI century.
Raphael and his pupils with their monopoly of the
ancient mural paintings then just unearthed in
Rome, set new problems for the Flemish weavers —
236 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
problems suggested by paint and easily solved in
paint — but not at all suitable for tapestry.
Tapestries are par excellence line drawings. Here-
in lies their chief virtue and the moment they depart
from it, confusion and uncertainty follow. But the
wonderful genius for weaving inherited by the
weavers of the XVI century, enabled them to
accomplish the almost impossible, and translate at
least partially many of the extreme shadow effects
of Italian Renaissance painters.
I have no quarrel with these painters. Far from
it. Nor with those who took up the Italian tradition
in the XVII century — Rubens and Teniers and
Lebrun. But their failure to understand tapestry
technique and their efforts to compel weavers to
copy models closely, did great harm to the art of
tapestry weaving.
Tapestry texture is not suited for the expression
of large expanses of nude flesh, open sky and water,
and deep shadows. These and the production of
illusion by direct imitation of nature are the province
of the painter and the photographer. Even when
successfully accomplished on the loom, the result is
transitory and the colours fleeting because too
delicate.
Tapestry texture is suited for the presentation on
a large scale of richly clothed personages back-
grounded with contrasting patterns. Strong con-
trasts of light and shade it does not need because it
utilises line contrast to the utmost. For that reason
it is able to employ strong colours, blending them
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 237
together and inspiring scenes with life by hatching
and line stippling.
Tapestry texture is also suited for the presenta-
tion of flowers and foliage, and of the rinceaux and
the Grotesque (miscalled Arabesque) ornament, bor-
rowed by the Renaissance Italians from Ancient
Rome. Illustrations of the former are the Gothic
mille-fleur and verdure tapestries, of the latter the
decorative compositions of the XVI century copied
and developed so skilfully at the end of the XVII
century by Claude Audran and Noel Coypel.
Another form of patterned background interesting
in tapestry — moderately so — are the damasse and
festooned mats of Charles Coypel's Don Quixote, and
Francois Boucher's Classic Series, at the Gobelins.
The Golden Age of arras weaving is the last
half of the XV century and the first half of the XVI
century, while the Gothic influence was still power-
ful with the French-Flemish weavers who had devel-
oped and exalted the art to the highest point. Un-
doubtedly steps were being taken in the right direc-
tion in the XIII century or perhaps even earlier.
Evidences of this are the fragments from the Church
of Saint Gereon in Cologne, fragments now preserved
in the South Kensington, the Lyons, and the Nurem-
berg museums. But of arras that tells stories, and
is important as a form of literary expression, we have
no important examples earlier than the XIV century
and few earlier than the XV century. The famous
XI century Bayeux tapestry is not a tapestry at all
but an embroidery.
238 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
HIGH WARP AND LOW WARP
Tapestry is a broad word. It means one thing
in a wall-paper shop and another in a carpet and rug
store. One thing among makers of painted tapestry
and another among makers of embroidered tapestry.
One thing among jacquard and power and shuttle
weavers, another among manipulators of high warp
and low warp looms. There are also printed imita-
tions of arras tapestries.
By general consent and established usage, the
term real tapestry is reserved for high warp and low
warp products. But until now general consent and
established usage have not put into print a clear
and comprehensive statement of how high warp
and low warp tapestries differ from other textiles and
from each other.
First, as regards the looms. Both high warp and
low warp antedate the shuttle. In other words
they use bobbins that travel only part way across
the warp, instead of shuttles that travel all the way
across. The shuttle is a mechanical invention — a
box or carriage for the bobbin which enables it to
be thrown intead of passed, thus increasing the
working range of the weft.
The high warp loom not only antedated the shuttle,
it also antedated the treadle. In the low warp loom,
the odd threads of the warp are attached to a treadle
worked with the left foot, the even threads of the
warp to a treadle worked with the right foot, thus
making possible the manipulation of the warp with the
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 239
feet, and leaving both hands free to pass the bobbins.
In the high warp loom, that has no treadle, the
warps are manipulated with the left hand, while
the right hand passes the bobbins back and forth.
The high warp loom, then, is all-hand power, the
low warp loom hand-and-foot power. The term high
warp means that the warp is strung vertically; low
warp, horizontally. But the fundamental difference
is the treadles, and many primitive all-hand-power
looms have a horizontal warp.
The high warp loom is not only the primitive loom
that naturally developed among widely separated
peoples for the figuring of textiles. It is also the
loom that gives the weaver the most complete control
over each point of his work, thus putting the artistic
result up to him most completely. What the low
warp loom gains in width of pass, it loses in com-
pleteness of control, and in lack of ability to watch
the work from the other side as it progresses.
Both high warp and low warp tapestries are woven
with the wrong side toward the weaver — the wrong
side that in all real tapestries is just the same as
the right side, except for reversal of direction (as
in a mirror), and for the loose threads that mark
the passage of bobbins from block to block of the
same colour (See colour plate no. IV). In both
high warp and low warp looms, wall tapestries are
woven on the side in order that the ribs, which of
course, like the warps, are vertical or the long way
on the loom, may be horizontal on the wall. This
is a part of the technique and texture of arras tapes-
240 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
try, and not merely for ease of weaving as the
majority of tapestry weavers and some tapestry
designers seem to think.
In the high warp loom, the outline of the design
is traced on the warp threads in India ink from
tracing paper, and the coloured cartoon hangs be-
hind the weaver where he consults it constantly.
In the low warp loom the coloured cartoon is usually
beneath the warp and often rolls up with the tapes-
try as it is completed. But sometimes in copying
tapestries, and usually at Beauvais where an im-
proved low warp loom is used that can be tilted up
during the progress of the work tracings of the
design take the place of the cartoon beneath the
warp, and the colours are put in by the weaver
referring to a model behind him. Anciently in the
low warp loom, the cartoon was inserted in narrow
strips, each strip being removed as completed.
On the low warp loom commonly employed, it
is not possible to see the right side of the tapestry
until it is completed and taken from the loom. On
the high warp loom all you have to do is go around
in front of the loom. Of course, on both looms,
small portions of the right side of the tapestry can be
studied through the warp with the aid of mirrors.
Especially worth noting is the fact that the low
warp loom reverses the direction of the cartoon
placed beneath its warp. So that either the cartoon
must be painted left-handed, or the tapestry will
come out that way.
With weavers of average intelligence and modern
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 241
training, the low warp loom is much to be preferred,
especially for the reproduction of paintings in the
Italian Renaissance, XVIII century French or
Modern styles. At the Gobelins in the XVII century
Lebrun preferred high warp looms for the first inter-
pretation of his great Story of the King, and his
Royal Residences. If we ever get down in earnest
to the weaving of modern tapestries in arras texture,
we shall, like William Morris, go back to the high
warp looms, and once more compose line drawings
in wool and gold and silver, with little silk or none
at all.
The phrase haute lisse (high warp) first appears
on March 10, 1302, in an addition to the ordinances
regulating the trades of the city of Paris. This
addition states that discord had arisen between the
tapissiers sarrazinois (Saracen tapestry-makers) and
another kind of tapestry-makers called workers on
the haute lisse, the former claiming that the latter
could not and ought not to work in the city of Paris
until they had taken oath like themselves to hold
and keep all the ordinances of the Guild of Saracen
Tapestry Makers, inasmuch as the two trades were
similar. They also claimed that the haute-lisse
workers, not being organised, escaped the payment
of fines, so that the King's interests suffered, and
also the interests of many other good people, because
the haute-lisse masters worked by night and turned
out in consequence work that was "neither good nor
sufficient." In response to this complaint, the haute-
lisse masters were ordered to join the Guild of Saracen
242 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Tapestry Makers, and ten of the former (with the
approval of an eleventh) and six of the latter ap-
peared and agreed in behalf of their respective
trades to adhere to all the provisions of the ordi-
nances. It was further provided that the haute-lisse
masters might take apprentices for a period of eight
years and on payment of 100 Parisian sous of silver,
but not for a less period or smaller amount, and
might work on their haute-lisse looms only as long
as they could see by daylight without a candle.
Embroidered work was to be considered as false.
And to see to the enforcement of the ordinances
were appointed : one master from the trade of Saracen,
or a la merche (treadle), tapestry, and another master
from the haute-lisse, or a la besche (broche) , tapestry.
M. Guiffrey regards the tapissiers sarrazinois as
makers of pile rugs after the Oriental fashion. It is
with great hesitation that I venture to differ from
such an eminent authority, but I find it impossible
to accept his view although many others have
accepted it. I agree with him that the tapissiers
nostrez (our tapestry-makers) named in the ordi-
nances compiled about 1250 by Etienne Boileau,
Mayor of Paris, in his Livre des Metiers, are weavers
of coarse twills, ingrains, and other shuttle fabrics,
plain and patterned, for covering floors and walls and
furniture. But the tapissiers sarrazinois I believe
to be makers of treadle (that is to say low-warp)
tapestry, as is distinctly stated in the addition to
the ordinances quoted from and summarised above.
The phrase a la besche tapestry that is stated
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 243
to be synonymous with haute-lisse tapestry I also
regard as very interesting and significant. While
the most obvious difference in the appearance of
high-warp and low-warp looms depends upon the
vertical position of the warp of the former as com-
pared with the horizontal position of the warp of the
latter, the real and fundamental difference depends
upon the fact that the low-warp loom has treadles
and the high-warp has not, and also that the bobbin
of the high-warp loom (broche it is called at the
Gobelins) is pointed for use in pressing home the
weft, while the flute, as it is called at Beauvais (flute
or bobbin elsewhere), of the low- warp loom is blunt
and is not used as a tool. Besche I take it (without
elaborating my reasons here) is the Old French word
that corresponds to broche. I should judge, from a
careful survey of the ordinances and the addition to
them, that the haute-lisse workers were new-comers
to Paris, perhaps from French Flanders, or at least
men who were practising a kind of weaving then new
to Paris.
Certainly if the phrase a la merche (treadle)
tapestry used in the addition to the ordinances
(but found only in the manuscript of the Bibliotheque
Nationale, man. fr. 24069, fol. 241, and not in the
manuscript of the Archives Nationales, KK 1336,
fol. 145 V°) to describe the work of the tapissiers
sarrazinois, is a part of the original document or
was added by one who knew, then the tapissiers
sarrazinois cannot be weavers of pile rugs, in the
Oriental fashion. For the Oriental rug loom has
244 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
a vertical warp without treadles. At this point, it
is interesting to note that while the period of ap-
prenticeship of the Guild of Tapissiers Sarrazinois
was eight years that of the Guild of Tapissiers
Nostrez was only four; also that both Guilds were
restricted to the use of woollen thread except that
the tapissiers nostrez might use any other material
in the selvage, and that while the tapissiers nostrez
used plain yarn the tapissiers sarrazinois must .use
twisted yarn (two or more strands).
Regarding the identity of tapissiers sarrazinois,
the Flemish phrase, sarazinooswerkes metier maertse
(Saracen workers with treadle), used in a French
charter of Philip the Good, dated November 5, 1441,
to explain the French phrase sarrazinois tapissiers,
is significant, as is also the phrase found in certain
weavers' guild statutes assembled about 1460, dal etc
saergenoyswercker werckende up '/ ghetauwe metier
maertse (that every Saracen worker working on the
treadle loom). (For both references see page 61 of
Pinchart Generale.}
When speaking of Coptic tapestries I should also
have called attention to the Peruvian tapestries of
which there are important collections in the New
York Museum of Natural History, the Boston Fine
Arts Museum, and several European museums.
These Peruvian tapestries, exhumed like the Coptics
from ancient graves, date from probably the XVI
century, though some of them may be earlier. Like
the Coptics they were woven on small looms or
frames, with bobbins that were sent not only per-
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 245
pendicularly across the warp, but also twisted
diagonally around pairs of warps to outline figures
and ornament. An interesting feature of some
Peruvian tapestries is the introduction of open-work
loose weave in parts. This suggests the open-work
backgrounds of some Norwegian tapestries ancient
and modern.
Other real tapestries coarsely figured — some ribbed
and some with such large coarse soft weft that the
surface is flat — are Navajo blankets, Mexican scrapes,
Oriental kelims, etc., etc.
THE PROCESS OF WEAVING
The process of tapestry weaving is most interest-
ing. The loom and tools necessary are surprisingly
simple. In fact for a tiny tapestry a square em-
broidery frame with needles and comb is sufficient.
But for large tapestries a powerful loom is needed
to withstand the strain of hundreds of taut warp
threads. One of the earliest forms of the tapestry
loom had the warp threads attached to a roller
above and individually weighted below to keep them
taut. This was the Homeric loom and also the
primitive Scandinavian loom. It was extremely
slow and inconvenient. The so-called high warp
loom with two rollers, one below as well as one above,
was a great improvement. On the high warp loom
the left hand separates the warp threads to form the
shed through which the right hand must guide the
weft spool or bobbin.
246 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Finally it occurred to some unknown genius to
set the feet at work. He tipped the old loom over
into a horizontal position, and accomplished the
separation of the warp threads by means of two
treadles. This left both hands free to manipulate
the bobbins.
The use of the low warp loom has been general
since the beginning of the XVI century. In the
XVII century, it was used exclusively at Mortlake
in England, and at the works established in Paris
by Henri IV. At the Gobelins the haute lisse and
basse lisse worked side by side in friendly rivalry
during the reign of Louis XIV, and until 1825, when
the low warp looms were sent to the other Govern-
ment tapestry works at Beauvais. According to
Monsieur E. Gerspach, in his ' Tapisseries des
Gobelins ' ' published in 1 893 : ' ' The haute lisse was re-
tained at the Gobelins, doubtless because it presented
a better appearance and being used only at the Gobe-
lins, they did aot wish to entirely discard a method
handed down from antiquity."
A visit to the tapestry wrorks at Williamsbridge,
in New York City, is most interesting. Here in
a city that is crowded with machinery and steam
engines and electric motors, and in a country that, on
account of its success with machinery, has neglected
things artistic, we find what has not unjustly been
called "the most important art industry in America."
Here there are no noisy pulleys and creaking shafts
to deafen the ear. Here everything is done by hand,
and quiet reigns though industry thrives. The
TAPESTRY LOOM
PLATE no. 247. Above, miniature model of a Williamsbridge loom. Below, from the weaver's point of view,
showing pillows, bobbins, small comb, large comb, awl, scissors.
248 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
number of looms is 36, and each loom accommodates
from two to four weavers. Of the general form and
principal parts of the loom, the illustration of the
model on plate no. 247 gives a good idea.
The warp consists of parallel tightly spun threads of
wool or cotton wound around the two rollers. The
nearer roller is held by a ratchet wheel. The other roller
is held by friction against the lashed-together cross-
bars. This primitive and ancient method is superior
to any that moderns have been able to devise, giving
evenness of tension combined with elasticity.
As the weaving advances the finished portion of
the tapestry rolls up around the nearer roller, against
which the weaver leans as he works. Underneath
the loom are the treadles, one of each pair to depress
the odd threads of the warp, the other to depress the
even threads.
The illustration on plate no. 249 shows the
weavers at work. The one in the foreground is
passing the bobbin with his right hand, while the
thumb of his left hand elevates the threads beneath
which the bobbin passes. The weaver on the left
is making a pass in the reverse direction, from left
to right, and the bobbin in his right hand is clearly
visible.
In front of each are two sets of lisses that separate
the warp threads at the will of the weaver, as ex-
pressed through the treadles. It will be noticed
that of the two sets of vertical cords or lisses in front
of the weaver on the right, the nearer is raised, lifting
with it the odd threads of the warp, while the other
250 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
is depressed, carrying down the even threads of the
warp. These two sets of lisses being attached to
opposite ends of the same cross-piece above, must
necessarily work in unison, the pulling down of one
set forcing the other set up. One set is, of course,
attached below to the weaver's right treadle, the
other to the left. For every thread of the warp there
is a separate lisse or heddle cord, with eyelet in the
middle through which the warp thread passes.
The manner in which the lisses are woven, with
eyelets formed by cords looping around each other,
is very ingenious, and is illustrated on plate no. 251.
On the frame is shown a set of lisses partially com-
pleted, while hanging at the right is a set of lisses
ready for use. The lisses being woven are so held
on the three rods that their shape and position
relative to one another can easily be made out. The
rod in the middle passes through all the loops, just
as each warp thread on the big loom passes through
one pair of loops.
On the same plate two weavers are shown in the
act of threading the warp through the lisses, one
weaver busying himself with the lisses that carry
the odd warp threads, the other weaver with the lisses
that carry the even warp threads. The weaver on
the right is just passing a warp thread through the
eyelet formed by a pair of loops, lifting the lower
loop and depressing the upper loop. It will be
noticed in this illustration that the ends of the warp
threads are knotted together in groups of twenty,
making a series of loops. A long brass rod passed
THE LISSES
PLATE no. 251. Above, Weaving the Lisses; below, Threading the Lisses. See chapter VHI under the Process
of Weaving.
252 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
through these loops attaches them firmly to the big
roller, in a slot of which they are held as shown in
the illustration of the model loom on plate no. 247.
The tools of the weaver are few and simple-
spool, bobbin, mirror, awl, heavy comb of ivory or
boxwood with long teeth close together; small
metal comb, or grattoir, with tiny teeth far apart.
The pillow softens the hardness of the roller for the
weaver as he leans against it (See plate no. 247):
" But where, " the reader familiar with the Raphael
cartoons at the Victoria and Albert Museum in
South Kensington, is probably asking, "where are
the painted models that the weavers follow?" That
I was unable to secure a photograph, showing the
cartoon in position on the loom, I regret. The
cartoon though clearly seen by the weaver through
the warp, eludes the photographer, for it is under the
loom, just beneath the warp to which it is attached
face up, while the tapestry above it is woven face
down, so that the two faces face each other. The
cartoon rolls up as the completed tapestry rolls up
but separately from it and below it. The light from
the sky windows above illuminates through the
warp the cartoon, as well as the mirror by means of
which alone can the weaver see what he has done.
The actual process of tapestry weaving is sim-
plicity itself. The weaver passes the bobbin to
the left as far as that particular colour continues in
the cartoon, beneath the odd warp threads, nos.
!» 3> 5» 7 1 etc., and back beneath the even warp
threads. On its way out the bobbin or weft thread
DYEING
PLATE no. 253. The Dye Materials and the Dyeing Room at Williamsbridge. The Dye Materials illustrated are
madder, cochineal, blue vitriol, gall nuts, alum, tartar, indigo, orseille, bois jaune.
254 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
covers the lower or face side of the odd threads and
on its way back the face of the even threads. Then
with his comb the weaver presses the weft home
firmly against the part of the tapestry already
completed. He is really embroidering, except
that his foundation is not a cloth complete with
warp and weft, but a set of warp threads only, and
except that his stitches are all parallel to each
other and perpendicular to the warp. The bob-
bin is used as a matter of convenience because it
carries more thread than a needle. It is really
nothing more than a large needle, without a
point because a point is unnecessary in low warp
weaving.
The threads of the weft are much finer and softer
than those of the warp, and have to be dyed with ex-
treme care. To use aniline dyes, which are employed
generally for machine-made textiles, would be fatal
to the permanence of the colours and to the durability
of the tapestries. The dye materials are cochineal,
madder, bois rouge, indigo, orseille, bois jaune, alum,
tartar, blue vitriol, and gall-nuts. With these
materials, which are illustrated on plate no. 253,
every desirable tint and shade of colour can be
secured.
To the life of tapestry dyed with vegetable dyes,
it is hard to set a limit. XVI century Oriental
rugs are few in number and usually much damaged
by age and wear. But of XVI century tapestries
there are many in private collections as well as in
European museums.
CHAPTER IX
DESIGNS AND CARTOONS
Portraits in Tapestries. Counterfeit Arras. Animals
in Tapestries. Verdures
THE best tapestry designs for a century and a
half — I almost wrote three centuries — are those
produced by Burne-Jones and Morris and Dearie
for the works at Merton (See chapter IX). The
division of labour was an important feature. The
figures were by Burne-Jones, the grounds and borders
and colour schemes by Morris and Dearie. Each
did what he knew best — Burne-Jones the creative
composition and personages, his two associates the
ornament and foliage. What was most significant
of all, the interpretation of the designs was in the
hands of Morris and Dearie — the practical weavers
—from beginning to end. There was no attempt
to express in wool and silk what can be expressed
only in paint.
Burne-Jones prepared drawings 15 or 20 inches
high from actual figure studies. These slightly
tinted drawings were enlarged by photography and
submitted to him, together with small colour sketches
prepared by Morris and Dearie. On the photographic
enlargements Burne-Jones worked up the heads and
hands, but without touching the ornament at all.
255
256 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Also, in putting the cartoons and colour sketches
on the loom, considerable liberty was allowed to
the weaver in the choice and arrangement of tints
and shading.
This method I regard as the perfect one for pro-
ducing masterpieces of picture tapestry. In essen-
tials, it resembles the method employed by the
great Gothic and Renaissance tapestry factories.
Then the petits patrons that came from the great
painter were translated into grands patrons by
artists trained in tapestry technique, and the grands
patrons were translated into arras on the loom by
weavers trained to substitute tapestry convention-
alities for paint conventionalities, under the direction
of managers whose reputation and business success
depended upon their ability to produce tapestries
that utilised to the utmost the wonderful possibilities
of tapestry texture.
Small colour sketches (petits patrons} of the kind
used in the XV century, are those illustrating the
Trojan War (See chapter XII), now in the Louvre,
from which were produced the Bayard and Aulhac,
and Zamora Trojan War tapestries. Large colour
cartoons (grands patrons) are the Toiles Peintes of
Reims (See Reims Peintes in chapter XV), the
Raphael Cartoons in the Victoria and Albert Museum
(See chapter III), and Mantegna's Triumphs of
Caesar at Hampton Court.
That the nine paintings of the XV century Italian
artist Mantegna were what they look like — cartoons
for tapestry — is clear from a letter dated December
SAINT LUKE
PLATE no. 257. Saint Luke Painting the Virgin. Late Gothic tapestry in the Louvre after the painting of Rogier
Van Der Weyden in the Munich Museum, of which there is a duplicate in the Boston Fine Arts Museum. The tapestry
reverses the direction of the painting (with the necessary modification of St. Luke's hands), and is much richer in
details, mostly such as were often added by tapestry weavers of the period. Note the name S. lucas on the scroll behind
the patron saint of painters.
258 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
27, 1519, received by the famous Venetian amateur
Marc- Antonio Michiel from his correspondent in
Rome, and quoted on page 5 of Muentz Vatican.
The letter says in part :
"They [the seven Acts of the Apostles tapestries
just finished and first shown the day before] were
adjudged to be the most beautiful work of the kind
ever done up to our time, in spite of the fame of
other tapestries — those in the ante-chamber of Pope
Julius II, those of the Marquis of Mantua after the
cartoons of Mantegna, and those of the kings
Alphonse and Frederick of Naples."
The Triumphs of Caesar was considered to be
Mantegna's masterpiece not only by his contempo-
raries and posterity but also by Mantegna himself.
In a letter from Rome dated January 31, 1489 —
quoted in part on page 272 of the English edition of
Paul Kristeller's Andrea Mantegna, London, 1901 —
he commends the paintings to the especial care of
the Marquis of Mantua and asks "that the windows
be mended so that they may take no harm, for
truly I am not ashamed of having made them, and
hope to make more if God and your Excellency
please." The Marquis answered on February 25:
"We would remind you that you still have work
here to finish for us, and especially the Triumphs,
which, as you say, are a worthy work and which we
should willingly see completed." He adds that
arrangements have been made for their preservation,
because he is himself proud of having them in his
house.
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 259
They were shown to distinguished guests, among
them Duke Hercules of Ferrara in 1486, and to
Giovanni di Medici in 1494.
In 1492 Mantegna was presented with a large
country estate "for the admirable works he had
painted in the chapel and in the chamber of the
castle, and for the Triumphs of Caesar he is now
painting for us in pictures which almost live and
breathe. As once in antiquity Hiero gained lustre
from Archimedes, Alexander from Apelles and
Lysippus, Augustus from Vitruvius, so now has
the house of Gonzaga attained undying renown by
the works of Mantegna, and wishes on that account
to reward the artist with princely generosity."
Over a century later, in an inventory of 1627, the
paintings are named as being in the Galleria della
Mostra, and they are valued at 150 scudi each,
altogether 8,100 lire. In that year Daniel Nys
bought from the Duke, for 68,000 Mantuan scudi,
works of art to enrich the collections of King Charles
I of England. He was much censured because the
Triumphs was not among them and opened fresh
negotiations. The Duke held off at first and de-
manded 20,000 doubloons, "a clear sign that he did
not wish to part with them." Finally he let them
go to Nys, together with a number of statues, for
£10,500. King Charles was not pleased with the
bargain and held up the bills until May 15, 1629,
when Nys received the Lord Treasurer's promise
to pay and a command to send the objects purchased
from Venice to England by ship. The nine cartoons
260 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
were valued by the Commonwealth, in 1651, at
£1,000 and, like the Raphael cartoons, were selected
by Cromwell for the decoration of Hampton Court.
In 1653 they were ordered copied by Gilbert Picker-
ing (see chapter V under Mortlake), and the tapes-
tries woven from them were later purchased by
Charles II.
In the case of Raphael's Acts of the Apostles, and
Mantegna's Triumphs of Caesar, the grands patrons
appear to have been the handiwork of the painter
himself. But more often in the XV and XVI cen-
turies the artist parted company with his designs in
the form of petits patrons. Often, too, at the Gobe-
lins the same procedure was followed, Lebrun making
rough and incomplete sketches that his subordinates
worked out in detail and full scale. Among XVIII
century instances of the same procedure was the exe-
cution by Dumons of the cartoons from Boucher's
small sketches for the Chinese set.
The name "counterfeit arras" tells its own story.
It was a cheap substitute, in the XV and XVI cen-
turies and since, for real arras — painted or stained,
instead of woven. It occurs frequently in inventories
side by side with the real arras. Probably most of
the counterfeit arras in the early days was "grands
patrons," pulled from the seclusion of the weaving-
room to decorate the walls of rooms and houses that
could not afford real arras. Nowadays, ignorance
of processes is so general that newspapers and maga-
zines are constantly giving space to descriptions of
painted tapestry "as a new invention calculated to
THE NATIVITY OF THE VIRGIN
PLATE no. 261. The Nativity of the Virgin. Gothic-Renaissance tapestry in the Cathedral of Reims,
5.10 metres by 4.80. One of a set of 17 illustrating the Story of the Virgin, presented to the Cathedral in
1530 by the Archbishop Robert de Lenoncourt whose coat of arms appears on all the tapestries, portrait on
the tapestry that pictures the Nativity of Our Lord, dedicatory verses on the one that pictures the Death of
the Virgin. More about the series in the chapter on Gothic Tapestries.
262 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
supersede the real gobelins," and a New York dealer
founded a business — for a time very successful —
based upon the fraud.
Portraits in tapestries, as in stained-glass windows,
have always been a favourite way of associating
donors with events of historic and religious impor-
tance. In chapter III we saw Frangois de Taxis
immortalise himself, in company with Charles V and
Ferdinand I, in the Notre Dame du Sablon tapes-
tries. In the Burgundian Seven Sacraments, at the
Metropolitan Museum, the donors are almost cer-
tainly the lord and lady pictured in the XV century
Baptism and Marriage scenes. In the Angers Apoc-
alypse (See chapter II) at least one of the full-length
figures is the Duke of Anjou. On the last panel of
the Story of Saint Remi, at Reims (See chapter II),
appears the donor, Archbishop Robert de Lenon-
court, kneeling before an altar. On the tapestries
picturing the Story of the Virgin, at Beaune, are
portraits of the two donors.
Very different these contemporary portraits in
historic stories, from contemporary portraits in con-
temporary stories, like that of Francis I in the Pavia
set (See chapter XII), and Louis XIV in the Story
of the King (See chapter VI, and plate no. 169
that pictures Louis XIV visiting the Gobelins), or
the equestrian portrait of Charles VIII in the
Schickler Collection, illustrated in Guiffrey Seizieme,
that bears the Latin inscription: Carolus invicti
Ludovici filius ollim Parthenopem domuit saliens
sicut Hannibal,
264 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Immensely interesting are the animals so generally
introduced into Gothic and Flemish Renaissance
picture tapestries. In verdures, of course, like the
Lady with the Unicorn set at the Cluny Museum,
we might naturally expect dogs and rabbits and
monkeys and foxes and birds, in addition to the
lion and the unicorn. It is the casual introduction
of an animal like the squirrel in the Esther and
Ahasuerus scene of the Mazarin tapestry, or the dog
so often used to fill out foregrounds, to which I
would call particular attention.
Gothic verdures with personages were one of the
most delightful forms of story-telling art. Ground
and figures alike were alive with action and interest.
There was no spotting of high-lights, as in the
Renaissance and later verdures, for the production
of which Audenarde and Enghien became known.
Gothic verdures were actual forests, backgrounding
animals and personages. Renaissance verdures en-
larged the verdure and shaded-leaf details toward
realism in such a way as to produce the effect of
complete artificiality and formal pattern. Of Gothic
verdures the Baillee des Roses at the Metropolitan
Museum, is a fair example; of Renaissance ver-
dures the two "cabbage-leaf" panels framed in glass
at the head of the stairs in the Decorative Arts
Wing, and the very interesting Children Playing
verdures made in Enghien, one of which is illus-
trated on plate no. 265.
Verdures of the XVIII century and modern type
— "leaf -and -flower pieces used to eke out a set of
266 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
figure-pieces" (See chapter V, under Merton) —
are hardly worth doing at all in tapestry. The same
effect can be got at less cost by printing wall-paper
or cretonne, or by maching-weaving. William Mor-
ris said: "Tapestry is not fit for anything but figure-
work." I should amend this to read: "Tapestry
is particularly suited for figure-work with decorative
borders, and for furniture-coverings."
CHAPTER X
TAPESTRY SIGNATURES AND MAKERS
Tapestry Captions. Tapestry Borders. Tapestry Shapes
and Sizes and Measurements
THE majority of Gothic tapestries are anonymous
as regards both maker and designer. It was a rare
bit of good fortune — and brilliant investigative work
on the part of M. Jules Guiffrey — that determined
for us the names of Nicolas Bataille and Hennequin
de Bruges as authors of the Angers Apocalypse.
Seldom do we find woven signatures like that of
Pierrot Fere in the Saint Piat and Saint Eleuthere
set at Tournai (See chapter II); or an inscription
that gives the place of manufacture like that on the
last of the set of fourteen, made for a church in
Salins (Jura), picturing the life and miracles of Saint
Anatoile. The inscription comes down to us in an
inventory dated 1646, only two of the set being still
preserved in the Salins Museum, and a third in the
Museum of the Gobelins, the rest having been des-
troyed in 1793. The inscription reads: "These
fourteen pieces of tapestry were at Burges [Bruges]
made and constructed in the year of incarnation
according to our usage 1501 — and were for Saint
Anatoile, Bishop of Constantinople, son of the King
of Scotland." The inscription in the bottom border
267
268 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
of the Davillier Triumph of the Virgin at the Louvre
(See plate no. 269), gives only the date ACTU(M)
A(O) 1485 (Made in the year 1485). Sometimes, by
comparison with attributed paintings, we are able to
identify the designer, as in the case of the "Saint
Luke Painting the Virgin" tapestry at the Louvre,
which is after Rogier Van Der Weyden's painting in
Munich — but reversed, and with more decorative de-
tails— of which there is a duplicate in the Boston
Fine Arts Museum. There also appears to be no
doubt that the two Herkinbald tapestry scenes at
Berne were woven from the paintings executed by
Van Der Weyden for the Brussels City Hall, and
destroyed by the bombardment in 1695.
With the Renaissance began the custom, in
Brussels and other Flemish cities, of weaving the
mark of the city into the bottom selvage, and the
monogram of the weaver into the side selvage, on
the right. This custom was confirmed by a Brussels
ordinance of 1528, and by the edict of Charles V
in 1544, that applied to the whole of the Netherlands.
The following are a few characteristic marks and
monograms:
Willem Van Pannemaker, Brussels XVI century.
Willem Van Geubels, Brussels XVI century.
BDB
Brussels mark.
n« £ «
J3 !>,—""> 4s
K-3.2 8,1
-• -22
•2 ») .a « ^»
X 5 <n fl ki
bfl o •"
r~r
/C»
Cb
270 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Paris mark, first half XVII century.
Brussels mark.
Mark of Nancy in Lorraine.
Frans Van Geubels, Brussels XVI century
Martin Reymbouts, Brussels late XVI century
Marc Cretif, Brussels XVI century.
Oudenarde mark.
Brussels mark.
Ian Raes, early XVII century.
Mark of Delft in Holland-
W
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 271
Hans Van Der Biest, Munich XVII century.
Enghien mark.
Philip Van Der Cammen, late XVI century.
f\j „ Antoine Leyniers, Brussels late XVI century.
Mortlake mark, with monogram of Philip
de Maecht on the left, and of Sir Francis
Crane on the right.
Modern Gobelin mark.
Mark of the Baumgarten works at Williams-
bridge, with date below the shield.
Nicolas Karcher, Florence XVI century.
Mortlake mark, the shield of Saint George.
Alexandre de Comans, Paris, first half XVII
century.
B
ft*
272 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Charles de Comans, Paris, first half XVII
century.
Philip de Maecht, Paris and Mortlake, XVII
century.
tjji Tournai mark.
Ian Van Der Cammen, last half XVI century.
Unfortunately a majority of the monograms have
not yet been identified, and no exhaustive compara-
tive study of them has been made. So that the
presence of a monogram is not as helpful now as it
may become later. The custom of signing mono-
grams lasted a little over a century — roughly until
1635 — when initials and full names in Roman letters
took their place. Some of the later signatures are :
JAN PERMENTERS. Brussels second half
XVII century.
I. V. ZEUNEN (or I. V. Z.). Brussels XVII
century.
V. LEYNIERS(UrbainLeyniers). XVII century.
D. LEYNIERS. Brussels XVIII century.
MA. RO. (Matthew Roelants). Brussels XVII
century.
I. LIEMANS. Brussels XVII century.
I. V. BRVGGHEN. Brussels XVII century.
PEETER. VANDER. BERGHEN. Brussels
XVII century.
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 273
M. PROVOOST. Brussels XVI I century.
A. V. DRIES. Brussels XVII century.
M. WAUTERS (or M.W.). XVII century.
BESNIER ET OUDRY. A BEAUVAIS. Sig-
nature of the artist Oudry and the manager Besnier
at Beauvais, first half of the XVIII century.
D. M. BEAUVAIS (De Menou). Beauvais last
half XVI 1 1 century.
P. FERLONI. F. ROM^: MDCCXXXIX
(P. Ferloni made at Rome in 1739).
JAN LEYNIERS. Brussels second half XVII
century.
EVER^RT LEYNIERS. Brussels second half
XVII century.
H. REYDAMS. Brussels second half XVII
century.
P. V. D. BORGHT. Brussels XVIII century.
G. PEEM ANS (or G. P.) . Brussels XVI I century.
D. EGGERMANS. Brussels XVII century.
IUDOCUS. DE. VOS. Brussels Early XVIII
century.
G. V. D. STREECKEN. Brussels XVII century.
GUILLAM. VAN LEEFDAEL. Brussels XVII
century.
COZETTE, 1765. Gobelins.
AUDRAN, 1771. Gobelins.
NEILSON EX. Gobelins XVIII century.
IAC. D. L. RIV. (Jacques de la Riviere). Rome
XVII century
BEHAGLE (Philip Behagle). Beauvais last
half XVII century.
274 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
An important feature of many story-tapestries are
the captions. In the long, narrow bands of the XIV
and XV centuries, they are often on scrolls that
frame the personages (See plate no. 329). On many
of the immense XV century panels, there are in-
scriptions at the bottom in Latin or French, with
names and other inscriptions in the field of the
tapestry. In Renaissance historical and Biblical
sets, the Latin captions usually occupied the middle
of the top border. In the XVII century, cartouches
occupied the middle of the top border and bottom
border, the top cartouche carrying a coat of arms
or a shadow oval, the bottom cartouche the descrip-
tive caption, with sometimes another inscription in
the side border. An extreme example of long in-
scriptions is Charles V's Tunis set, with Spanish in
the top border, and Latin in the bottom border.
On the whole, captions tended to disappear from the
panel of tapestries with the approach of the Renais-
sance, and altogether with the increased dominance
of paint style in the XVII century. But a very
pleasing feature of Charles Coypel's XVIII century
Don Quixote series are the descriptive captions in
the lower part of the panel.
Tapestry borders in the XIV century, there were
nqne, and in the XV century, few before the last
quarter. The brick wall with floriation surrounding
the Burgundian Seven Sacraments at the Metropoli-
tan Museum is a noteworthy exception. About 1475
narrow verdure borders became the fashion, and re-
mained in vogue for half a century. Compartment
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 275
borders were first introduced by Raphael's Acts of
the Apostles, the best examples of these borders
being in the Royal Spanish Collection (See plate
no. 89), and in the Mercury and Herse tapestries
belonging to Mr. Blumenthal and the Duchess of
Denia. Renaissance borders were much wider than
those that preceded, and were especially rich in
flowers and fruit and animal motifs. A splendid ex-
ample is the border of the Roman Colosseum in the
Metropolitan Museum, with birds in the top border,
fish in the bottom border, and field and forest animals
in the side borders.
Of Renaissance borders I am tempted to say that
often they are almost as interesting as Gothic ver-
dure tapestries.
With the XVII century borders began to be
heavily shaded in imitation of frames carved in relief,
be sure, there had been inside shadows on two
sides of the panel of some Renaissance tapestries,
but it took Francis Cleyn — and Mortlake dyes that
have blackened with time — to show how far this
shadow tendency could be carried. At the Gobelins,
too, they liked to show ornament in relief, and
Gobelin XVI I century colours — the shadow colours —
also darkened with time, but less than the Mortlake
ones. The Gobelin borders of the XVII and XVIII
century are very distinctive and almost exclusively —
after the first brilliant period under Lebrun — com-
paratively narrow and not very interesting woven
reproductions of gilt wooden frames.
In the XVIII century, tapestries became smaller
276 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
and more intimate than in the XVII century — the
Don Quixote series taking the place of Alexander the
Great, and the Hunts of Louis XV of the Story of
the King. This was merely a reversion to early
precedent, for arras tapestries started small in the
XIII century, and grew large as skill and taste de-
veloped. In the XIV and XV centuries many sets
of tapestry were woven of huge size, like the Angers
Apocalypse, though perhaps sometimes in small
pieces that were sewed together after weaving. At
the end of the XV and beginning of the XVI century,
a multitude of small tapestries was woven, side by
side with lengthy sets of large pieces. What the
XVI century could accomplish in the way of size,
combined with perfection of technique, is illustrated
by Charles V's Conquest of Tunis. In discussing
the size of the tapestries, one should always remem-
ber that small tapestries are just as much of an
anomaly as large paintings. On a small scale paint
is superior; on a large, tapestry. The best shape for
tapestries is wide rather than high.
The old unit of tapestry measurement was the
aune (ell). The French aune was 46^ inches long,
the Flemish ell 27 inches. The Flemish ell was used
not only in the Netherlands and England, but often
by Flemish weavers in measuring up their work at
Beauvais and other French factories. In changing
from Flemish to French ells, 7 French were figured
as roughly equal to 12 Flemish, and I French square
ell as equal to 3 square Flemish ells — the French
square ell containing 48 sticks (stocks) or batons,
£ -S-:
278 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
the Flemish square ell 16 batons, which was the
square unit common to both systems. The units
now in use are the English foot of 12 inches, and the
French metre of 39.37 inches. For purposes of quick
comparison multiply the number of metres by
to get feet, or by iVn to get yards.
CHAPTER XI
THE BIBLE IN TAPESTRIES
RICH and wonderfully interesting are the tapestry
illustrations of the Bible and the Lives of the Saints.
For tapestries, unlike paintings, are best when large
and in sets and crowded with romantic details. The
mission of tapestries is story-telling.
Tapestries begin at the beginning. The Creation
is illustrated in a superb Brussels Late Gothic tapes-
try, 13 feet 2 inches high by 26 feet 10 wide (See
plate no. 281), one of a set of six picturing the
Story of Man, in the Berwick and Alba Collection
acquired by Baron d'Erlanger, and by him exhibited
at Brussels in 1880.
In the Creation the Trinity is represented, not as
Father and Son with Holy Spirit in the form of a
Dove, but as three crowned, richly robed and bearded
kings who all look exactly alike and all appear in
each one of seven scenes picturing the Creation and
Fall. In the middle scene, in the upper part of the
tapestry, the Trinity sit in Majesty, each with the
Imperial Globe (Reichsapfel) and one with sceptre.
In the other six scenes, all three have sceptres only.
On one side of the Trinity in the middle scene is the
angel of justice with sword, on the other the angel
of mercy with lily-branch. Behind them the celestial
choir. The composition and texture of the tapestry
279
280 TAPESTRIES—THEIR ORIGIN
are of extraordinary merit. The nature of the sub-
ject and the manner of its treatment, as well as the
costumes and flesh-tints, compel comparison with Mr.
Morgan's Mazarin tapestry, with the Triumph of
Christ in the Brussels Museum, and with the David
and Bathsheba set in the Cluny Museum. The
border is a narrow verdure of the kind characteristic
of Brussels at the beginning of the XVI century.
The tapestry is now in the Chateau de Haar, Belgium,
where are also two others of the set — the Crucifixion
with Vices and Virtues in Combat, the Triumph of
Christ. The sixth of the set, the Last Judgment,
is in the Louvre. In the Cathedral of Burgos are
two tapestries that supplement the set of six, thus
making an original set of at least eight. All are
illustrated in half-tone in the Burlington Magazine
for January, 1912, by D. T. B. Wood, who analyses
them and compares them most interestingly with
pieces in the Cathedral of Narbonne, the Vatican,
Hampton Court, Knole, and the Cathedral of
Toledo (formerly). There is a fragment of the
Creation containing the middle grouping only, in a
New York private collection.
The Story of the Garden of Eden is pictured in a
set of Renaissance tapestries in the Florence Tapestry
Museum, one of which I reproduce on plate 19.
The contrast between the Creation tapestry, de-
scribed above, and the Eden tapestry is striking.
The former is typically Gothic and Flemish, the
latter typically Renaissance and Italian. The bor-
ders also are characteristic.
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282 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Other Old Testament tapestries reproduced in
this book are: the Story of Judith and Holofernes,
on plate no. 347 ; a scene from the Book of Kings, 101 ;
the Story of Esther, 403; Crossing the Red Sea,
349> 971 Joshua helped by Jehovah over the Jordan;
Susanna and the Elders, 325; Solomon and the
Queen of Sheba, 29.
Especially interesting from both story and tex-
ture points of view is the Late Gothic set of ten
tapestries at the Cluny Museum picturing the
Story of David (See plates nos. 283, 285). The
subjects are:
1. David has the ark transported to Jerusalem.
2. Bathsheba at the Fountain, seen by David.
3. Bathsheba's husband Uriah sent on a mission
to Joab.
4. Joab's army prepares to assault the city of
Rabath.
5. Capture of Rabath by Joab's army, and Uriah's
death.
6. David in the midst of courtiers, learns of Joab's
victory and Uriah's death.
7. David receives Bathsheba in solemn state.
8. David learns of the death of Bathsheba's baby
and humbles himself before the Almighty.
9. David in the midst of his army receives the
crown and insignia of royalty captured at Rabath.
10. Repentance of David.
The tapestries, 15 feet high and from 19 feet 4 to
26 feet 9 wide, are rich with gold and silver. They
are said to have been woven for the King of France,
284 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
once belonged to the Duke of York, to the family of
Spinola, and to the Serra family of Genoa.
Another favourite Old Testament subject was the
Story of Esther. Unlike some other Old Testament
stories, this remained a favourite long after the
Gothic period, throughout the whole of the XVII and
XVIII centuries. It is pictured not only in one XV
century tapestry in the Hoentschel Collection (See
plate no. 403), but also on the right wing of the
Mazarin tapestry (See plate no. 369), and of the
Triumph of Christ (See plate no. 370), and on the
left wing of Mr. Blumenthal's Story of Charlemagne
(See plate no. 371), and in the set of 7 pieces de-
signed by De Troy (See chapter VI) for the Gobelins.
The subjects of the De Troy different scenes, that
were designed from 1737 to 1740 and woven over and
over again during the next 50 years, are : the Fainting
of Esther, the Coronation of Esther, the Toilet of
Esther, the Triumph of Mordecai, the Banquet of
Esther, the Disdain of Mordecai, the Condemnation
of Haman.
Especially popular in the XVI century was the
Story of Abraham, of which there is a set of ten in the
Imperial Austrian Collection signed by Willem Van
Pannemaker, a set of seven in the Royal Spanish
Collection signed by Willem Van Pannemaker, and
a set of eight at Hampton Court. The three sets,
borders and all, are from the same cartoons. The
full set was still at Hampton Court in 1548 when an
inventory was taken of Henry VI I I's effects : ' ' Tenne
peces of newe arras of thistorie of Abraham." In
PLATE no. 285. Part of a Story of David tapestry at the Cluny Museum, the second in the set of ten.
In this tapestry that is 4.52 metres by 8.16 Uriah summoned by King David returns from the army, receives
from the hand of the King a message for Joab, and taking leave of his wife Bathsheba sets forth. The part of
the tapestry reproduced on this page is the upper left corner and gives a view of David and Bathsheba (david,
bersabe) behind the scenes.
286 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
the Charles I Inventory of 1649, they were appraised at
£10 a yard, amounting to a total of £8,260, and were
not sold but retained for the use of Cromwell. The
Spanish set formerly belonged to Charles V's daugh-
ter, Jeanne, and numbered only seven in the inventory
made at the time of her death in 1570. The Austrian
set has in the upper part of the panel, on the right
and on the left, the Lorraine coat of arms with the
Cardinal's hat of Duke Charles of Lorraine- Vaude-
mont, who died in 1587. The borders are divided
into compartments with porticoes, after the fashion
of the borders on the set of Raphael's Acts of the
Apostles in the Royal Spanish Collection. The
story of each tapestry is told in a Latin inscription
on a goat's hide in the middle of the top border.
The inscriptions read as follows: (i) God appears
to Abraham, who by God's command leaves his
country, builds an altar, worships God. (2) Sarah
stolen by the Egyptians is restored with gifts. God
shows Abraham the land of Canaan. (3) In order
to avoid strife, Abraham allowed Lot to choose the
place of his habitation. Abraham lives in Canaan,
Lot goes to Sodom. (4) Abraham returning from
the slaughter of the four kings was met by Melchize-
dech, King of Salem, and priest of the Most High
God, who offered him bread and wine. (5) God
appears to Abraham and promises him a son. Sarah
laughs. Abraham makes intercession for Sodom,
that with other cities is destroyed by fire from
Heaven. (6) Hagar is cast forth with her son.
Abraham gives them food and drink, but the boy
S -2
288 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
suffers from thirst and Hagar laments. She is
consoled by an angel and Ishmael becomes an archer.
(7) Abraham, by the divine oracle, is commanded
to sacrifice his only son Isaac. (8) Eliezer swore,
beneath the thigh of his master Abraham, that he
would not accept a wife for Isaac from the daughters
of the Canaanites but from his own kin, and taking
camels and gifts he went off into Mesopotamia.
(9) And when he had come to the fountain and
Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel, had given to him
asking a drink from her pitcher, and had drawn
water for the camels, he knew by the oracle that she
was to be wife to the son of Abraham. (10) Sarah
dies. Abraham buys a field for her sepulchre, marries
another wife, dies, is buried.
The Story of Moses received special attention in
the Imperial Austrian Collection, which has one
XVIII century unsigned set of six pieces; one XVI I
century set of six signed with the Brussels mark and
either IAN LEYNIERS or EVERAERT LEY-
NIERS; one XVII century set of seven pieces signed
with the Brussels mark and either IAN PERM EN-
TIERS or H. REYDAMS; one XVI century set
of nine pieces signed with the Lorraine double cross
(which marks the place of weaving as Nancy, capital
of Lorraine), and with the monograms of two of the
weavers who signed the Gonzaga set of the Acts of
the Apostles. Some of the same cartoons were used
in the first XVII century as in the XVI century
Moses set. The XVI century set is illustrated com-
plete in Birk Austrian. It is one of the most beauti-
THE VIRGIN
PLATE no. 289. The Perfections of the Virgin, one of the Gothic-Renaissance set at the Cathedral of Reims
picturing the Story of the Virgin in 17 pieces, presented by Archbishop Robert de Lenoncourt whose name and 1530 the
date of completion appear in no. 16. His coat of arms appears on every piece. In the tapestry illustrated above, the
Virgin is busy at a tapestry loom — an all-hand one (See chapter VIH) — and has a pointed bobbin (broche) in her right
hand. Supporting the columns on each side of her, are unicorns, the fabulous animal symbolic of chastity. Note the
Gothic verdure ground with animals below, and the band of Renaissance rinceauz with fleurs-de-lis and winged heads
above.
290 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
ful sets ever woven, with compartment borders after
the style of the Vatican Acts of the Apostles side
borders, and with the arms of Lorraine in the top
of the left border and of Lorraine-Denmark in the
top of the right border. The double cross of Lor-
raine also appears several times on the drum in the
foreground of No. 4 of the set. The Story of each
of the nine tapestries is told in three lines of Latin
in the middle of the top border.
Other Old Testament tapestries in the Imperial
Austrian Collection are a Brussels XVI century set
of eight, with Latin inscriptions, picturing the Story
of Joshua (See plate no. 291), all illustrated in
Birk Austrian; a Brussels XVII century set of eight
signed I. VAN ZEUNEN, and a Brussels XVI
century set of eight, most of them signed with
the monogram of MARTIN REYMBOUTS, both
picturing the Story of Jacob and most from the
same cartoons; and numerous other XVI century
tapestries picturing the events of Genesis, Exodus,
Numbers, Kings, Joshua, Judges, with Latin inscrip-
tions.
Tapestries that picture the stories of the New
Testament have been described and illustrated in
other chapters of this book — the Angers Apocalypse,
the Reims Story of the Virgin, the La Chaise-Dieu
Life of Christ, the Beaune Story of the Virgin, the
Aix Life of Christ, in chapter II; Raphael's Acts of
the Apostles in chapters III and V. Tapestries in
the Royal Spanish Collection particularly worthy of
notice, and illustrated in Valencia Spanish (whose
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So
I
li
292 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
numbering I copy), are No. I, a Gothic Birth of
Christ (first half of the XV century), 1.93 metres by
2.50, with Latin inscription in Gothic letters; Nos.
3, 4, 5, 6, superb Late Gothic triptych tapestries
enriched with gold and silver, and picturing the
Story of the Virgin, that formerly belonged to Philip
the Handsome and that are worthy of comparison
with the Mazarin tapestry; Nos. 7, 8, even more
splendid examples of the weaver's art that also
picture scenes from the Life of the Virgin and that
also belonged to Philip the Handsome; Nos. 14, 15,
1 6, 17, brilliantly beautiful Late Gothic tapestries,
each about n feet by 13 feet, with two-line Latin
captions in Gothic letters (See plate no. 373) ; Nos.
1 8, 19, Christ on the way to Calvary, and the Deposi-
tion from the Cross, two Gothic-Renaissance tapes-
tries woven for Margaret of Austria, and included in
the inventory of her property made in 1523, seven
years before her death; Nos. 28, 29, 30, 31, four
Early Renaissance tapestries, 1 1 feet 4 inches square,
picturing the Passion of Our Lord, and woven by
Pieter Van Pannemaker for Margaret of Austria
No. 66, a tapestry, n feet 4 by n feet 8, picturing
the Last Supper, bought from Pieter Van Panne-
maker by Charles V at the unusually high price ol
38 florins a Flemish aune and presented to his wife,
the Empress, bearing the Brussels mark and attribu-
ted by Count Valencia to the designs of Barend Var
Orley; the Apocalypse, a Renaissance set of eight
tapestries picturing the Revelation of St. John
bought by Philip II, in 1561, from Willem Van Panne-
PLATE no. 393. Above, the Adoration of the Magi. Jesus gives his blessing to the aged king who has ^ just P««nte
cup of gold coins. This tapestry containing gold and silver, but a little less than a yard square, brought fcfrN
1901
gold coins. This tapestry containing gold and silver, but a iinie less * " /£"' ™d' A^ and the inscription in the
Below, the Adoration of the Shepherds. Note particularly the attitude of the ox and
GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO.
294 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
maker, whose monogram, together with the Brussels
mark, appears in the selvage.
Among Lives of the Saints pictured in tapestry,
and described in chapter II of this book, are Saints
Piat and Eleuthere at the Cathedral of Tournai,
Saint Remi at Reims, Saint Etienne at the Cluny
Museum, Saint Quentin at the Louvre, Saints
Gervais and Protais at Le Mans.
Important also from the religious point of view
are tapestries like the Burgundian Seven Sacraments,
described in chapter XVI, the Miracles of the
Eucharist in chapter II; and those that in their
method of presentation copy more or less closely
after Morality plays, though perhaps not as com-
pletely as suggested by Mr. Wood in his exceedingly
interesting article in the January and February
(1912) numbers of the Burlington Magazine, entitled
' Tapestries of the Seven Deadly Sins."
CHAPTER XII
HISTORY AND ROMANCE IN TAPESTRIES
TAPESTRIES are one of the most effective forms of
literary expression the world has ever known.
Through them the stories of Homer's Iliad and of
Homer's Odyssey were made vivid to the Greeks.
Through them the stories of Virgil's ^Eneid and
Ovid's Metamorphoses were made vivid to the
Romans. Through them the stories of Greek and
Roman and Medieval History and Romance, as
well as of the Bible and the Saints, were made vivid
to the people of France, England, Germany, and
Italy during the XIV, XV, XVI, XVII centuries.
Between the tapestries of classical antiquity and
those of the XIV century a long period of darkness
intervened. For a thousand years weavers were
content to leave the making of large wall-pictures
to painters and embroiderers. For a thousand years
the art of making arras was dead. Arras, I should
here explain, is another name for picture- tapestries
taken from the Flemish city of Arras (See chapter
IV) that, in the XIV century, was as famous for the
manufacture of tapestry as the Gobelins is now.
About ancient Greek picture-tapestries we know
definitely from the description in the Odyssey of the
picture-tapestry that Penelope wove openly by day,
but unravelled secretly by night because its final
295
296 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
completion meant that she must keep her promise
to select from among the suitors one to succeed the
long-absent and supposedly long-lost Ulysses. An-
dromache, too, wove tapestry, wove the shroud that
was soon to envelop the body of Hector. Most
wonderful of all was the tapestry that Helen wove,
Helen of Troy, whose romance brought strife between
two great nations, and led to the downfall of her
adopted country. In this tapestry, with fatal irony,
she wove the story of her own tragic life.
About the picture-tapestries of ancient Rome we
know, from the spirited weaving contest described
by Ovid in the Story of Arachne. Arachne had the
audacity to contend even against the goddess of the
art of weaving, Pallas herself. With her bobbins she
wove such wonderful pictures of the Loves of the
Gods that Pallas, consciously surpassed, struck
her. Arachne, incensed at the humiliation of
the blow, and unable to avenge it, hanged herself.
Whereupon the goddess, relenting, and with intent
to gratify Arachne's passionate love of weaving,
transformed her into a spider and bade her weave on
for ever.
We also have pictorial evidence about the art of
tapestry-weaving in ancient Greece and Rome. In
one of the early vase-paintings appear Penelope and
Telemachus and a tapestry loom. Telamachus
watches his mother as she weaves. While the loom
differs in some respects from the medieval and
modern high-warp loom, the details of the illustration
make it certain that the loom, is a tapestry loom, and
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 297
that the fabric being constructed is not a damask,
or a brocade, or an embroidery, but a tapestry.
Unfortunately, of the large picture-tapestries of
ancient Greece and Rome, none have survived.
But from ancient graves have been dug up many
samples of small, decorative tapestry bands and
trimmings for robes and gowns — some of them Greek,
dating back to the IV century B.C., others woven in
Romanised Egypt during the first few centuries.
Of these Egyptian dress tapestries — commonly
known as Coptic — there are large collections in the
Metropolitan and many European museums. Of
Byzantine and Saracenic and Moorish dress tapes-
tries in silk, we also have many samples, thus bridg-
ing the long interval between Roman and Gothic
tapestries.
A favourite theme of the tapestry-weavers of the
XIV and XV centuries was the Nine Heroes (Preux)
—three pagan, Hector, Alexander, Caesar; three
Hebrew, David, Joshua, Judas Maccabaeus; three
Christian, Arthur, Charlemagne, Godfrey de Bouil-
lon. A tapestry picturing the Nine Heroes belonged
to Louis Duke of Anjou. Two are mentioned in the
inventory of his brother Charles V King of France
(1364-1380). They also appear among the furnish-
ings of Charles's brothers the Duke of Burgundy
and the Duke of Berri — but with a tenth Preux
added, the contemporary Hero of the war against
England, Bertrand du Guesclin. A contemporary
poem preserved in a manuscript in the Bibliotheque
Nationale, reads:
298 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Puisqu'il est mort, qu'il soit mis en la table
De Machabee, premier preux de renom,
De Josue, David le raisonable,
D'Alexandre, d'Hector et Absalon,
D'Arthus, Charles, Godefroi de Bouillon.
Or soit nomme' le dixieme des lorz
Bertrand le Preux qui servit en prodon
L'ecu d'azur a trois fleurs de lia d'or.
Which in English reads:
Since he is dead, let him be put in the table
Of Maccabseus, first Hero in renown,
Of Joshua, David the wise,
Alexander, Hector, and Absalom,
Arthur, Charles, Godfrey de Bouillon.
Now let be named the tenth of them
Bertrand the Preux who like a hero saved
The azure shield with three golden fleur-de-lis.
This inscription was repeated recently on a
Gobelin tapestry picturing the Funeral of Du
Guesclin, designed by M. Edouard Toudouze for
the Courthouse of Rennes. Perhaps it may be well
to explain here that Judas Maccabaeus was the great
Jewish warrior who, in the second century B.C., de-
feated in quick successsion the Syrian generals,
Appollonius, Seron, Gorgias, and the regent Lysias
—victories that led to the temporary independence
of Judea.
Of all the Gothic Hero tapestries, however, practi-
cally none have survived. In the Historic Museum
of Bale in Switzerland there is a XV century fragment
(illustrated on page 31 of Guiffrey Seizieme) showing
Judas Maccabaeus, Arthur, Charlemagne, Godfrey
300 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
de Bouillon, side by side afoot on a verdure back-
ground, framed in long ribbons bearing inscriptions
in German and each displayed his coat of arms on
shield or banner. This tapestry makes easy the
identification of Arthur and Godfrey de Bouillon
in the Triumph of Christ tapestries at Brussels and
Saragossa, and in the Charlemagne tapestry owned
by Mr. George Blumenthal (See plates nos. 370, 371).
In the fragment discovered some years ago at Saint
Maxent, the Heroes are mounted, and each of the
six — Joshua, David, Hector, Caesar, Arthur, God-
frey de Bouillon — carries a blazoned shield that
would identify him even if his name were not in-
scribed beside him. Some of them have a six-line
exploitation of their prowess in verse. One of the
pieces begins: "I am Hector of Troy where fear
was great."
Besides Heroes, there were also Heroines. In an
inventory of the Count of Savoy, each of the Heroes
has a lady companion, evidently a Heroine. In the
Inventory of Charles VI of France appear a number
of Heroines glorified in tapestry, most of them
Amazons and all belonging to antiquity, chief among
them Penthesilea, of whom the Cathedral of Angers
possesses a curious picture in tapestry that was
formerly identified as Joan of Arc.
One proof of the immense popularity of the Nine
Heroes in the Middle Ages is the fact that the four
kings in playing-cards — hearts, diamonds, spades,
,clubs — Charles, Caesar, David, Alexander — are sim-
ply four of the Medieval Preux, Hector having be-
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 301
come the Jack of Diamonds, and the other four hav-
ing been dropped.
Immensely popular with Gothic tapestry-weavers
was the Story of the Trojan War. Typical examples
are the three Chevalier Bayard fragments and the
seven Aulhac fragments illustrated in colour in
Jubinal Tapisseries. The former were purchased in
1807 from the owner of the Chateau de Bayard by
the painter M. Richard of Lyons, who thirty years
later presented them to M. Jubinal (See plate no.
59). The latter formerly belonged to the Besse
family of Aulhac, from whom they were taken at the
time of the French Revolution and placed in the
Courthouse of Issoire where they now are. By a
rare piece of good fortune the original colour sketches
survive and are now in the Louvre. They formerly
belonged to Herr Adolf Gutbier of Dresden, and
while in his possession were illustrated and de-
scribed in Schumann Trojan. Of these sketches
there are eight, 15 by 22 inches, all in good condition
except the second from which a vertical section of
the middle is missing. The sketches were drawn
with the pen and coloured red, blue, and yellow with
water-colours. The subjects are:
(i) Antenor's Mission to Greece (two scenes). The Judg-
ment of Paris. (2) Arrival of the Greeks and the First
Battle of Troy. (3) Fourth Battle, King Thoas Captured,
In the Chamber of Beauty. (4) Death of Palamedes, the
Refusal of Achilles, Hector's Farewell to Andromache. (5)
Eighth Battle, Death of Achilles, Twentieth Battle. (6)
Arrival of Penthesilea, Battle of the Amazons, the Army of
Pyrrhus, Pyrrhus in Battle. (7) Death of Penthesilea, An-
302 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
tenor's Treachery. (8) The Wooden Horse, the deaths of
Priam and Polyxena.
The Bayard fragments correspond to the left ^
of sketch no. 6. At the bottom of each of the
Bayard fragments is a Latin caption in two lines.
The first reads:
Vergunt Trojam cum Panthasilea. Bellatrices mille
federatae.
Ut Hectorem vindicent galeam. Hiis Priamus favit ordinate.
From the Aulhac fragments the captions are miss-
ing, but they as well as the Bayard fragments have
some of the personages and buildings designated by
name.
Especially interesting are the seventeen eight-line
stanzas of French verse written on the back of the
eight colour sketches (petits patrons). Schumann
prints them entire. They are based not upon the
Iliad, but upon other poetical versions of the Story
of Troy.
One of the Aulhac fragments copies the first scene
of sketch no. i, and a fragment at the Cathedral of
Zamora copies no. 8.
A subject that appealed particularly to the weavers
of the XVI century was the Story of Scipio Africanus,
glorious with battles and triumphs (See Astier Scipio).
The designs were nearly or quite all Italian, and
largely inspired by Petrarch's epic poem Africa that
treats exclusively of the Second Punic war. One of
the most ancient sets was the one known as the
Grand Scipion purchased by Frangois I for the
Chateau of Madrid and burned in 1797 (See chapter
304 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
I), for the gold and silver that it contained. The
tapestries were woven by Marc Cretif, who was
the first Brussels owner of the original petits patrons
(small colour sketches), fifteen of which have been
discovered in the Louvre by Colonel d'Astier and
M. Jean Guiffrey. Of these petits patrons, the
Triumphs were by Giulio Romano, the Deeds
(Gestes) by his associate Francesco Penni (il
Fattore). Of the 22 scenes, the first 13 are Deeds,
the others Triumphs:
(i) Victory points out to Scipio the way to glory. (2)
Scipio saves his father at the battle of the Ticinus. (3) Scipio
forces the palisaded camp of Hasdrubal. (4) The assault on
Carthagena. (5) The crown given to Loelius. (6) The
Continence of Scipio. (7) The Duel of Corbis and Orsua.
(8) Mandonius and Indibiles unite against the Romans.
(9) Generosity of Scipio towards Spanish prisoners. (10)
Scipio and Hasdrubal dine with Syphax. (n) Banquet given
in Sicily by Scipio to the tribunes. (12) Conference between
Scipio and Hannibal before the battle of Zama. (13) Battle
of Zama. (14) The procession of victories. (15) Crossing
the Bridge. (16) At Monte Cavallo. (17) The Grand Stand.
(18) The Circus. (19) The Portico. (20) The Prisoner
Syphax. (21) The Triumphal Car. (22) Scipio arrives at
the Capital.
Colonel Astier gives photographic illustrations, from
the Louvre petits patrons or from tapestries, of all
of these scenes except nos. I and 7. He also makes
an exhaustive study with illustrations of Scipio
tapestries from other designs. Nos. 90 to 96 in
Valencia Spanish are seven pieces from the original
designs signed with the Brussels mark and a mono-
306 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
gram, purchased by Mary of Hungary (See chapter
IV), and bequeathed by her to her brother Charles
V on her death in 1558 (See plate no. 95).
Interesting sets in the Imperial Austrian Collec-
tion, picturing Greek and Roman history and
mythology, are: the Story of Dido and ALneas in
8 pieces woven in the XVII century and signed M.
WAUTERS or M W, after the designs of Romanelli;
another set of the Story of Dido and ^neas in -8
pieces signed either I. V. BRUGGHEN or PEETER
VANDER BERGHEN; a XVII century set of 8
pieces picturing the Life of the Emperor Augustus;
a XVII century set of 5 pieces after Rubens picturing
the Life of the Roman consul Decius Mus; a XVI
century set in 9 pieces with Latin captions picturing
the Story of Alexander the Great, signed with the
Brussels mark and a monogram; a XVI century set
in 9 pieces with Latin captions picturing the Story
of Vertumnus and Pomona, signed with the Brussels
mark and a monogram; a XVI century set of 8
pieces picturing the Story of Romulus and Remus,
with Latin caption, signed with the Brussels mark
and the monogram of Frans Van Geubels.
Among sets picturing contemporary history are:
the Life and Deeds of Joao de Castro, Viceroy of
the Portugal Indies (died at Goa in 1548), in 9 pieces,
with Brussels mark and a monogram, a XVI century
set in the Imperial Austrian Collection; the Conquest
of Tunis, a XVI century set in 9 pieces (originally 1 1),
picturing the famous campaign of Charles V, after
designs by Jean Vermayen (whose full length portrait
308 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
appears in the first), signed with the Brussels mark
and the monogram of Willem Van Pannemaker,
with very long Spanish captions in the top borders
and Latin captions in the bottom borders, in the
Royal Spanish Collection; in the Imperial Austrian
Collection a set of 10 pieces from the same cartoons
signed with the Brussels mark and IUDOCUS
DE VOS, whose contract, dated March 10, 1712,
called for 6,654^ louis d'or; the Battle of Pavia, a
XVI century set in seven pieces after designs by
Barend Van Orley, presented to the Emperor Charles
V in 1531 by the States General of the Netherlands,
in memory of his famous victory over the French
at Pavia in 1524, now in the Naples Museum (See
plate no. 309).
The Pavia tapestries are 13 feet 9 inches high and
from 25 feet 5 to 28 feet n wide; the Tunis tapes-
tries, 17 feet high and from 23 feet 4 to 32 feet 6
wide. The subjects of the Pavia tapestries are:
(i) The attack of the yeomen and arquebusiers on the
right wing of the French army (2) The French army opens
out, but the Swiss refuse to advance. (3) The soldiers of the
Black Band being almost all slain, the yeomenry storm the
French King's fortified camp. (4) Flight of the Duke of
Alencon across the Ticinus. (5) The Swiss driven into the
Ticinus. (6) The French King Francois I in personal combat
with the Marchese Civita di Sant' Angelo. (7) The capture
of Francois I.
That evening Francois wrote to his mother:
"Madam, pour vous faire savoir comment se porte
le reste de mon infortune, de toutes choses ne m'est
310 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
demeur& que 1'honneur, et la vie qui est sauv£e.
(Madam, to explain to you the rest of my mis-
fortunes, the only thing left to me is honour, and
my life that has been saved)."
The subjects of the Tunis tapestries are:
(i) Map of the Mediterranean showing the ports of em-
barkation from Europe and the field of operations in Africa.
(2) Review of the Emperor's army at Barcelona. (3) Arrival
of the fleet at the site of ancient Carthage, and debarkation.
(4) Battle outside La Goleta. (5) Sortie of the Turks from
La Goleta. (6) Turks driven back into La Goleta. (7) Cap-
ture of La Goleta. (8) The Emperor advances on Tunis
(missing from the Spanish set since the middle of the XVIII
century). (9) Capture of Tunis. (10) Sack of Tunis, (n)
Return of the army to Rada (missing from the Spanish set).
(12) Re-embarkation of the army.
Interesting to compare with these Charles V
tapestries — Tunis, Pavia, and Notre Dame du
Sablon described in my chapter on Renaissance
Tapestries — is the remarkable Gobelin set of 14
pieces picturing the Story of Louis XIV of France
(See chapter VI) which is admirably supplemented
by the 12 Royal Residences.
CHAPTER XIII
THE TAPESTRY POINT OF VIEW
GOTHIC and Renaissance points of view were
diametrically opposed. The purpose of Gothic
pictorial art was to tell the story beautifully and
effectively. The purpose of Renaissance pictorial
art — a purpose inherited by Raphael and his school
from Ancient Rome — was to produce the illusion of
reality.
About Gothic art there is a mystery and romance
that fascinates. It is intensely personal, intensely
human, intensely spiritual. It is the work of men
permeated with religious consciousness, and with
warm comprehension of the omniscience and omni-
presence of God. Gothic art is Christianity in
concrete form.
Renaissance art was more intellectual, more
abstract, more scientific. It was more interested
in what could be calculated with the head than in
what could be felt with the heart. It was critical
rather than receptive, and deliberately preferred
perfection of form and precision of method, to
creative grandeur and a wide appeal.
Comparison of Gothic with Renaissance tapestries
illustrates this. The former tell the story at any
expense. In the Marriage of Cana (See plate no.
71) in the Hoentschel Collection, the jars are turned
311
312 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
so that everyone can see that they now contain red
wine. Architectural angles are increased or dimin-
ished in order to display the details of vaults and walls
and columns. Scenes are represented as if regarded
from an arbitrary point of view, and effects that
in nature and photography and painting are produced
by contrast of light and shade, are in Gothic tapes-
tries produced by contrast of line and pattern and
colour (hue).
Take the Burgundian Seven Sacraments presented
to the Metropolitan Museum by Mr. Morgan and
described by me in the Burlington Magazine for
December, 1907. This tapestry (See plate no. 47),
once consisted of an upper row of seven scenes
picturing the Seven Sacraments in their origin, and
a lower row of seven scenes picturing the Seven
Sacraments as celebrated in the XV century, with
captions in Old French between the two rows of
scenes. A brick wall with floriation outside framed
the whole tapestry.
The scenes were separated laterally by Gothic
columns with jewelled capitals and collars.
Above and on the left the brick wall is shadowed
inside, and high-lighted outside; below it is high-
lighted inside and shadowed outside, thus repre-
senting the light source as above and on the left.
But, the wall above and on the left is represented
as turned up and to the left, and the inside is jewelled
so as to stand boldly out and accentuate the point
of view arbitrarily imposed by the designer as from
below on the right. Consonant with this, the inside
Ill
314 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
of the wall on the right is entirely invisible, while
just enough of the inside of the bottom wall is shown
to set the point of view as about the height of the
eyes of a person standing in front.
In Late Renaissance and XVII century tapestries
the point of view shifted to the middle in front of
the tapestry, the inside of the frame on the right
being in high light, and the outside in shadow — re-
versed of course when the light source was represented
as on the right.
The Ancient Romans also employed arbitrary
points of view to help them tell the story. But they
used shadow only, without jewelled or other orna-
ment to signal and emphasise the convention.
Take the Bescoreale Frescoes in the Metropolitan
Museum, one of the panels of which I illustrate
(See plate no. 315). Inside and back of the round
painted columns in front, are square shadow columns
whose presence is purely arbitrary and whose purpose
is to push out the round columns into relief. Notice
particularly that in his efforts to obtain semblance
of reality and relief the artist did not hesitate to
use shadow columns inside both the round columns,
thus representing the light as coming from both
outsides, and the point of view as in front in the
middle.
What my illustration merely indicates is confirmed
by the main room of the Bescoreale Frescoes, with
three scenes, ABA, opposite A, B A (A, being the
reverse of A and B, of B), and on the end wall CDC,.
The shadow columns make it certain that the point
BOSCOREALE FRESCO
PLATE no. 315. Panel from the Boecoreale Frescoes at the Metropolitan Museum, introduced to
show the ancient Roman method of forcing painted columns forward into apparent relief by the use of
square shadow columns behind them. It was the imitation of ancient Roman paintings heavily shadowed
like this, that finally replaced Gothic line contrast by Renaissance and Baroque shadow contrast (See
chapter Xm).
316 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
of view is in the middle between B and B,, and that
the light comes from both sides outside A and A,.
While Raphael introduced heavy shadows and
considerable photographic perspective into the Acts
of the Apostles tapestries, he did not employ the
heavily shadowed woven columns and frames that
are so characteristic of Mortlake and XVII century
Brussels tapestries. Indeed as far as tapestries were
concerned, it was not until the XVII century that
the weavers began to reproduce paintings in toto
— wooden frames and all.
CHAPTER XIV
THE CARE OF TAPESTRIES
As a rule, tapestries should hang loose and free.
Only then do they succeed in telling their complete
story in their own way. And then only are they
safe in case of fire, because easy to take down and
carry away. The measures often taken for the
preservation of tapestries are frequently fatal to
them. Wooden frames that for paintings are neces-
sary from the aesthetic as well as from the utilitarian
point of view, are doubly wrong for tapestries. They
make tapestries difficult to transport, and they expose
them particularly to the attacks of moths.
One of the virtues of tapestries is that they are
so easy to handle and take care of. A band of stiff
webbing with rings, across the top, is all the harness
necessary for hanging, from small hooks, even the
largest tapestries that are in good condition. Then
it is but a second's work to unhook the precious
fabric, and carry it off folded up under the arm.
But the folding should be only temporary, and
tapestries like rugs when sent to the store-room
should never be folded but rolled on wooden poles, a
large number of which can be stored in small space
by placing on upright standards with projecting arms,
as at the Gobelins.
On the question of folding tapestries the famous
317
318 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
tapestry designer, Oudry, speaks with authority,
writing from Beauvais to the King of Sweden in
1745 with regard to the set of Boucher's Story of
Psyche, just acquired by the King for only 8,835
livres. He says:
I have made a roller on which I have rolled the tapestries
in order that they may not be a fold under the arms, leg, etc.,
to spoil the contour. I beg of you earnestly, sir, to order that
it should never be folded for several days at a time, and that
always after it has been opened out for some time, that it be
rolled up with care, in order that no false folds slip in. For
lack of this precaution, many fine tapestries in our public
collections have been seriously injured by their guardians who
took the greatest pains to fold them always in the same folds.
Frames with heavy relief mouldings not only make
tapestries unwieldy, they also spoil their appearance,
even without the glass that some ignorant vandals
add. Just as surely as paintings look best when
fenced in so as to increase the illusion, so tapestries
look best when standing out in relief beyond their
background. This is true even of XVIII century
tapestries, and the farther back you go toward the
Golden Age of tapestries the more is it true.
Of course when tapestries are very old and tender,
especial measures must be taken for their preserva-
tion. They must be held in position by vertical and
horizontal bands of lining, reinforced if necessary
with an all-over lining, so that no part of the ancient
textile may be subjected to strain or stress. But
great care must be taken to have the lining well
shrunk before applying, or the effect will be dis-
320 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
astrous instead of helpful. A narrow board across
the top of a tapestry, tacked to the webbing, makes
it easy to hang by picture-cord from the moulding
like a framed painting, and a narrow board across
the bottom will straighten out obtrusive folds.
But here I wish to utter a word of protest against
those who insist on hanging tapestries flat. Tapes-
tries are not made to hang flat and do not show to
their best advantage when so hung. The lights and
shadows that are added to the tapestry ribbed-and-
lined surface by the folds and puckers, natural to the
product of the tapestry loom — particularly the high-
warp loom — are one of its most pleasing features, and
should be preserved even in XVIII century tapestries
that can stand flatter-hanging than any others.
• For XVIII century panels of moderate size, a
newly invented tapestry tape that reduces the in-
surance on valuable pieces, will be found useful, be-
cause it makes them easier to save in case of fire.
The tape is of two kinds, one with eyes that sew to
the border of the tapestry, the other with buttons that
attach to the wall or frame. In a trice the eyes
can be snapped over the buttons and the tapestry is
as flatly in the frame or against the wall as the great-
est lover of flatness in tapestry surface could wish.
Comes a fire, and one pull will dislodge the whole
panel.
Of course, another reason for not framing tapes-
tries, is that many of them already have a woven
border or frame.
The cleaning of tapestries is comparatively a
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 321
simple matter — merely a wooden frame or frames
elevated to a convenient height above the ground,
with lattice-work of narrow bands of canvas six or
eight inches apart to hold the tapestry flat. Then
spread the tapestry out face down on the frames, and
tap the back lightly but persistently to dislodge the
dust. Then invert the tapestry and attack the dust
gently with a stiff brush. This process will also do
more than any other to dislodge moth eggs, which
survive the formaldehyde vapor baths, that to the
moths themselves are fatal and that do not, like other
baths and washings, injure the fabric, especially if it
contains gold or silver. Where formaldehyde baths
are not practicable, the powdered camphrosine that
is used at the Gobelins can be recommended.
Tapestries that are badly stained must be washed
in water with white liquid soap. For milder cases
stale bread-crumbs, or fine moist sawdust will do.
Repairing tapestries is work for an expert. Val-
uable pieces should never be intrusted to Oriental rug
repairers or to any one not absolutely and completely
familiar with tapestry texture, and also honest of
purpose. Many tapestries have been ruined by
bad repairing and by painting up the surface with
dyes in order to accomplish astounding results
quickly and inexpensively. An extreme example of
this, sold at the Robb Sale 1912, was a narrow decora-
tive panel in the style of Audran.
To allow tapestries to collect dust on the walls of
a museum year after year, without proper cleaning
or repairs, is a crime. An extreme example of this
322 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
is a Renaissance tapestry, entitled the Capture of
Granada, lent to the Pennsylvania Museum of Indus-
trial Art by Mrs. John Harrison. Other tapestries
at the same museum that are suffering from neglect
are three Story of Jacob panels, signed with the
Brussels mark and a monogram made out of the
letters AEST.
CHAPTER XV
TAPESTRY MUSEUMS, COLLECTIONS, EXPOSITIONS,
INVENTORIES, SALES, BOOKS
IN order to know tapestries, it is necessary to study
not only actual examples, but also the illustrations
contained in books on tapestry and in catalogues of
sales and collections. It is also necessary to take
advantage of the best that has been written on the
subject, and to learn to distinguish the wheat from
the chaff. The purpose of this chapter is to make this
easy, and by furnishing abbreviations of titles to save
space in the other chapters. The abbreviations are
printed in italics to make them catch the eye quickly.
Illustrations I have described as line, or half-tone, or
photographic, arbitrarily employing the term photo-
graphic to denote illustrations from photograph not
translated through line or screen. All of the books
named, except as otherwise noted, can be consulted
at the Library of the Metropolitan Museum in New
York City. Many of them are also to be found in
the New York Public Library, the Library of Colum-
bia University, the Boston Public Library, and the
Library of the Boston Fine Arts Museum.
Guiffrey Bibliography very properly heads any list
of books on tapestry, for M. Jules Guiffrey is first
among writers on tapestry. As director of the
Gobelins, and as archivist, he had extraordinary
opportunities to gratify his love for tapestries and
323
324 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
tapestry literature, and render service to other
lovers of tapestry by the publication of records
and documents previously inaccessible. The title
of M. Guiffrey's bibliography of tapestry is La
Tapisserie, Paris, 1904. It contains 1,083 titles
and has an excellent index.
South Kensington Bibliography is a pamphlet, printed
for the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1888, con-
taining a list of books in the Museum Library 'on
textiles, pages 36 to 48 on tapestry. Macomber
Bibliography, of which there are copies in the
Library of the Metropolitan Museum and in the
Boston Public Library (the latter with annotations
and additions in handwriting), is a privately print-
ed (Boston, 1895) catalogue and bibliography of
books, pamphlets, and magazine articles assembled
by M. Alfred Darcel the distinguished writer on
tapestries, and now a part of the library of Mr.
Frank Gair Macomber.
Guiffrey Generate. Pinchart Generate. Muentz Gene-
rale. These are the three abbreviations I have
chosen to stand for the three monumental volumes
of the great Histoire Generate de la Tapisserie,
Paris, 1874-84. Guiffrey wrote the text of the
volume on French tapestries; Pinchart Flemish;
Miintz Italian, German, and English. There are
105 large and separately mounted photographic
illustrations besides line illustrations in the text.
This book is not easy reading, but it is a mine of
facts. Of course some of its conclusions have
been superseded by later investigations.
SUSANNAH
PLATE no. 323. Susannah and the Elders, a Late Gothic tapestry, 13 feet by 10 feet 10, bought by the Victoria
and Albert Museum in 1832 for £190. The shields in the corners were sewn in after the completion of the tapestry.
The border with its curious birds and winding foliage is especially interesting. Susannah whose identity is made
certain by the caption susenne perfumes the bath, apparently unconscious of observation.
326 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Jubinal Tapisseries was the first, and, for nearly half
a century, remained the only important book on
tapestry. Published in Paris in 1838 in two
volumes, Les Anciennes Tapisseries Historiees
by Achille Jubinal, presents 123 immense hand-
coloured line plates from drawings by Victor
Sansonnetti. Of these illustrations 24 do not
come within the scope of my book as they illustrate
the Bayeux Tapestry, which is not a woven tapes-
try at all but an embroidery. The tapestries
illustrated are all early examples — none later than
the XVI century — those in the church of La
Chaise-Dieu (an ancient little village in the South
of France) , of the cathedral of Aix ancient capital
of Provence, of the Chateau d'Aulhac near Issoire,
of Beauvais, Reims, Nancy, Dijon, of the so-called
Tapisserie de Bayard (now in the Victoria and
Albert Museum), of Valenciennes, and of the
Chateau d'Haroue. Jubinal's text describing the
tapestries contains much information that has
been overlooked by some later writers.
Migeon, Thomson, Guiffrey Histoire, Muentz, are the
best general books on tapestry for the average
reader. Migeon's Les Arts du Tissu, Paris, 1909,
devotes nearly half of its space to tapestries, and
has a wealth of illustrations in half-tone and a good
bibliography, but an inadequate index. It is
more readable than either Miintz or Thomson.
Thomson's History of Tapestry, London, 1906, did
pioneer work on English tapestries, particularly
Mortlake. He was the first to unearth valuable
328 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
material buried in the public and private records
of Great Britain, and I wish here to express my
great indebtedness to him. Many of the records
consulted by him have been published and are
to be found in the Avery Library. The only copy
that I know of John Eustace Anderson's A Short
Account of the Tapestry Works at Mortlake
(Anderson Mortlake) is in the Library of the
Victoria and Albert Museum, that also has an
exclusive typewritten copy of a manuscript that
gives King James's copy of the agreement made
by Henri IV with Comans and Planche (Newton
Mortlake). The manuscript belongs to Mr. C.
E. Newton Robinson. Mr. Thomson's book has
four very fine half-tone illustrations in colour, and
many in black and white half-tone. He illustrates
in line no less than 371 tapestry marks and sig-
natures, but without sufficient data. His three
extensive indexes — List of the Chief Centres of
Manufacture, List of Subjects of Tapestries, List
of Tapestries and Merchants, Painters, Designers,
Directors, etc. — are invaluable. Eugene Miintz's
La Tapisserie, Paris, 1881, with English translation
published in London, 1885 (both out of print), and
Jules Guiffrey's Histoire de la Tapisserie, Tours,
1886, were the first two general handbooks on the
subject. Both are generously illustrated in line,
and the latter has also four very handsome litho-
graphs in colour illustrating scenes from the Lady
with the Unicorn, at the Cluny, the Angers Apo-
calypse, the Angers Saint Martin, Louis XIV
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330 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Visiting the Gobelins. M. Guiffrey's book also
has, what the other book lacks, an adequate index.
Guiffrey Seizieme is a folio volume by Jules Guiffrey,
entitled Les Tapisseries and covering the centuries
XII to XVI. It is volume VI of Molinier's
Histoire Generate des Arts Appliques al'Industrie
and was published in Paris, 1911. It has 98 half-
tone illustrations in the text in addition to 15
photographic pages, and an excellent index.
Fenaille Gobelins, Guiffrey Gobelins, Badin Beauvais,
are the most important books on the French
National Looms. Of Maurice Fenaille's £tat
General des Tapisseries de la Manufacture des
Gobelins (1600-1900), three volumes have been
published, the first covering the years 1662-1699,
the second 1699-1736, the third 1737-1794, with
introductory and final volumes still to come.
Volume II bears the date 1903. The three volumes
already issued contain over 225 full-page photo-
graphic illustrations besides line drawings on the
text pages. Everything is given that could throw
light on the product and activities of the Gobelins,
and the book is rich with documents and records
printed in full without change. Jules Guiffrey's
Les Gobelins et Beauvais, Paris, 1908, is an attrac-
tive and inexpensive little volume with 94 illustra-
tions in half-tone, and bibliography of the 15
principal books on these two ateliers. There is
no index. Jules Badin's La Manufacture de
Tapisseries de Beauvais, Paris, 1909, prints a
wealth of records bearing on the history of the
332 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
establishment and gives 30 large photographic
illustrations of tapestries woven at Beauvais,
among these a number of the famous ones designed
for the Beauvais works by Francois Boucher. M.
Guiffrey being manager (administrateur) of the
Gobelins, and M. Badin of the Beauvais factory,
they had unusual opportunities to get familiar
with the facts.
Valencia Spanish, Birk Austrian, Guichard French,
Boettiger Swedish, are the most important volumes
on national collections. Count Valencia de Don
Juan's Tapices de la Corona de Espana, Madrid,
1903, in two portfolio volumes, contains 135 large
photographic illustrations of tapestries in the Royal
Spanish Collection, mostly XVI century Flemish
tapestries of the highest quality, with short de-
scriptions in French and reproductions in line of
the marks and signatures. Dr. Ernst Ritter von
Birk's Inventar der im Besitze des Allerhochsten
Kaiserhauses Befindlichen Niederlander Tapeten
und Gobelins was published in the first four vol-
umes, Vienna, 1883-86, of the Jahrbuch der
Kunsthistorischen Sammlungen des Allerhochsten
Kaiserhauses and contains 74 large photographic
illustrations of tapestries, mostly of the XVI
century, in the Imperial Austrian Collection.
The text is a descriptive inventory with line
reproduction of marks and signatures of the
entire collection, non-illustrated as well as illus-
trated. The index is on pages 2 17-220 of volume
II. Ed. Guichard's Les Tapisseries Decoratives
ANIMALS FIGHTING
PLATE no. 333. Animals Fighting, a XVn century Gobelin tapestry at the Ashmolean Museum of Orford
University, one of the Old Indies taken from eight paintings presented to Louis XIV by the Prince of .Nassau, and
"painted on the spot." The first high warp set of the Indies was presented to the Russian Emperor Peter the Great
when he visited the Gobelins in 17x7, and was used as a model at the St. Petersburg works founded by him
(See chapter VI). The tapestry illustrated on this page bears the signature of JANS and is believed to have been
presented by Louis XIV to the Chinese Emperor. At any rate after 150 years it and its companions in the Groult
collection were discovered in one of the imperial godowns at Yuen-Ming-Yuen when the place was looted in
1861. The Chinese inventory ticket dated 1771 read: "one piece of tapestry with human figure in feathers,"
evidently representing the ticket writer's idea of "foreign devils."
334 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
du Garde- Meuble (French National Collection),
in two volumes, with text by Alfred Darcel,
published in Paris, 1881, contains 87 large photo-
graphic illustrations mostly of XVII and XVIII
century Gobelins with only a few Flemish, Early
XVII century Paris, and Mortlake. The intro-
duction by Darcel is interesting, and so are his
descriptions, but the failure to give sizes lessens
the value of the book greatly. Dr. John
Boettiger's Svenska Statens Samling af Vafda
Tapeter is a de luxe book, in four volumes on hand-
made paper, published in Stockholm, 1898. It
contains 150 folio pages of illustrations of XVI,
XVII, XVIII century tapestries — Gobelins, Beau-
vais, and Mortlake as well as Flemish — in the
Royal Swedish Collection. The descriptive in-
ventory in volume III is the best ever published,
with accurate and adequate descriptions, and
with line illustrations of marks and signatures.
The fact that it is in Swedish, like the rest of the
first three volumes, will lessen its value for general
use. Fortunately volume IV, in French, contains
a translation of the more important chapters that
tell admirably the history of tapestry-weaving in
Sweden and of the acquisition of tapestries from
foreign countries. Volume IV also contains
a list in French of the illustrations in all four
volumes, and three indices — one of painters and
designers, one of master weavers and proprietors,
one of subjects pictured in the tapestries.
Belgium 1880, Brussels 1905, Decoratifs 1882, are
336 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
three books important in a tapestry library,
illustrating and describing expositions. Especially
valuable is the first, entitled Les Tapisseries
Historiees a 1' Exposition Beige de 1880, published
in Brussels, 1881, by the artist H. F. Keuller,
with text by Alphonse Wauters. The introductory
text is interesting, but the list of tapestries ex-
hibited, as well as the list of 127 folio pages of
photographic illustrations (several in colour), is
not sufficiently descriptive and does not even give
sizes. The names of the exhibitors — among them
Somzee, Spitzer, Erlanger, the King of Spain,
Braquenie, Florence Museum, the Beguinage de
Saint Trond, Prince Hohenzollern, City of Ghent
—appear under the illustrations and in the list
of illustrations. Plates 113, 114 give line illus-
trations of tapestry marks and monograms. Plates
115 to 127 give photographic illustrations of border
details. Brussels 1905, is my abbreviation for
Joseph Destree's Tapisseries et Sculptures Bruxel-
loises a 1'Exposition d'Art Ancien Bruxellois,
Juillet a Octobre, 1905, published in Brussels in
1906. M. Destree's descriptions of the 32 photo-
graphic illustrations of tapestries (one cartoon)
are adequate and interesting. Among the tapes-
tries illustrated are the Gothic Annunciation,
Adoration of the Magi, Louis XV raising the
Siege of Salins, belonging to the Museum of the
Gobelins; Mr. Morgan's Mazarin tapestry now
lent to the Metropolitan Museum ; the Brussels Mu-
seum's Notre Dame du Sablon; in colour, M. Le-
338 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
roy's exceedingly interesting Late Gothic triptych
tapestry; the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple;
the Brussels Museum's Late Gothic Descent from
the Cross; and a section of the Late Gothic
Bathsheba at the Fountain belonging to the city
of Brussels. Decoratifs, 1882, is my abbreviation
for Les Arts du Bois, des Tissus et du Papier,
published in Paris in 1883, that reproduces inline
the principal objects exhibited at the Seventh
Exposition in Paris in 1882 of the Union Centrale
des Arts Decoratifs. Pages 1 1 1 to 134 are devoted
to tapestry.
Paris 1900, is my abbreviation for the invaluable
though unillustrated report of the international
jury for Class 70, Tapis, Tapisseries et Autres
Tissus d'Ameublement by Ferdinand Leborgne.
At this exposition Grand Prizes for tapestry-weav-
ing were awarded to the French national works
of the Gobelins and of Beauvais; to three French
private firms ; and to the English works established
by William Morris, at Merton-near London, for the
set of four picturing the Quest of the Holy Grail
and designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones. A
noteworthy feature of the exposition was the
exhibition of ancient Flemish tapestries from the
Royal Spanish Collection.
Bruges 1907, designates the exquisitely printed and
illustrated Chefs-d'ceuvres d'Art Ancien a 1'Ex-
position de la Toison d'Or at Bruges in 1907,
published in Brussels, 1908. It is important not
only for the illustrations and descriptions of two
CALVARY
PLATE no. 339. Calvary, Renaissance tapestry after Barend Van Orley, sold at the Berwick and Alba sale in
1877 for $5000, at the Dollfus sale in 1912 for $60,000 besides charges. Woven in Brussels in the first part of the XVI
century, of wool and silk enriched with gold. Eleven feet five inches square. Reddish border of floriate branches
loaded with fruit. In the middle, Christ crucified beneath the inscription in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, JESUS OF
NAZARETH KING OF THE JEWS. On either side, the two robbers bound to their crosses. At the feet of Christ,
two holy women richly clothed. In the foreground on the left, the Virgin fainted, sustained by two other holy women.
Behind this group, Saint John running up, with hands clasped above his head. In the foreground on the right, the
executioner gathering up his tools. Behind him two soldiers and numerous other personages, some mounted. In
the background, hills and valleys and woods and buildings.
340 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
of the three Esther and Ahasuerus tapestries lent
by the Cathedral of Saragossa, but also and
particularly for the illustrations of ancient portraits
and of coats of arms, of Knights of the Toison
d'Or. Among the portraits are three of Philip
the Good Duke of Burgundy by Rogier Van Der
Weyden, Philip the Good and his wife Isabella of
Portugal, Charles the Bold and his wife Isabella
of Bourbon, Margaret of York third wife of Charles
the Bold, the Emperor Maximilian I, Margaret of
Austria by Barend Van Orley, the Emperor
Charles V, Charles's brother Ferdinand I. The
full descriptive list of the 22 tapestries exhibited
is given on pages 109 to 118 of the small illus-
trated catalogue of the exposition.
Sale catalogues I shall refer to by the name of the
owner followed by the word Sale and the year.
For instance, to the catalogue of the Duke of
Hamilton sale, in London, 1882, as Hamilton Sale
1882; to the catalogue of the sale of the collection
of the Duke of Berwick and Alba, in Paris in 1877,
as Alba Sale 1877; to the catalogue of the sale of
the Somzee collection of tapestries in Brussels,
1901, as Somzee Sale 1901; to the sale catalogue
of the collection of Frederic Spitzer, as Spitzer
Sale 1903. Incidentally I would remark that the
Library of the Metropolitan Museum has an ex-
ceedingly large and valuable collection of sale
catalogues. Of the Hamilton Sale it has both the
catalogue published before the sale, and the one
published afterwards with prices. The Alba cata-
BAPTISM AND DESCENT
PLATE no. 341. The Baptism of Christ and the Descent from the Cross, two Early Renais-
sance tapestries, the former 2.24 metres by 2.67, the latter 3 metres by 3.28, both in the Brussels
Museum. Behind the baptism scene are pictured the three temptations of Jesus by the devil.
One of the personages in the Descent bears on the border of his robe the name "Philiep," which
is supposed to be the signature of the artist, Master Philip. The Descent was purchased in 1861
for 2,035 francs. The Baptism formerly belonged to the Berwick and Alba Collection, and to
Baron d'Erlanger.
342 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
logue is a much handsomer publication than the
Hamilton one, and contains a number of very
beautiful photographic illustrations of tapestries,
among them the Passion, 2.45 metres by 2.25, that
is now owned by Mr. George Blumenthal; Cal-
vary, 3.50 metres square, that sold in 1877 for
$5,000 and at the Dollfus Sale 1912, in Paris for
$60,000; three large tapestries picturing Victories
of the Duke of Alba, two of them signed with the
Brussels mark and one with the monogram of
Willem Van Pannemaker; a wonderful series of
Late Gothic tapestries picturing the Creation,
Christ Inspiring Faith, New Testament Scenes,
Combat of Vices and Virtues, Triumph of Chris-
tianity, the Last Judgment, averaging 13 feet high
by 26 wide; two out of a set of five large Renais-
sance Brussels tapestries picturing the Story of
Vertumnus and Pomona, four of which were
recently on sale in New York. In the Somzee
catalogue numbers 521 to 606 are tapestries of
which nearly one-half are shown in large photo-
graphic illustrations. From the tapestry point of
view, the Somzee sale was the most important ever
held. The descriptions in the catalogue are ex-
cellent. In the Spitzer sale catalogue, numbers
394 to 417 are tapestries, and there are photogra-
phic illustrations of 14 of them on plates IX to
XII of volume III, while a supplementary volume
gives the prices obtained. Other European sales,
important from the tapestry point of view, are
those of Louis Philippe 1852, Castellani 1866.
S'i
344 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Gunzbourg 1884, Chateau de V- - 1884, all
of which are listed with prices in the appendix
of Guiffrey Histoire, who also gives the prices re-
ceived at the Berwick and Alba and many mis-
cellaneous sales before 1886.
Suzanne Sale 1910. Among other photographic
illustrations in the catalogue of the tapestries
coming from the Chateau de Suzanne, and sold
in Amsterdam in 1910, are three out of a set of
five tapestries on the Story of Artemisia. One
of the five pieces is signed with the monogram of
F. M. and several with the Paris mark, a P with
fleurs-de-lis. The set was designed and first
woven as testimony of the sorrow of Catherine
at the death of Henri II. It pictured the events
of a long poem composed by Nicolas Honel, in
which Henri II figures as King Mausolus, and
Catherine as Queen Artemisia, and the young
prince, Charles IX, as Lygdamis. The designs
were by Antoine Caron and Henri Lerambert.
The tapestries are 4.10 metres high and vary in
width from 1.52 to 5.72.
San Donato Sale 1880 (Demidoff). One of the great-
est decorative art sales ever known was at Florence
in 1880. Prince Demidoff offered to the public
the treasures of the famous palace of San Donato.
Among the important tapestries, some illustrated
in the catalogue in line, were nos. 4, 36 (five
Bouchers); 109 (set of nine large Flemish tapes-
tries, one signed K V MANDER, FECIT. AN.
1619, except that the K and the V combine with
346 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
the M into a monogram initial) ; 398 (Late Gothic
Madonna with Concert of Angels 2.40 metres by
2.85); 435 (Calvary); 1525-28, 1697-1700 (eight
large XVII century Flemish tapestries picturing
the Story of Titus); 1927, 1936 (both Gobelins);
J939 (Late Gothic Last Judgment 4.25 metres by
8.20).
Among American sale catalogues that illustrate
tapestries are: Marquand 1903, nos. 1316—32";
White 1907, nos. 162, 163, 164, 222, 223; Poor 1909,
Garland 1909, Yerkes 1910, nos. 229-242; Hoe 1911,
nos. 2936-41 ; Robb 1912. The illustrations in the
Yerkes catalogue are photographic and of unusual
excellence, particularly the four Gobelin Loves of
the Gods, the large Renaissance tapestry and the
six Tenieres.
Some collectors like to have catalogues of their
collections prepared while they are still alive, under
their own direction. Extremely interesting to tap-
estry lovers are the catalogues of the Spitzer Collec-
tion 1890, Pannwitz Collection 1905, Le Roy Collec-
tion 1908. The Spitzer catalogue, partly completed
at the time of his death in 1890, is most elaborate,
with six huge folio volumes of text and six of pho-
tographic plates. The tapestries, 23 in number,
are described interestingly by Eugene Miintz in
text- volume I; and in plate- volume I there are
splendid colour illustrations of seven. On the death
of M. Spitzer, Edmond Bonnaffe published a little
volume of appreciation entitled Le Musee Spitzer.
Volume IV of the catalogue of the collection of
348 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Martin Le Roy contains 14 large photographic
illustrations of tapestries, with most elaborate and
learned descriptions by J. J. Marquet de Wesselot.
Kann Collection 1907. Description and photogra-
phic illustrations are alike excellent in the superb
two-volume folio catalogue of the collection of
Rodolphe Kann. Nos. 236 to 241 are Beauvais
tapestries, splendid examples and all illustrated—
three picturing scenes from Moliere's Comedies
after designs by Oudry, five belonging to the series
the Noble Pastorale after designs by Boucher.
Inventories often contain valuable information
about tapestries. Among the most important ones
are the Charles I Inventory 1649, in no. 4898 of
the Harleian Manuscripts at the British Museum,
the tapestry part of which is printed by Thomson
on pages 351 to 395; the Mazarin Inventory 1653,
published with additions and some prices that bring
it partially up to 1661, in London, 1861, by the Duke
d'Aumale; the Louis XIV Inventory 1715, edited
by Jules Guiffrey and published in two volumes in
Paris, 1885, of which pages 293 to 374 are devoted
to tapestries. Many other important tapestry in-
ventories are to be found in whole or in part in the
Histoire Generate and in Thomson.
Museum Guides and periodical publications give
some but not enough information about the tapes-
tries the museums contain. Considerable printed
matter about the tapestries of the Metropolitan
Museum is distributed through the various numbers
of the Bulletin of that institution. The only im-
350 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
portant magazine articles about the tapestries of this
Museum are mine on the Burgundian Tapestries, in
the December, 1907, number of the Burlington
Magazine, and on Tapestries at the Metropolitan
Museum, in the February, 1912, number of the
International Studio.
Cole South Kensington, Law Hampton Court, Hamp-
ton Court Catalogue, Sommerard Cluny, Hampe
Nuremberg, Champeaux Decoratifs, Munich Guide,
Munich Neubau. Alan S. Cole's Descriptive
Catalogue of the Collections of Tapestry and
Embroidery in the South Kensington Museum,
London, 1888, with supplements in 1891 and 1896,
contains some serious errors, but many valuable
descriptions, and has an index. Pages 87 to 114
of the original volume are devoted to tapestries,
and pages 21 to 86 to the very important collection
of Egyptian (Coptic) textiles, many of which are
in tapestry weave. Ernest Law, in chapter V,
of volume I of his three-volume book entitled the
History of Hampton Court Palace, second edition,
London, 1903, gives much interesting information
about Cardinal Wolsey's tapestries, some of which
are now a part of the British National Collection at
Hampton Court. Volume III of Mr. Law's book
contains an index, and also between pages 170 and
171 a line illustration of the Cartoon Gallery of
Hampton Court as it looked in the time of Queen
Anne, when it still held the seven famous Raphael
tapestry cartoons for whose display it was designed
and built by Sir Christopher Wren. The Hampton
8-S
352 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Court Catalogue of the Pictures and Tapestries at
that palace, London, 1905, also by Ernest Law,
contains inadequate descriptions of the tapestries
and of the famous Mantegna cartoons, and small
illustrations in line and in half-tones of some of
them. E. du Sommerard's Catalogue du Musee
des Thermes et de 1'Hotel de Cluny, Paris, 1883,
devotes pages 494-505 and 678-681 to tapestries
(nos. 6284-6339 and 10316-10351) giving the sizes
of most. Dr. Theodor Hampe's Katalog of the
Gewebesammlung des Germanischen National Mu-
seums of Nuremberg contains excellent descriptions
of tapestries in that museum with photographic
illustrations of seven (one of them attributed to
the year 1400), and line illustrations of signatures.
Munich Guide, otherwise the Fiihrer durch das
Bayerische National-Museum in Miinchen is ar-
ranged by rooms and gives brief descriptions of
the tapestries they contain, together with valuable
information on the subject of tapestry- weaving
in Munich and in Lauingen in past centuries, of
which the museum shows numerous examples.
Munich Neubau means the folio volume Der Neubau
des Bayerischen National-Museum in Miinchen,
published in Munich in 1902. The illustrations
are in half-tone and show the tapestries not
separately but as part of the rooms in which they
hang.
Laking Windsor, Florence Tapestries, Naples Museum.
Guy Francis Laking in his superb volume, the Fur-
niture of Windsor Castle, describes 28 and gives
354 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
large photographic illustrations of 3 tapestries.
He also prints on pages 179-199 the Windsor part
of the Henry VIII Inventory, in which tapestry
" Hangyngs " lead. Florence Tapestries is the guide
to the Gallery of Tapestries in Florence published
by D. Appleton & Co. in New York in 1891. It
contains very brief descriptions of 123 tapestries
and a short introduction. It is volume XXVII of
Miscellaneous Pamphlets at the Metropolitan
Museum. Pages 146-148 of the Illustrated Guide
to the National Museum in Naples are devoted to
an excellent/iescription of the set of seven tapestries
designed by Barend Van Orley and picturing the
defeat and capture of Francis I by Charles V at
Pavia.
Farcy Angers, Angers Apocalypse. A very valuable
book is the Histoire et Description des Tapisserie
de 1'figlise Cathedrale d' Angers by L. de Farcy,
director of the Musee Diocesain, Angers, 1897.
Founded upon the Abbe Barbier de Montaults's
Tapisseries du Sacre d' Angers, 1858, it gives much
additional information. It describes in detail the
wonderful XIV century set that pictures the
Apocalypse, and also other sets belonging to the
Cathedral of Angers, among them the Passion
in four pieces, the Discovery of the True Cross, the
Story of St. Martin, Mary Magdalen, the Story of
St. Saturnin, the Instruments of the Passion,
Trojan War Episode, Pierre de Rohan and the
Organ, John the Baptist, the Story of St. Maurille,
the Story of Joseph. Angers Apocalypse. Les
HENRI AND CATHERINE
PLATE no. 355. F§te of the French Sovereigns Henri H and Catherine de' Me'dicis, one of a set of Late Renais-
sance tapestries in the Florence Tapestry Museum. In design and weave it closely resembles another tapestry in the
same museum that is signed FRANCISCUS . SPIRINGIUS . FECIT . ANNO . 1602.
This is the Frangois Spiennx of Delft who wove for the English Crown from the designs of Cornelius Van Vroom
of Haarlem, the set of ten picturing the Defeat of the Spanish Armada, which hung in the House of Lords until des-
troyed by fire in 1834, and the designs of which have been preserved by the engravings of John Pine made about 1789.
356 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Tapisseries de la Cathedral d'Angers, published
in Leipzig in 1892, contains 72 excellent photo-
graphs of the whole of the Apocalypse set. There
are copies of this book in the Avery Library and
in the Library of the Metropolitan Museum.
Cox Lyons. Raymond Cox's 1'Art de Decorer les
Tissus is a monumental volume containing illus-
trations, some in colour and some in half-tone, of
Coptic tapestries, a half-size illustration in colqur
of a fragment of the famous St. Gereon tapestry
and very large half-tone illustrations of other im-
portant tapestries belonging to the Historical
Museum of the Chamber of Commerce of Lyons.
Destree Cinquantenaire. Les Tapisseries des Musees
Royaux des Cinquantenaire by Joseph Destree
and P. Van Den Ven, Brussels, 1910, an inexpen-
sive but excellent little book containing 44 pages
of half-tones of tapestries in the Brussels Royal
Museums, together with descriptions of the tap-
estries and a brief but valuable introduction.
Reims Peintes. Toiles Peintes de la Ville de Reims,
by Louis Paris, Paris, 1880, has two quarto
volumes of text, and one large album with line
engravings by C. Leberthais that illustrate the
Gothic painted cloths [counterfeit arras] now in
the Museum of Reims. Of these cloths there are
12 picturing the Passion of Christ, 7 the Vengeance
of Our Lord, that had its climax in the capture
and ruin of Jerusalem by Titus and the selling of
the Jews into slavery, 4 the Story of Suzanne, I
from the Story of Judith, I from the Story of
*. ° a
t» O 2 e.
358 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Esther, I the Apostles. Curiously interesting
in this Passion series is the Piscina Probatica, a
small pond near Jerusalem whose waters cured
ills of the flesh. The text volumes give an ex-
haustive resume with copious extracts, of the
Old French miracle plays which inspired the
painters of these cloths and many of the scenes
of which, as actually put upon the stage, were
reproduced on canvas. Also illustrated and de-
scribed by M. Louis, with quotations from the
old chronicles, are the Clovis tapestries that
belong to the Cathedral of Reims.
Reims Tapisseries. Charles Loriquet's Tapisseries
de la Cathedrale de Reims, Paris, 1882, gives large
illustrations of the two huge (over 15 by 27 feet)
tapestries remaining at the Cathedral of Reims
out of an original set of six picturing the Story of
Clovis, the first Christian King of France, and the
part the Archbishop of Reims had in his conversion
and in the founding of the kingdom. There are
also large photographic illustrations of the set
of 17 Gothic-Renaissance tapestries picturing the
Story of the Virgin. The descriptions of the
tapestries and the introductory article on Tapestry
at the Cathedral of Reims are of unusual excellence.
All of the tapestry captions are printed in full,
with French translations of the Latin ones.
Raphael Vatican, Astier Scipio. Les Tapisseries de
Raphael au Vatican by Eugene Miintz, Paris,
1897, is a study into the origin and execution of
the Acts of the Apostles tapestries designed by
360 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Raphael for Pope Leo. It contains large photo-
graphic illustrations of the seven cartoons now
at the Victoria and Albert Museum in South
Kensington, line illustrations of Volpato's and
Ottaviani's engravings of the borders, half-tone
illustrations of the borders that survive as part
of the Vatican tapestries, together with numerous
illustrations of the set of tapestries in the Vatican
entitled Scenes from the Life of Christ, and of
other tapestries wrongly attributed to Raphael.
La Belle Tapisserie du Roy by Colonel d'Astier,
Paris, 1907, is an interesting and exhaustive study
of Renaissance and later tapestries picturing the
Story of Scipio.
Champeaux Tapestry is one of the South Kensington
handbooks published in 1878. While now out
of date, it was most helpful at the time, con-
taining an index, and a descriptive list of the
principal public tapestry collections in the world.
Rossi Arazzo is a little inexpensive volume pub-
lished in Milan in 1907. While it is purely and
simply a compilation, as far as the historical part
is concerned, it contains half-tone illustrations of
a number of important old tapestries in Italian
collections, and of several modern ones woven on
high warp looms in Rome. It has a bibliography,
two indexes, line illustrations of marks and signa-
tures, and line and half-tone illustrations of the
processes of high-warp weaving.
Gentili Arazzi is a volume entitled Arazzi Antichie
Moderni, by Cav. Pietro Gentili, director of the
362 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
tapestry works in the Vatican, Rome 1897. He
describes and illustrates in large half-tone colour
plates five pieces of Late Gothic tapestry about six
feet square that he had recently repaired for the
Hon. Wayne MacVeagh, at that time United States
Ambassador to Italy. He also illustrates in colour
a high-warp loom with partly finished tapestry of
St. Joseph.
Goya Tapices is a small volume published in Madrid
in 1870, Los Tapices de Goya, by D. G. Cruzada
Villaamil. It tells the story of the 92 tapestries
woven, some on high warp, some on low warp,
looms in the Santa Barbara royal tapestry works
in Madrid in the latter part of the XVIII century
at a cost of 624,000 reales, after 45 cartoons by
Don Francisco de Goya that cost 124,000 reales.
Chapter VI gives the history of the Spanish
tapestry works of Santa Barbara founded in
1721 at Madrid, of Seville in 1730, of Santa
Isabel at Madrid in 1734. Williams Spain.
Pages 137-159 of volume III of Leonard Williams'
Arts and Crafts of Olden Spain contains a brief
history of tapestry in that country.
Christie, Hooper. Books that will help to a knowledge
of the practical side of tapestry-weaving are
Christie's Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving and
Hooper's Handloom Weaving, both in Lethaby's
Artistic Crafts series.
Lessing Wandteppiche. Die Wandteppiche aus dem
Leben desErzvaters Jacob, by Julius Lessing, Berlin,
1900, contains 15 extra large photographic illustra-
SAINT PETER
PLATE no. 363. The Angel Delivers St. Peter. Gothic tapestry in the Cluny Museum, 2.75 metres by 2.25, bearing
the arms of Guillaume de Hellande, Bishop of Beauvais from 1444 to 1462, and of the local chapter. Note Paix, the
Latin for peace, distributed over the surface. The inscription at the top in French reads: "How the angel led St. Peter
out of the prison of Herod." The inscription over the door in Latin reads: "Now I know surely because God has sent
his angel." The other pieces of the set are in the Beauvais Cathedral.
364 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
tions of a set of ten Story of Jacob privately owned
Renaissance tapestries, with descriptions of all.
Grosch Norwegian designates H. Grosch's Gamle
Norske Billed tsepper published in Berlin 1901
with text in both Norwegian and German by the
Art Industrial Museum of Christiania. These
large colour plates illustrating twelve old tapes-
tries woven in Norway in the XVI, XVII, and
XVIII centuries.
Hoentschel Collections. In volume IV of the Collec-
tiones Georges Hoentschel, Paris, 1908, are large
photographic illustrations of Esther and Ahasuerus,
a Gothic tapestry illustrated on my plate no. 35;
Jesus among the Doctors, and the Marriage of
Cana, a Late Gothic tapestry, the latter part of
which is illustrated on my plate no. 39; the
Massacre of the Innocents, and the Flight into
Egypt, a companion piece to the preceding; two
Late Gothic Morality tapestries; a Scene from
a Romance; a Late Gothic verdure with person-
ages Hunting Scene; all lent by Mr. Morgan to
the Metropolitan Museum.
Schumann Trojan is my abbreviation for Dr. Paul
Schumann's Trojanische Krieg, Dresden, 1898,
one large folio volume of 8 photographic plates
illustrating the eight original XV century colour
sketches from which were woven the Trojan
War Gothic tapestries at South Kensington (no.
6, 1887), and in the Courthouse of Issoire a little
town in the South of France about 75 miles west
of Lyons. The accompanying text volume also
366 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
contains small illustrations of the tapestries them-
selves reproduced from Jubinal Tapisseries.
Magazines that contain valuable articles on tapes-
try are the Gazette des Beaux- Arts, L' Art (particu-
larly the articles Les Tapisseries de Bruxelles et
leurs Marques by Alphonse Wanters 1881), Les
Arts Anciens de Flandre, the Art Journal (par-
ticularly the series of articles beginning July, 1911,
on Tapestry Weaving in England by W. G. Thomson,
author of the English History of Tapestry), the
Burlington Magazine, the International Studio. Help-
ful in keeping track of sales are the Chronique des
Arts, the Kuntsmarkt, the Connoisseur, the American
Art News.
Forma Spanish. The Spanish Magazine Forma, in
no. 19 (1907), contains a short article in French
by Jose Ramon Medida on the Mercury and Herse
set of eight Brussels Renaissance tapestries belong-
ing to the Duchess of Denia. He wrongly iden-
tifies Herse as the nymph Carmenta and does not
grasp the significance of the different scenes. The
article is accompanied by half-tone illustrations
of the set and of two pieces of a duplicate set in
the Barcelona Court House. In no. 23 (1907)
of Forma are half-tones of ancient tapestries in
the Cathedral of Tarragona.
Spiliotti Russian designates an article on the Imperial
Tapestry Factory that appeared on pages 231-
250, with four large half-tone illustrations, of the
Russian Magazine (no longer published), Treasures
of Art in Russia, in 1903.
FIVE years ago the Metropolitan Museum had
few tapestries. To-day it has many — some on loan
and some acquired by gift or purchase — and shows
forty of them magnificently.
The eye at once groups them into four classes.
Gothic of the XV century, Renaissance of the XVI
century, Baroque of the XVII century, Rococo and
Classic of the XVIII century. Of course as in other
forms of art the periods overlap, and we often find
the men of Brussels weaving Gothic tapestries in
the Sixteenth Century and pure Renaissance tapes-
tries in the Seventeenth ; but in general the classifi-
cation suggested is safe to follow and supplies trust-
worthy landmarks.
The first and most obvious distinction between
Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque is that Gothic
tapestries are least like paintings and Baroque and
XVIII century ones most so; for the Gothic tapes-
tries are completely covered with design and orna-
ment, flat like line drawings coloured up, while in
later tapestries photographic perspective has been
adopted, and the weaver is often compelled to
sacrifice the upper part of his cloth to empty sky.
Also, the borders of Gothic tapestries are narrow and
unimportant, or absent altogether; while the borders
368
THE MAZARIN TAPESTRY
PLATE no. 369. The priceless Mazarin Triumph of Christ and of the New Dispensation, a Late Gothic Triptych tapestry
lent to the Metropolitan Museum by Mr. Morgan (See chapter XVI for detailed description). On one side of Christ, the angel
of justice with the sword, on the other the angel of mercy with the lily branch. Below the former, the Emperor and his retinue
representing the State; below the State the Pope and his retinue representing the Church. In the right wing of the triptych
Esther and Ahasuerus (Xerxes), representing the Empire of the Old Dispensation, above them Esther making preparations for
her banquet. In the left wing of the triptych the Roman Sibyl and Augustus, representing the Empire of the New Dispensation.
Interesting to compare with this tapestry are the Triumph of Christ in the Brussels Museum, and Mr. Blumenthal's Charlemagne
tapestry, both illustrated elsewhere in this book.
THE TRIUMPH OF CHRIST
PLATE no. 370. The Triumph of Christ. Late Gothic Triptych tapestry, 3.75 metres by 4.55, in the
Brussels Museum. Bought at the Somze'e sale in 1901 for the absurdly low price of $5600. Closely
resembles the Mazarin tapestry lent by Mr. Morgan to the Metropolitan Museum, but lacks the metal
effects and is of coarser weave. The general plan is the same : Christ on his throne worshipped by the
Church and the State, i.e., by the Pope and his followers and the Emperor and his followers. The nude
figures of Adam and Eve are larger, differently placed. The lower scenes on right and left are similar,
picturing respectively Esther and Ahasuerus, and Augustus and the Sibyl. In the upper corners are two
scenes not found in the Mazarin tapestry : on the right Godfrey de Bouillon and King Arthur, on the left
Charlemagne with the head of a Saracen at his feet.
CHARLEMAGNE
PLATE no. 371. The Story of Charlemagne, a Gothic tapestry in a New York private collection. This tapestry
becomes particularly interesting by comparison with that on the opposite page. The left wing of this tapestry
is the same as the right wing of that. Moreover, examination of this tapestry discloses the fact that it is made up
of two separate designs that have been amalgamated without taking the trouble to redraw the Gothic jeweled
columns, those on the right side of the tapestry are different from those on the left. Of the five scenes in the top row,
it is certain that the one on the extreme right represents the breaking of images (Eiconoclasm) of Charlemagne;
the second from the left, Godfrey de Bouillon and King Arthur (See the Nine Heroes (Preux) in chapter XII, and the
four pictured on the tapestry in the Bale Museum, illustrated on page 31 of Guiffrey Seizieme). That the five
scenes on the right of the tapestry belong to the Story of Charlemagne is certain. Of especial significance is the
large Charlemagne scene, and the bird of prey with its victim, above.
THE VIRGIN
PLATE no. 372. The Triumph of the Virgin, a Gothic tapestry with jeweled columns, one of a set of fot r
picturing the Story of the Virgin in the Royal Spanish Collection. These tapestries are rich with gold and silvc r
and in style of design and weave suggest the Mazarin Tapestry. They once belonged to Philip the Handsome.
JOHN THE BAPTIST
PLATE no. 373. The Departure of John the Baptist, a Gothic-Renaissance Transition tapestry in the Royal
Spanish Collection, one of a set of four attributed by Count Valencia to Jean Van Eyck as designer. In the upper left cor-
ner of the tapestry, as the Latin caption says, "He devoutly asks permission of his family," and in the foreground below
"Hastens quickly to penitence." Note the richness of the robes and the tiny dog in the foreground (See chapter IX).
374 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
of Renaissance tapestries are often wide and some-
times quite as important and occupy as much or
more space than the picture panels inside; and of
Baroque tapestries even the borders begin to lose
their tapestry distinctiveness and ape painting.
The extent to which tapestry had lost its technique
by the XIX century is illustrated by the por-
trait of Catherine the Great, a part of the Coles
collection belonging to the Museum. The Russian
inscription at the base of the column shows that it
was woven in St. Petersburg in 1811 (See plate
no. 229).
The label should read: "Do not admire this;
or if you do, admire it not as a tapestry but as a
woven painting."
The three panels, the Baillee des Roses, now in
the rear hall of the Decorative Arts Wing, pur-
chased in 1909 from the income of the Rogers fund,
formerly belonged to the famous Bardac collection.
When shown in the Louvre, in 1904, at the Exposition
of Primitives, they attracted much attention be-
cause of their beauty and also because of their im-
portance as examples of historic decorative art.
They illustrate a homage that, until about the end
of the XVI century, the peers of France owed to the
French Parliament. The homage consisted in the
giving of roses. On the appointed day the peer who
was making the gift had all the chambers of the
Parliament hung with flowers and sweet-smelling
herbs. To the presidents, councillors, clerks, and
henchmen of the court he gave a splendid breakfast.
.
376 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Then he visited each chamber, having borne before
him a great silver basin filled with bouquets of roses,
pinks, and other flowers, natural or made of silk,
one for each official. The custom existed not only
at the Parliament of Paris, but also at other Parlia-
ments of the kingdom, notably that of Toulouse.
The tapestries before us picture this Baillee des
Roses most quaintly. On wide vertical bands of
green, white, and red, strewn with rose foliage and
flowers, appear ladies and gentlemen in XV century
costumes of great variety and interest.
One of the panels (See plate no. 53) shows three
personages, two gentlemen and a lady more splen-
didly dressed than the rest. One of the gentlemen
carries in his hand his hat turned toward the front,
so that the rose just received from the lady may be
visible. In the lower left-hand corner of the panel
is a monkey holding a cat. The personages in the
other two panels are grouped decoratively against
a similar background.
These three panels represent tapestry-weaving at
its best, -i.e., as practised in France and French-
Flemish Burgundy in the XV century, Flanders
being then a part of Burgundy. They are not
marred by any attempt at photographic perspective.
Personages and florals alike are in strong silhouette
with flat simple colours to mark contrasts. The
basis of the whole design is not paint-style but pen-
style, not photographic light and shade in delicate
tones, but strong line work that gets effects easily
and vigorously.
378 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Study the line work of these panels carefully.
The texture is a coarse, flat rep with only twelve
horizontal ribs to the inch. These give a lined
background against which the lines of the personages
and rose branches — predominatingly vertical — stand
out boldly. Note also the strong hatchings of the
draperies — long, vertical lines and spires of one
colour running up into another colour. These
hatchings are the most distinctive single character-
istic of tapestry, and, in combination with the
horizontal ribs that they cross, give tapestry a more
interesting and individual texture than any other
textile. If the hatchings be weak and the ribs many
to the inch, as in most modern tapestries, the
peculiar tapestry virtue is not there and the picture
might better be in paint on canvas.
Of all the tapestries now on exhibition at the
Museum, the one n feet 7 by 13 feet n in room F6
of the Decorative Arts Wing, is the most splendid.
From the weaver's point of view it is a tour de force.
Although of exceedingly fine texture — twenty- two ribs
to the inch — it is definitely tapestry and definitely
Gothic. The personages are large and many. The
only flesh-tints are in the faces and hands and the
small nude bodies of Adam on the left and Eve on
the right. In weaving the tapestry, gold and silver
were not spared, and silk was also used, where high
lights were necessary. But the principal material
was wool as it should be. Tapestries woven en-
tirely of silk are stupid. They are all shine and sheen
with no character. And they do not last. The silk
380 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
in many of the Museum tapestries was inserted by
the repairer. It is the wool that lasts and gives
tapestries their character. The more precious ma-
terials should be used sparingly, and with careful
regard for their contrast effect, like jewels in personal
adornment.
The tapestry before us is called the Mazarin
tapestry, because tradition tells us that it once be-
longed to the famous tapestry collection of the
famous Cardinal. It was purchased at a sale of his
nephew's effects by M. de Villars. Early in the XX
century it appeared in the shop of a London dealer
from whom Mr. Morgan bought it. Before it came
to New York it was exhibited in the Victoria and
Albert Museum.
It is one of the most richly decorated tapestries
ever woven. Every inch of robes and draperies is
elaborate with ornament. Everywhere is the sparkle
of gold and silver thread, used lavishly but with
rare discretion. The sky has its clouds of silver, and
threads of silver glitter in the whitened locks of
Augustus.
The main subject of this tapestry is the Triumph
of Christ and of the New Dispensation. The com-
position of the whole is like that of a triptych (three-
fold altar screen), and the architectural style of the
columns and arches is definitely Gothic. The col-
umns are pictured as in gold thickly studded with
jewels.
In the middle panel is shown Christ seated on a
throne, right hand upraised, Gospels in left hand
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382 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
with richly illuminated pages open toward the two
groups of worshippers below. The group below his
left hand represents the Church and is headed by
the Pope. The group below his right hand represents
the State and is headed by the Emperor. Between
the groups, just beneath the throne, is a fascinating
landscape, of slight dimensions, but of extreme
significance in the composition of this triptych
tapestry. At the right hand of Christ, above the
Church group, is an angel bearing a long branch
with lilies, symbolic of Mercy and of the Church. At
the left hand of Christ is an angel bearing a sword,
symbolic of Justice and of the Temporal Power
(the State). Highest of all are two angels holding
up a curtain behind the throne.
The figure on the column next the Church group,
with crozier and chalice, represents the Holy Catholic
Church of the New Dispensation. The figure on the
column next the State group, blindfolded, with broken
lance and broken tablets of the Mosaic law, represents
the Church (Synagogue) of the Old Dispensation.
The lower two-thirds of the right wing of the
triptych show Ahasuerus (known to the Greeks as
Xerxes) and Esther with attendants. The Latin
inscription reads: Cum osculata fuerat spectrum
assueri esther scipho utitur regis plena meri (When
Esther had kissed the sceptre of Ahasuerus she drank
from the King's cup filled with unmixed wine). In the
small scene above on the left, Esther is seen kissing
the sceptre.
The lower two-thirds of the left wing of the
384 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
triptych show the Roman Emperor Augustus — his
name Octamanus being woven in the border below
—and the Tiburtine Sibyl. The Latin inscription
reads: Regem regum adoravit augustus imparator cum
sibilla demonstravit quo patuit salvator (The Em-
peror Augustus adored the King of Kings when the
Sibyl had shown him the apparition of the Saviour).
Above the heads of the Emperor and the Sibyl, and
their attendants, is a small scene showing the Sibyl
pointing out to Augustus the apparition of the
Saviour in the heavens above them. I am indebted
to Joseph Destree, the learned curator of the Royal
Brussels Museum of the Decorative Arts, for the
transcription of the captions, one of which is so
illegible as to have been always misread before.
His transcription I have, however, confirmed by
careful personal examination.
This Mazarin tapestry in many points resembles
the splendid Triumph of the Virgin (See plate no.
269), bequeathed to the Louvre by Baron Charles
Davillier, which has the date woven into the lower
border: ACTU(M) A(O) 1485 (made in the year 1485).
It also resembles several in the Royal Spanish
Collection that were woven near the end of the XV
century. One of them, no. 7 in Valencia's port-
folio, shows — but larger in proportion — similar nude
figures of Adam and Eve. Interesting to compare
with them are the nude figures of Adam and Eve
now in the National Museum of Brussels, that once
crowned the marvellous Van Eyck painted triptych
now in Ghent.
386 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Technically this Mazarin tapestry is finer than
any other at the Metropolitan Museum. It repre-
sents the best that can be done with gold and silver
and silk and wool, to picture many figures elaborately
gowned, with flesh and hair that are marvellous in
texture and tone. The flesh-tints one can never
forget. They represent an intricacy of interweaving
that almost passes credibility.
Twenty-two ribs to the inch is none too fine for a
picture of this character, so crowded with details.
Compared with an ordinary tapestry, this one is like
the most delicate cloisonne against an ordinary
parquet floor. The refinements that in the latter
would be absurd are necessary and right in the
former. The Mazarin tapestry is real tapestry in
every sense of the word, true in both letter and spirit
to the best traditions and practice of XV century
weavers.
The most interesting and the oldest tapestry at
the Museum is the Burgundian Sacraments. It
dates from the first half of the XV century. It was
correctly described for the first time in my article
in the Burlington Magazine of December, 1907. It
consists of five fragments, two of which contain two
scenes each, making seven scenes in all. Originally
all of these were part of one very large tapestry con-
taining fourteen scenes, the upper seven of which
illustrated the Origin of the Seven Sacraments, the
lower seven the Seven Sacraments as Celebrated in the
XV Century. Between the upper and lower rows
ran a descriptive series of French verses in Gothic
GATHERING GRAPES
PLATE no. 387. Children Gathering Grapes, a Renaissance tapestry in the Royal Spanish Collection, signed
with the monogram of Willem Van Pannemaker. An exquisite design exquisitely woven, interesting to compare
with a tapestry on the same subject owned by Mr. George Salting, illustrated by Thomson opposite page 246.
388 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
letters. The illustrations in plates nos. 46 and 47
show the fragments restored to their original relative
positions. This splendid tapestry was woven in
Bruges, about 1440, for Philip the Good Duke of
Burgundy, as a decoration for the chamber of his
son, the youthful Count of Charolais, known to
history as the rash and unfortunate Charles the Bold,
several of whose tapestries, captured in battle, have
since been in the Swiss city of Berne. The 'price
paid by Philip was 317 livres and the weave is coarse,
about 12 ribs to the inch. The five pieces, con-
stituting altogether half of the original tapestry,
are much repaired and patched and two of them, the
one showing XV century Baptism, and the other
the two XV century scenes of Marriage and Extreme
Unction, are mounted wrong side out. In order to
compare these pieces with their companions, it is
necessary to picture them reversed back to their
original position as in my illustrations.
First I call attention to the woven frame that
encircled the whole of the original tapestry — a brick
frame with floriation outside. The frame was of
great assistance in establishing the exact attribution
of the tapestry, and in arranging the scenes in their
proper relative positions. By a convention peculiar
to the period it represents the tapestry as seen from
below on the right, and it accomplishes this by re-
vealing fully the inside of the brick frame above and
on the left, and less fully the inside of the brick
frame below, while the inside of the brick frame on
the right is not visible at all. In other words the
390 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
inside surfaces of the brick frame are represented
as turned slightly up and to the left. The visible
inside surfaces of this frame, above and on the left,
are accentuated by bright-coloured jewels.
The original complete tapestry began on the left
with the Baptism in Jordan above and XV century
Baptism below — the latter originally facing the other
side out so that the brick frame and floriated border
showed on the left instead of on the right. The
inscription at present over Baptism in Jordan con-
sists of two of the original inscriptions sewed to-
gether, the last third referring to Baptism and the
first two-thirds to Confirmation (Restored to their
proper position in plates nos. 46 and 47). The old
French of the missing part of the Confirmation in-
scription has been filled out by me (See the number of
the Burlington mentioned above), so that the whole
reads (translated):
"In order that mortals may surrender themselves
to strength, prelates give them confirmation and ton-
sure, and similar holy offices. The patriarch Jacob did
this, who placed his hands on two children."
The fragment of the inscription referring to
Baptism reads: "Writers of scripture," "by holy
baptism purified," "water of Jordan washed," with
the first two-thirds of the three lines missing.
The last two subjects of the tapestry are Marriage
and Extreme Unction. These sacraments in their
origin are shown in the still united scenes labelled
the Marriage of Adam and Eve, and King David
receiving the Unction of Honor. The XV century
392 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
celebration of these two sacraments is shown in the
two scenes labelled Marriage and Extreme Unction—
mounted wrong side out, but reversed to their original
position on plates nos. I and 2. The two inscriptions
read:
"And Extreme Unction, which against temptation
by its virtue gives strength, was instituted by the
unction of honour given at Hebron to King David to
increase his power."
"The sacrament of marriage, by which the human
race multiplies, was instituted by God, when he
created Adam and from his rib formed Eve, who was
of women the first and sweetheart to Adam."
Note how a round Gothic column with jewelled
capital separates the last two sacraments, in both the
upper and the lower series. The other scenes were
similarly separated, as shown by the column on the
right of Baptism in Jordan, and on the left of XV
century Marriage.
Note also the brick frame above the upper series
of Marriage and Extreme Unction and below the
lower series, and at the right of both, and how this
brick frame gives the point of view of the spectator
as below on the right.
All the personages in all the scenes are beautifully
backgrounded with a damask pattern that sets
them strongly forth, while underfoot is a tiled floor,
— except in Baptism where floriation and water take
its place. Fascinating and decorative to a wonderful
degree is the floriation outside the brick frame of
Baptism and below the brick frame of the last
394 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
two scenes. Fascinating, too, is the way the flori-
ation creeps up over the brick frame of XV century
Marriage.
The weave of this tapestry is masterful, with
long hatchings that interpret marvellously the
elaborately figured costumes and damask ground.
It will be noted that all the personages are clothed
except the two being baptised. Even Adam and
Eve show little bare flesh. Far different this from
the nude and semi-nude figures inherited by the
Renaissance from ancient Rome. (For other facts
about the Mazarin tapestry, see chapter II.)
The XV century designers and weavers of tapestry
worked along the right lines. They knew the
possibilities of the high-warp loom and utilised them
to the utmost. But they did not attempt the im-
possible in the way of open sky and water and unpat-
terned surfaces, which are what hampered the efforts
of later weavers and finally caused tapestry to become
one of the neglected arts.
The five Late Gothic tapestries, lent to the
Metropolitan Museum by the late Alfred W. Hoyt,
are also of unusual merit from the weave point of
view. They represent the antithesis of paint tex-
ture. The hatchings are long and strong and numer-
ous. The ribs are coarse and obvious, but flat and
delightfully irregular.
The sizes and subjects of the five tapestries are:
No. i. A Garden Party, 8 feet 9 i/4x 13 feet I 1/4.
No. 2. A Garden Party with Music, 8 feet 7 5/8 x 17 feet
7 1/2.
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396 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
No. 3. The Triumph of Time, 13 feet 3 3/4 x 9 feet II 1/8.
No. 4. The Triumph of Cupid, 12 feet 9 3/4 x 9 feet 5.
No. 5. An Unidentified Story, 12 feet 10 3/4 x 10 feet 9 3/8.
All were woven in Brussels in the first quarter of
the XVI century and all are distinctly Flemish in
character. No. i, illustrated on colour plate no.
II, is especially interesting in design, compo-
sition, and weave, and is in excellent condition.
No. I has 1 6 ribs to the inch, while the others
have 12.
It belongs to the same school of design and work-
manship as the Scene from a Novel in the Hoentschel
Collection lent by Mr. Morgan to the Metropolitan
Museum. While the latter is nearly square (12
feet 3 by 12 feet ij), it so closely resembles No. I
in other respects as to make comparison important.
The central figure of both is a woman seated on a
throne. In the Hoentschel tapestry she carries in
her right hand the sceptre of royalty, and with the
aid of her secretaries at the table below is preparing
letters to be despatched by the mounted messengers
visible in the extreme upper corners. The action
in No. I is purely social. The scene is entirely
out-of-doors with no pavilion to protect the presiding
lady. On the right new arrivals are being welcomed.
On the left a gentleman assists a lady to rise.
Elsewhere couples in animated conversation. Both
tapestries have the sky-line at the extreme top with
only a narrow band of landscape and trees showing
through. Both have a narrow foreground of flowers
and herbage, and in both every inch is well covered
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 397
with pattern or design. The costumes in both are
noteworthy for richness and elegance.
No. 2, a Garden Party with Music, immediately
suggests the Garden Musical that was No. 12 of the
Lowengard Collection, sold in Paris in 1910, and also
the Garden Concert illustrated in Guichard French.
In all three the personages are elegantly costumed.
Especially noteworthy are the fur trimmings on the
costumes of No. 2 that is crowded with human
figures, containing thirty-four large personages be-
sides two small ones in the background. The whole
scene is lively and gay. Conversation is animated.
On the left the master of ceremonies kneels to greet
a lady who is followed by a group issuing from a
castle. Over the doorway are represented two
winged cherubs holding a cartouche with heraldic
emblem. Below them a band of ornament with
winged cherub-head. Above the master of cere-
monies a group of four, three ladies and a gentleman.
One of the ladies offers another a plate of fruit.
To the right of the group, a lady with stringed in-
strument, of mandolin shape, and attentive cavalier.
Below them a lady with small instrument, strung
like a harp, and also an attentive cavalier. In the
middle of the tapestry a group of four, three ladies
and a gentleman. One of the ladies offers another
a very attractive plate of fruit. Behind them, with
only the square canopy and upper part of the back
showing, a throne. The pattern of the back shows
a double-headed eagle. On the right of the tapestry
a group of three, two ladies and a gentleman. One
398 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
lady offers the other a covered jewelled cup. Behind
them two groups of three, and one of two.
In the upper left corner of no. 3, the Triumph of
Time, appears the Latin caption in Gothic letters
Tempus vincit famam (Time conquers fame). Time
is pictured as a young woman seated on a chariot
drawn by four spirited and richly caparisoned
horses, and holding a clock aloft in her left hand.
Across the top of the tapestry runs the zodiacal band
picturing the Scorpion (partially hidden behind
Time), the Scales, the Virgin, the Lion, the Crab.
Fame (fame) lies helpless in the lower right corner
of the tapestry, and the rest of the foreground is
occupied by a procession of the Olympic deities in
pairs — Jupiter (iupiter), and Juno leading the way.
Jupiter carries a sceptre in his right hand.
In No. 4, the Triumph of Cupid, the central figure
high upon a pedestal that rises from an altar red
with curling flames, is the winged and blindfolded
God of Love (cupido). He is in the act of loosing
an arrow from his bow. In the foreground a pro-
cession of famous men and women, whom Cupid
attacked with his darts, headed by Julius Caesar
(iulius cesar). Beside him, Cleopatra (cleop). Be-
hind him, Bathsheba (bersabea), Solomon (so-omon),
Helen (helena), Brutus (brutus). Caesar carries a
sword upraised in his right hand, and the imperial
globe with cross in his left. Those personages
strongly resemble the Olympic deities in No. 3, and
it is probable that nos. 3 and 4 were woven as part
of the same set. Interesting to compare with them
HERCULES
PLATE no. 399. Hercules Killing the Dragon that guards the Hesperides, a Renaissance tapestry in the Imperial
Austrian Collection. One of a set of 9 picturing the Story of Hercules. Three are signed with the Audenarde mark
and all with what is probably the monogram of Michel Van Orley.
400 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
are the Triumphs in the Imperial Austrian Collec-
tion and at Hampton Court.
No. 5 is earlier in style than the others. The
columns of the royal pavilion and the curved railing
in front of it are jewelled like the columns in the
Mazarin and many other Gothic tapestries. The
central figures of the tapestry are a king and a queen
seated on a throne at the entrance of the royal
pavilion. Both carry sceptres, he in his right hand,
she in her left hand. She with uplifted right hand
appears to favour the suit of suppliants below them.
He by the position of his left hand appears to deny
it. The curtains of the pavilion behind them are
draped back, and courtiers crowd forward eager to
see and hear. The suppliants below them consist
of one aged man and three ladies. Below them are
also courtiers and visitors, six on the left, five on
the right. The upper corners of the tapestry picture
other scenes of the same story. On the left the
aged man with hands tied is being brought in by two
constables. A lady stands by in helpless distress,
hands clasped in suppliance. On the right, a lady
kneeling presents a flower to a child sitting on the
lap of his mother, who is seated in a chair with high
figured flat back. On one side of the chair a lady,
on the other a nurse. The story may be Biblical
and may be Romantic. I am inclined to think the
latter, and to interpret the three scenes as meaning
the Arrest, the Queen's Intercession, the Expression
of Thanks. The grouping of the third scene is
apparently copied from a Madonna group in which
402 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Saint Barbara (or Saint Anne) presents a flower to
the child Christ. (Compare pages 262 and 313 of
volume II of Reinach's Repertoire de Peintures du
Moyen Age et de la Renaissance.)
Unusually interesting is the border of the Late
Renaissance tapestry in room F6 of the Metropolitan
Museum (See plate no. 401). It is simply alive
with animals — fish below and birds above, with
deer and goats and unicorns and foxes in the side
borders. The picture panel inside is lighted from
above on the left, as is shown by the shadow lines
on the inside of the left and upper borders. It is
crowded with details, the main feature being a
Roman amphitheatre (the Colosseum) in action.
In the ring a bear crushes one dog and is worried by
two others. Also two bull-fights are in progress
and there is a bustle of horsemen and footmen.
The back of the amphitheatre is cut away to give a
view of the interior and of beyond where stretch
wooded hills and castles, with a narrow line of sky
above. The foreground is crowded with large
personages, some on foot and some mounted. The
central figure is the Emperor Titus on horseback.
Two attendants lead a lion fearlessly. A dog barks
fretfully. In the right corner the broken-off foot
of a Colossus statue shows Romulus and Remus
and the wolf nurse in low relief. The costumes are
Roman, but the figures are well clothed. The
tapestry is signed with the monogram of W. S.—
perhaps Willem Segers of Brussels — on the right-
hand selvage near the bottom (See plate no. 401).
ESTHER
PLATE no. 403. Two Scenes from the Story of Esther, a tapestry in the Hoentschel Collection, lent to the Metro-
politan Museum by Mr. Morgan. One the left, in the upper corner, Esther (hester) seeking admission; below, Esther
kneeling before Ahasuerus (Xerxes) crowned and with sceptre, who listens favorably to her petition. On the right, the
banquet given by Esther to Ahasuerus, which it is interesting to compare with the Esther and Ahasuerus scenes in the
Mazarin tapestry. The Latin captions below tell the story of how
mC RUMOR EXECRABIBILIS REVELATUR. SED REGINA
MESTA DOLENS AC HUMILIS . DOLI FUIT MEDECINA
"this awful rumor is revealed, but the queen sad, grieving and humble was medicine for the guile."
404 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
Especially interesting and well worth reproducing
on the tapestry looms of to-day, for the decoration
of church or home, are the two wide but not deep
Gothic tapestries in the Hoentschel Collection (each
5 feet 2 by 12 feet 4) picturing, one the Slaughter
of the Innocents, the other Christ in the Temple
and the Marriage of Cana. These tapestries repre-
sent the art at its best. But they were not expensive
to weave, in the XV century or now.
A perfectly fascinating tapestry, also lent from the
Hoentschel Collection, shows Esther before Ahasu-
erus, and is attributed to Brussels under date of
1450. There are woven inscriptions in Latin. The
two scenes are separated by a square Gothic column
that recalls the Burgundian tapestries in the next
room. The scene on the left shows Ahasuerus
receiving Esther in formal state, while on the right
they are banqueting.
In room Fi5 of the Metropolitan Museum is a
tapestry illustrating Commerce and signed D M
BEAUVAIS. D M stand for De Menou, who was
director of the tapestry works at Beauvais from
1780 to 1793. The colouring is not particularly
good and there are about 18 ribs to the inch. This
tapestry illustrates the degradation that the art of
tapestry design and weaving had suffered in three
centuries, but it is by no means a fair example of
Menou's work.
The ten large tapestries hanging high in the main
hall of the Decorative Arts Wing all belong to the
Baroque period and are as inferior to the products
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406 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
of the centuries before the XVII as they are superior
to most of the product of centuries after. The
signatures of the weavers, LEEFDAEL or STRECKEN
and the double B with shield of Brussels can be
clearly seen in the bottom selvage of all the five
in the Cleopatra series. The story of each scene
is inserted in Latin in the cartouche in the
upper border, while the corresponding position in
the lower border is filled by small landscapes differ-
ent in each tapestry and all interesting (See plate
no. 277).
Of the five Baroque tapestries opposite these,
three illustrate scenes from the life of Jacob (two of
them being from the same set as the borders show)
and two illustrate scenes from the life of Moses.
All were lent to the Museum by Mrs. Archibald
Thompson.
Delightfully decorative are the two Renaissance
Grotesque panels lent by Mr. George Blumenthal.
These are excellent examples of the weavers' art.
They remind one of the Renaissance Grotesque
tapestries sold at the White Sale 1907, but are smaller
and of more excellent design and execution.
At the head of the main stairway of the Decorative
Arts Wing hang two of a series of tapestries picturing
scenes from Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered. On each
tapestry the text of the verse illustrated appears in
a cartouche at the top. About the attribution of
these tapestries there is no uncertainty, for one of
them has the woven signature of P. FERLONI of
Rome, and the date 1739.
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 407
Far from the other tapestries, in room D3,
containing armour, are two Flemish Renaissance
tapestries lent by Miss Eloise L. Breese, and one
Italian Baroque lent by Mr. Frederick W. Rhine-
lander. Their juxtaposition affords an excellent
opportunity to study the distinctions between
Renaissance and Baroque. The former have narrow
but most interesting borders of pronouncedly Re-
naissance character and the flesh-tones are superior
in design and weave. The personages are many
and the costumes interesting. Both costumes and
architecture show that the designer must have been
an Italian intimately acquainted with Rome of his
own day, and before.
The subject of the two Breese tapestries is the
Rape of the Sabine Women, and the weave is twenty
ribs to the inch, but none too fine for the difficulties
presented by the flesh-tones portrayed. Technically
the weave is of unusual excellence, and shows what
could still be done on the loom by men familiar with
Gothic practice. That the designer also understood
something about tapestry requirements and possi-
bilities is clear from the pains he took to fill the
surface with detail. If the tapestries had been more
completely and skilfully repaired, the skill of the
weaver would be much more apparent, many of his
best effects now being lost because of reds that
have faded and silk that has been only partially
replaced.
Very interesting to compare with these three
tapestries are three woven from the same cartoons
408 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
(both panels and borders), but apparently of later
date, exhibited by M. Braquenie at Brussels in 1880,
and illustrated in Belgium 1880. While woven
from the same cartoons, the Braquenie tapestries
present some notable differences, one of them being
opposite in direction and left-handed, while the
other two include either more or less of the subject,
one of the Breese panels containing only about half
of the corresponding Braquenie panel. It pictures
the Sabine women playing the part of peacemakers
between their Sabine fathers and their Roman
husbands, and is temporarily not on exhibition.
Of the reds that once enriched Mr. Rhinelander's
tapestry, merely suggestions are left. The yard-
wide border is characteristically true to the Baroque
period, with its massive columns and entablatures,
deep shadows and nude cherubs. Especially char-
acteristic are the huge cartouche, with reversing
scrolls in the top border, and the huge shell with
masque and festoons in the bottom border. Balanced
massiveness that sometimes degenerates into grand-
iosity is the keynote of the Baroque period, and
massiveness is the first impression one receives from
this tapestry.
The subject is Moses Striking the Rock, as told
by the Latin inscription in the cartouche above that
reads :
SlLEX ICTIBUS MOYSI OBEDIENS.
ERUBESCAT COR HOMINIS.
DEI BENEFICIIS CONTUMAX.
Which, translated, reads: "The rock obedient to
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 409
the blows of Moses shames the heart of man, stub-
born against the blessings of God."
The signature in the bottom selvage is that of
Bernardino Van Asselt who had a factory in Florence
in the latter half of the XVII century.
The figures are large and well clothed but there
is too much open sky and the ground and rocks
show the influence of paint technique. The
weave is good and comparatively coarse — about
fifteen ribs to the inch. The beards and hair
of the personages are especially well executed.
But the composition does not compare with that
of the old Gothic tapestries. The inside frame
shadows show the light as coming from above on
the right.
Of all the Renaissance tapestries with which I am
acquainted none please me more than the two large
ones in room F8 of the Decorative Arts Wing.
They are splendid examples of the best that the most
skilful weaver could accomplish, and the designs
are not excelled by any Renaissance tapestry de-
signs with which I am acquainted. The grounds
are well covered, especially of the chamber scene,
and the decorative idea is kept consistently upper-
most. Particularly would I call attention to the
gold in basket weave used so skilfully and lavishly
in the lower border of both tapestries. Also to the
free and effective use of silver in the chamber scene.
Silk also was used when silk would help, but never
recklessly as in later centuries when false virtuosity
dominated the tapestry ateliers. The moment one
GOTHIC AND RENAISSANCE
PLATE no. 410. Above, the Capture of Jerusalem by Titus (Gothic). Below, the Capture of a City (Renaissance).
These two tapestries, both Flemish, one in the Metropolitan Museum, the other sold at public sale several years ago
in New York, afford a good opportunity for comparison, between the Gothic and the Renaissance methods of portrayal.
But it should be noted that the lower tapestry is typically Flemish Renaissance, absolutely free from Italian character-
istics, and full of details retained from the Gothic.
412 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
looks at these tapestries one knows that the master
weaver who superintended their execution was at
the head of his craft.
Fortunately we are able to name this great weaver,
for, woven in threads of gold on the lower edge of
the right-hand border of both tapestries, he left his
initials W V P combined into a monogram that
appears on many tapestries in the Royal Spanish
Collection, which we know by documentary evidence
were the product of Willem Van Pannemaker's
looms. And if we did not have other evidence, the
signature itself, as well as the similarity in style and
technique, would compel us to make the same attribu-
tion. On the bottom border of one of Mr. Blumen-
thal's two tapestries, the double B and shield of
Brussels appear. The corresponding part of the
other tapestry having worn away was replaced by
the repairers without the signature. During the
middle of the XVI century, Willem Van Pannemaker
was first among makers of tapestry, and everything
to which his monogram is attached possesses unusual
merit. The borders of the two tapestries before us
are adapted copies of the borders that appear on the
Acts of the Apostles tapestries in the Spanish Collec-
tion, designed by Raphael and woven soon after the
weaving of the original set. These tapestries repre-
sent in Renaissance work what the Mazarin tapestry
represents in Gothic work — the extraordinary results
that can be obtained by employing gold and silver
thread generously in addition to silk and the basic
wool. The subject is the Story of Herse. The
HISTORY AND RENAISSANCE 413
original series (of which there is a complete set in
the possession of the Duchess de Denia of Spain)
contained eight tapestries, and depicted the meeting
and courtship of Mercury and Herse. The nuptial
scene is shown by No. 6 in the series, the chamber
tapestry 14 feet by 18, illustrated in colour plate
no. III.
No. 8 in the series, the larger of Mr. Blumenthal's
two tapestries (14 feet 5 by 24), shows on the left
Aglauros being changed to stone by Hermes, before
the eyes of her horrified father Cecrops the first
king of Athens. The penalty was inflicted because
Aglauros refused to permit Hermes admission to
her father's residence and to Herse. Then Mercury
soars up over the palace back to Olympus, as
pictured on the right of the tapestry, all the courtiers
and attendants following his flight with awe-stricken
faces, while Cecrops in the foreground lets fall his
sceptre.
The only German tapestries in the Museum are six
small and rather crude, but not unpleasing, Renais-
sance panels given by Mr. Morgan. Each is 39/i
inches high by 29^/4 inches wide, and all are enriched
with gold and silver. All are topped with a white
panel carrying a verse in German from the New
Testament appropriate to the scene illustrated, and
all are bordered with columns and bear the mono-
grams of both A R and I C M. All of the tapestries
are also dated, two 1592, two 1595, one 1598, one
1600. The subject of the set is the Story of Christ,
and three of the pieces — Christ Washing the Feet of
414 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
the Apostles, Christ Bearing the Cross, and the
Ascension — are after Albrecht Diirer's woodcuts of
the Small Passion. Two of the others, the Elevation
of the Cross, and the Pentecost, are attributed to
the school of Diirer, and the sixth, the Baptism of
Christ, to Martin Schongauer. For illustrations,
see plate no. 415. Thomson attributes the A R
monogram to Alsace but without giving his reasons.
A large Gothic tapestry, one of the most important
in the world — belonging to the Museum and hanging
in the main entrance hall — is the Capture of Jeru-
salem by Titus, acquired by purchase in November,
1909. It is a masterpiece of the weaver's art and
the design and colourings are characteristic of the
Golden Age of tapestry. It closely resembles in
style the four Caesar tapestries now in Berne — a
present from the Burgundian Duke Charles the Bold
to Guillaume de la Beaume, and seized by the Swiss
when they pillaged the latter's castle in the war that
ended the Burgundian supremacy. The central
figure is the Emperor Titus on horseback with the
captured Ark of the Covenant on a wagon before
him. In the foreground soldiers are disembowelling
Jews for the money they had swallowed in order to
save it. The story is fully told in the "Mistere de
la Vengeance Nostre Seigneur Jesuscrist," a XV
century miracle play summarized and partially
reprinted in Reims Peintes. Other events of the
capture of the city are pictured om the right and
on the left with the utmost spirit and vigour. The
tapestry has improved greatly by cleaning since it
416 TAPESTRIES— THEIR ORIGIN
came into the possession of the Museum and was
first hung (See plates nos. 410, 411).
For description of Mr. Morgan's five Gobelin
Don Quixote tapestries, see my chapter on the
Gobelins; and of the Mortlake tapestries, lent by
Mrs. Von Zedlitz and Mr. Hiss, my chapter on
Mortlake.
GENERAL INDEX
References following a star are to illustrations.
Titles of the different pieces of sets have been omitted from the index,
because easier of reference in the text, as follows:
Raphael's Acts of the Apostles, 90, 149, 150; Vulcan and Venus, 122, 124;
English Royal Residences, 139; Hero and Leander, 148, 149; the
Royal Residences of Louis XIV, 166; the Story of Louis XIV, 168,
170; the Story of Alexander, 171; the Chambers of the Vatican, 172;
the Sujets de la Fable, 172; the Gallery of Saint-Cloud, 173; the
Portieres of the Gods, 174; Ovid's Metamorphoses, 175, 176; Opera
Fragments, 179; Stage Scenes, 179, 180.
By Boucher for the Gobelins, 182; Battles of the Swedish King Charles
XI, 190, 191; the Chinese Set of Vernansal, Fontenay, and Dumons,
192; Houasse's Metamorphoses, 192; Oudry's New Hunts, 193;
Oudry's Verdures, and Fables of La Fontaine, 194.
By Boucher for Beauvais, 194, 195; the Barberini Life of Christ, 224;
Goya's Spanish Scenes, 227. 228; the Story of David at the Cluny
Museum, 282; De Troy's Story of Esther, 282; the Story of Abraham,
286, 288; the Trojan War, 301, 302; the Story of Scipio, 304; the
Battle of Pavia, 308; the Conquest of Tunis, 310; the Reims Toiles
Peintes, 356; tapestries in the Cathedral of Angers, 354.
List of Marks and Weavers' Signatures, 268-273.
AARON, 67 Aelst, Pieter Van, 86
Abraham, 114, 284, 286, 288 JEneid, The, 295
Abraham and Isaac, 34, 156 * 305
Absalom, 298 Aglauroz, 413
Achilles, 159, 190, 196 Ahasuerus, 264, 340, 382, 404
* 303 Aix-en-Provence, 194, 326
Acts of the Apostles. See Raphael's Alba, Duke of, 86
Acts of the Apostles Albert, Archduke of the Nether-
Adam, 378, 384, 390, 392 lands, 99, 102, 106
* 19 * 377
Adoration of the Magi and Shep- Alcibiades, 196
herds Alexander the Great, 20, 171, 196,
* 293 276, 297, 298, 306
417
418
INDEX
Alexander the Great
*38i
American Looms, 206-216
* 207, 209, 2 1 1 , 2 1 5, 247, 249, 251 ,
253
Ampe, Josse, 106
Andromache, 296
Anet, Chateau d', 154
Angelis, Desiderio de, 225
Angels, Praising and Ministering,
136
Angers Apocalypse, 15, 33, 36, 38-
41, 44, 45, 267, 276, 354, 356
*39
Angers, Cathedral of, 51, 300, 354
Angers, Abbey of Ronceray near,
70
Anglesey, Lord, 17
Anguier, M., 164
Animals Fighting, 173, 192
*333
Animals in Tapestries, 48-52, 54, 58,
264
Anjou, Duke of, 38, 297
Anne of Denmark, 115
Anne of England, Queen, 117, 350
Annunciation of Our Lady, 42
Antony and Cleopatra, 179
Antwerp, 99, 227
Apocalypse. See also Angers Apoc-
alypse
Apollo
* 103, 307
Apostles. See Raphael's Acts of
the Apostles; Christ and the
Apostles
Apostles, Story of the, 113
Arabesques. See Grotesques
Arabesque Months, 172, 173
Arachne, Story of, 296
Arazzeria Medicea, 220
Arazzi, 360. See also Arras
Arden, 216
Ariadne and Bacchus, 22
Aristotle, 196
Arms, Coats of, 106, 117, 119, 124,
125, 126, 142, 144, 148, 191,
223, 290
* 183, 187
Arnault, 190
Arras, 33, 42, 43, 86, 99, 141, 146,
153, 232-235, 237, 239, 284,295
*233
Arras, Counterfeit, 260
Artemisia, Mausolus and, 154, 344
*I55
Arthur, King, 297, 298, 300
Arts, The, 179
Aspasia, 196
Asselt, Bernardino Van, 222, 409
Assisi, Don Francisco d', 160, 177
Assumption, 201
Astier, Colonel d', 94, 305
Astraea, 196
Aubusson, Tapestry Works at, 128,
132, 134, 138, 166, 198-205,
214, 232
* Colour plate no. 'IV, 203
Aubusson, Pierre d', 50
Audenarde. See Oudenarde
Audran, 22, 30
*I75
Audran, Claude, 174, 176, 205, 237,
321
*I75
Audran, Jean, 163, 177, 180, 182
Audran, Michel, 163
Augustus, King of Poland, 193
Augustus, the Roman Emperor,
306, 384
Aulhac Tapestries, The, 58, 256,
301, 302, 326
Aumale, Duke d', 122
Aunes (Ells), French and Flemish,
48, 119, 124, 125, 170, 184, 276-
278
INDEX
419
Austrian Collection, Imperial, 82,
159, 284, 286, 288, 290, 306,
308, 332, 400
*97, 291,367, 375, 399
Autumn
*3«3
Auvergne, 200, 201
Auxerre, Cathedral of, 66
Avalos Family. See Pescara
Avery Library. See Columbia Uni-
versity Library
Axelstierna, Count Johan, 120
Aylesford, Battle of, 139
BABOU, PHILIBERT, 154
Bacchanals, The, 115
Bachiacca, 220
* 219
Backgammon, Game of
*337
Badin, Jules, 330, 332
Bailie des Roses, 51, 264, 374
*53
Baillet, Bishop Jehan, 66
Bale Museum, 298
Banquet Scene, Flemish, 27
Baptism, 62, 388, 390, 392
Barberini, 158, 222, 223
Barcelona Courthouse, 366
Barcheston, Tapestry Works at, 142
Bardac Collection, 374
Baroque Tapestries, 368, 404, 406,
407-409
Basse Lisse. See Low Warp
Bataille, Nicolas, 38, 153, 217, 267
Bathsheba, 20, 280, 282, 398
*285
Batons, 276, 278
Battles of the Swedish King Charles
XI, 190
Baudoin, M., 166
Baumgarten, William, 140, 206
Bayard. See Chevalier Bayard
Bayeu, F., 228
Bayeux Tapestry, 36, 237, 326
Beaume, Guillaume de la, 60, 414
Beaune, 64, 262
*69
Beauvais, 22, 24, 90, 128, 134, 179,
180, 182, 185-198, 201, 214,
232, 240, 243, 246, 330, 332, 404
* 187, colour plate no. I
Beauvais Cathedral, 82, 90, 190
Beauvais Tapestries in America, 16
Behagle, Philip, 90, 189-191
Belleville Tapestries, 198
Belton, 146
Benedetto da Milano, 222
Benood, William, 145
Berain, 189, 190
Berghen, Peeter Van Der, 306
Berlin, 226, 227
Berlin Museum, 82, 86
Bernard, Michel, 45
Berne Historical Museum, 51, 58,
268, 388, 414
Berri, Duke of, the brother of
Charles V, 42, 297
Berthier, 92
Berwick and Alba, Duke of, 130,
279
*28l
Besche, 242, 243
Besnier, Nicolas, 22, 24, 193-195
Bess of Hardwycke, 143
Bethlehem, Star of, 136
*I35
Bezons, The Fair at, 192
Bible des Pauvres, 67
Bible in Tapestries, 279-294
Biest, Hans Van Der, 226
Bievre, The, 157, 158, 210
Blamard, Louis, 160
Blumenthal, George, 32, 52, 63, 275,
300, 342, 406, 412, 413
*37i
420
INDEX
Bobbins, 238, 239, 244, 245, 254
Bodleian Library, 143
Bohemians, 196
Boileau, Etienne, 242
Bordeaux, Arms of
*i83
Borgia, Caesar, 199
Borders of Tapestries, 58, 64, 66, 82,
88, 120, 126, 143, 144, 150, 151,
156, 158, I 66, 170, 174, 176,
177, 237, 266, 274, 275, 361,
374. 388, 390, 412
Boreas and Orythia, 22
Borcht, P. V. D., 24
Boscoreale Frescoes, 314, 316
*3i5
Boston Fine Arts Museum, 64, 72,
244, 268, 323
* 73, 349
Boston Public Library, 323, 324
Boteram, Rinaldo, 217
Botticelli's Primavera, 136
Boucher, Frangois, 22, 24, 179, 180,
182, 184, 194, 195, 213, 237,
260, 318, 332, 348
* Colour plate no. I, 181
Boulle, M., 164
Boussac, Chateau de, 50
Boy Between Two Ladies, 52
Boyes, The Naked, 118. See also
Children Playing
Boyton Manor, 138
Brabant, Duke of, 80, 81
Bradshaw, 152
Bramantino, 222
Braquenie, M., 408
Breese, Miss Eloise L., 407
Broche, 242, 243
Bronzino, 220
Bronx River, 200, 208
Bruges, 99, 267, 388
Bruges, Hennequin de, 38, 267
Brugghen, T. V., 306
Brussels, 21, 22, 24, 28, 84, 88, 96,
98, 99, 152, 158, 166, 171, 173,
192, 232, 268, 290, 366, 394, 402
* 277, 303, 335, 343, 383
Brussels Mark, 88, 125, 268, 270,
292, 306, 308, 322, 406, 412
* 268, 270
Brussels Museum, 20, 36, 54, 60, 62,
63, 77, 94, 226, 280, 300, 356,
384
*55, 79, 329, 331,37°
Buckingham, Duke of, 106, -108,
124, 125
Bullfighting, Children Playing at,
228
Burgos, Cathedral of, 280
Burgundian, 99, 153
Burgundian Sacraments, 45, 262,
274, 312, 3J4, 386, 388, 390,
392, 394. See also Seven Sacra-
ments, 30
* 46, 47
Burgundy, Duke of, the brother of
Charles V, 42, 45, 99, 297. See
also Philip the Good, Charles
the Bold
Burley, 148
Burne-Jones, Sir Edward, 136, 255,
338
Burning up Tapestries, 15, 1 6
Burton, Dru, no, in, 125
Bute, Marquis of, 139
Byzantine Tapestries, 297
CESAR, 60, 297, 300, 398, 414
Calais, Capture of
*377
Callet, Antoine, 184
Calvary, 42, 63, 342
*339
Candid, Peter, 226
Canterbury, Archbishop of, 74
Canterbury Cathedral, 74
INDEX
421
Cantonniere
* 211
Captions of Tapestries, 34, 36, 38,
43, 44, 64, 67, 68, 70, 72, 78, 81,
106, 108, 119, 170, 274, 286,
290, 300, 302, 306, 308, 358,
382, 386-388
Cardenas, Don Alonzo de, 86
Care of Tapestries, 317-322, 414,
416
Carna valet, Musee, 156
Caron, Antoine, 154, 344
Cartoons and Sketches, 28, 30, 38,
48, 70, 77, 81, 82, 88, 120, 150,
154, 164, 170, 172, 173, 190,
194, 196, 204, 240, 241, 252,
256, 288, 301, 350, 360
*85
Casanova, 196
Cassini, Signor Candido, 189
Catharine the Great, 184, 228, 374
* 229
Catherine of France, 100
Catherine de' Medicis, 154, 344
*355
Cato, 34
Cecrops, 413
Cephale and Procris, 192
Chace, The, 138
Chambord, Chateau de
*i67
Charlemagne, 34, 63, 160, 297, 298,
300
*37i
Charles I of England, 82, 86, 105,
106, 108, 109, no, in, 114,
115, 117, 119, 120, 148, 217,
235, 259
Charles II of England, 114, 115, 118
Charles V, the Emperor, 45, 60, 80,
82, 94, 96, 98, 99, 102, 262, 268,
274, 276, 292, 306, 340, 354
*79
Charles V, King of France, 38, 42,
297
Charles VI of France, 100
Charles VII of France, 100
Charles VIII, Equestrian Portrait
of, 52, 262
Charles XI of Sweden. See Battles
of
Charles the Bold, 51, 60, 99, 100,
340, 388, 414
Charles Gustave of Sweden, 120, 122
Charolais, Count of. See Charles
the Bold
Charron, A. C., 22, 180, 195, 196
Chartres Museum, 96
Cherubs, 180
Chevalier Bayard, 58, 256, 301, 302,
326, 364
Chevreul, 235
Chicago Art Institute, 140, 206
Chicago Society of Antiquarians,
140, 206
Children Playing, 115, 145, 188, 192,
264
* 265, 387
Child Gardeners, 166
Children Playing at Bull-fighting,
228
Chinese Grotesque, 190
Chinese Scenes, 24, 192, 196, 260
*203
Cholmondeley, Marquis of, 115
Christ and the Apostles, 34
Christ. See Angers Apocalypse,
41 ; also Passion of Our Lord,
42
Christ, Life of, 63, 67, 70, 74, 76,
156, 223, 360, 404, 413, 414
* 71, 341, 415
Christian IV of Denmark, 109, 115
Christiania, 230, 365
Christiansen, Mile. Augusta, 230
Church, The, 382
422
INDEX
City Champion, 139
Clarke, Sir C. Purdon, 56
Cleaning Tapestries, 320-322
Clement XI, Pope, 225
Cleopatra, 398, 406
*277
Cleveland, Duchess of, 139
Cleyn, Francis, 109, 112, 117, 118,
120, 148, 275
Clorinda, 159
Clovis, 60, 62, 64, 1 60, 358
*299
Cluny Museum, 48, 50, 54, 62, 63,
66, 156, 264, 280
* 49, 283, 285, 363
Colbert, 153, 164, 173, 186, 201, 202
Coles Collection, 21, 374
Coligny, Admiral, 96
Collections and Catalogues of them,
346, 348
Colosseum, The Roman, 402
*40i
Columbia University Library, 40,
323, 356
Comans, Marc de, 105, 106, 157,
159, 162, 166, 223, 328
Commerce, 21
Commonwealth, The, 113, 260
Como, Cathedral of, 220
Compiegne, Chateau, 192, 194
Concert, The, 51
*327
Confirmation, 390
Constantine, the Emperor, 63, 159,
160
Constantinople, Bishop of, 267
Coptic Tapestries, 244, 297
Cormon, M., 198
Coucy, Chateau de, 216
Country Sports, 196
Coypel, Antoine, 176, 179
Coypel, Charles, 30, 176, 179, 180,
194, 237, 274
Coypel, Noel, 172, 174, 237
Cozette, Michel-Henry, 163
Cozette, Pierre-Francois, 22, 30,
163, 177, 180, 184
Craight, Peter de, 106
Crane, Sir Francis, 105, 108, 109,
no, in, 112, 119
Crane, Captain Richard, 112
Crane, Walter, 134
Creation, The, 62, 218, 279, 280,
340. See also Gerona Creation
*28l
Credo, the Short; Credo, the Long,
42
Cretif, Marc, 304
Creuse, 200
Cromwell, the Lord Protector, 114,
118, 260, 286
Cronstrom, 189, 190
Cross, Finding of the, 62
Crow, Sir Sackville, 114, 118, 125,
H5
Crucifixion, 42, 280
Cumberland, Duke of, 152
Cupid, 396, 398
*375
Cyrus the Great, 227
DAMOISELET, 192
Daphnis and Chloe, 179
Darcel, Alfred, 126, 324, 334
David, 67, 280, 282, 297, 298, 300,
390
* 283, 285, 351
David Instructing Solomon, 136
Davillier Triumph of the Virgin, 63,
268, 384
*2&9
Dearie, J. W., 134, 136, 255
Death of the Virgin, 42
Decius Mus, 306
De Kay, John, 216
Delacroix, Dominique, 163
INDEX
423
Delacroix, Jean, 163
Delafraye, Jean, 163
Delft, 20, 99
*287
Delorme, Philibert, 154
Demay, Stephen, 148, 151
Demidoff. See San Donate Sale
1880, in Index of Bibliography
Dene, Henri, 74
Denia, Duchess of, 275, 366, 413
Denmark, King of, 184
Deposition from the Cross, 62
Deshays, 195, 196
Desoria, 196
Desportes, Alexandre-Francois, 179
Destree, Joseph, 356, 384
Devonshire, Duke of, 54
*57
Diana, 24, 112, 154, 159
* 175, 221, 385
Dido and ^Eneas, 113, 159, 306
*305
Dolace, John, 142
Don Quixote, 30,45, 176-179, 194,
227,237,274,276,416
Dortmund Rathaus, 227
Dourdin, Jacques, 42
Dresden Museum, 82
Drouais, 184
Dubois, Ambroise, 159
Dubourg, Maurice, 156
Dumons, 192, 202, 204, 260
Dunkirk, 127
Duplessis, 22, 192, 193
Durante, Pietro, 225
Diirer, Albrecht, 414
Dyck, Antoine Van, 120
Dyes, 235, 254
*253
EDEN, GARDEN OF, 280
•19
Edinburgh, 142
Egypt, 297
Elements, 148, 166, 174
* 165, 335
Elijah, 156
Elizabeth, Queen, 139
Ells. See Aunes
Ely mas the Sorcerer, 112
Enghien, 99, 264
*265
England, 105-152, 324, 326, 328, 366
*I47
England, Arms of, 119
Entrefenetres, 166
Erlanger, Baron d', 62, 87, 279
Eroli, Erulo, 225
Este, 94, 218, 220
Escorial, 227, 228
Esther, 18, 179, 184, 264, 285, 340,
382, 404
* 369, 403
Estrees, Count d', 116
Eton College Chapel, 136
Eucharist, The Holy, 62, 64, 70, 72
*73
Eve, 67, 378, 384, 390, 392
Exeter College Chapel, 136
*I35
Exeter, John Fifth Earl of, 148
Exposition. See Union Centrale
Exposition, Chicago, 139
Expositions, Brussels, 136, 226, 279,
336
Exposition, Milan, of 1874, 90
Expositions, Paris, 68, 136, 205, 230,
338
Expositions des Primitifs Frangais,
36, 374
Exposition, St. Louis, 214
Extreme Unction, 388, 392
Eyck, Van, 384
*373
FAMES, THE, 160
424
INDEX
Felletin, 166, 199, 201
Ferdinand, Brother of Charles V,
and later Emperor, 80, 81, 99,
102, 262, 340
*79
Fere, Pierrot, 43, 267
Ferloni, Pietro, 21, 225, 406
Ferrara, 218, 220, 259
Ffoulke, Charles M., 223
*35i
Field, Columbian Museum, 208
Filleul, The Brothers, 191, 192
Finch, Daniel, Earl of Nottingham,
148
Finch, Pearl, 148
Finland, 230
Fizameau, Sieur, 202
Flanders, 99-104, 128, 141, 154, 232,
243
Flemish, 99-104, 324, 396
Flemish Weavers, 106, 128, 141, 142,
157, 160, 163, 186, 189, 217-
220, 227, 235
Flora, 136
Florence, 189, 220, 221
Florence Tapestry Museum, 220,
280, 354
*2i9, 221,353, 355
Flute, 243
Fontainebleau, 96, 154, 159, 171
Fontenay, Blin de, 192
Foquentin, Pierre, 106
Foucquet, 160, 162
Four Ages, 196
Four Parts of the World, 196
Foussadier, M., 206, 208
France, 153-205, 324
France, Story of, 160, 185
Francis I, The Emperor, 88
Frangois I of France, 82, 86, 94, 96,
154, 262, 308, 310, 354; Story
of, 1 60
French National Collection, 82, 94,
118, 119, 156, 159, 170, 173,
190. 332, 334
*23,93, 123, 165, 169, 175, 181,391
French Revolution, 196, 197, 204
Fructus Belli. See Fruits of War
Fruits of War, 94, 172, 173
*367
Fulham, 151
Furniture Coverings, 152, 182, 184,
197, 198, 199
* Colour plate no. IV
GABRIEL, 34
Garden Party, 394, 396-398
* Colour plate no. II
Genoa, 109, 120
Genouels, M., 166
Gentlemen with the Crane, 52
Genius of the Arts, 180
George V of England, Coronation
of, 138
Germany, 202, 230, 324, 413
*3I3, 319, 329, 415
Gerona Creation, The, 36
Geubels, Frangois (Frans Van), 96,
306
Gideon, 67
Giulio Romano, 94, 115, 118, 145,
172, 218,304
*95, 309
Giving of the Roses. See Baillee
des Roses
Glemham Hall, 146
Gobelin, Jean and Philibert, 157
Gobelin mark
*27I
Gobelin master-weavers, List of,
1621, 63
Gobelin Museum, 51, 72, 156, 171,
267
Gobelins, The, 18, 21, 22, 24, 28, 30,
45, 90, 96, 128, 132, 134, 138,
INDEX
425
153-185, 193, 194, 197, 200,
204, 205, 210, 214, 232, 235,
241, 243, 246, 260, 275, 295,
298,317,330,346,416
*3i, 165, 167, 169, 175, 181, 183,
287, 333, 357, 39i
Godfrey de Bouillon, 297, 298, 300
Golden Age of Tapestry, 28, 33, 237,
3i8
Gombaut and Mace, 160
*i6i
Gondebaut, Victory over, 60
Gonzaga, 87, 88, 217, 258, 259, 288
Goose Girl, The, 134
Goten. See Vandergoten
Gothic- Renaissance Transition, 28,
33, 77
* 69, 75, 373
Gothic Tapestries, 28, 33-76, 153,
264, 267, 268, 280, 311-315,
368, 374, 394, 400, 409, 412
Gothic Verdures with Personages,
48-52, 216, 264, 374, 376
* 207, 215, 327
Gower, Lord Ronald, 139
Goya, 227, 228, 362
Grafton, in
Granada, Capture of, 322
Grand Prizes, 136, 205, 214
Granson, 60, 100
Great Wardrobe, The King's, 146,
152
Greece, Ancient, 295-297
Grotesques, 21, 94, 142, 174, 176,
192, 220, 237, 205, 406
* 175, 353, 379
Guarini's Pastor Fido, 160
Guerande, Martin, 72
Guesclin, Bertrand du, 297, 298
Guiffrey, Jean, 94, 304
Guiffrey, Jules, 43, 48, 153, 160, 185,
267, 323, 324, 326, 328, 330,
332, 348
Guild of Saracen Tapestry Makers,
241, 242
Guise, Belles Chasses de. See Hunts
of Maximilian, 96
Guise, Charles de, Cardinal of
Lorraine, 60
Guise, Duke Francois de, 60
Gutbier, Adolf, 301
Guyot, Laurence, 160
HACHETTE, JEANNE, 198
Haddon Hall, 146
Halberstadt Tapestries, Cathedral
of, 34, 225
Hallenbirch, John, 114
Hallenbirch, Philip, 114
Hamburg, 230
Hamilton Sale, 21
Hampton Court, 82, 87, 114, 115,
1 1 8, 217, 284, 350, 352, 400
Hanging Tapestries, 318, 320
*25
Hansen, Madame Frida, 230
*23I
Hardwicke Hall Hunting Tapes-
tries, 15, 54-58
*57
Harriman, Mrs. E. H., 216
Hatchings of Tapestries, 28, 234,
394
Hatfield House, 144
Haute Lisse. See High Warp
Hector, 296, 297, 298, 300, 302
Heilbronner Collection, 52 (twice)
Helen of Troy, 296, 398
Hendrix, Jacques, 106
Henrietta Maria, 115
Henri 1 1 of France, 96, 1 54, 344
*355
Henri III of France, 200
Henri IV of France, 105, 156, 158,
160, 184, 200, 246, 328
Henry V of England, 100
426
INDEX
Henry VI of England, 56
Henry VIII of England, 74, 82, 86,
284
Henry, H., 138, 140
Hercules
* 389, 399
Herkinbald, 268
Hermes (Mercury), 413
Hero and Leander, 112, 118, 120,
148, 149
* 121
Heroes and Heroines. See Preux
and Preuses
Herse. See Mercury and Herse
Herter, Albert, 214
Herter Looms, 214-216
Heyns, Simon, 106
Hickes, Francis, 144. See also
Hyckes
High Warp, 162, 163, 177, 197, 201,
225, 238-245, 296
*233
Hinart, Louis, 185-189
Hiss, Philip, 122, 416
Hoentschel Collection, 52, 70, 284,
311, 364, 394, 404
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen , Prince,
226
Holkham House, 152
Holloburie. See Hallenbirch
Holy Grail, Story of, 136, 338
* 129, 131, 133
Holyrood Palace, 145
Homer. See Iliad, Odyssey
Honel, Nicolas, 344
Horses, The, 112, 118
Houasse, 192
Houghton Hall, 115, 117
Hoyt, Alfred W., 394
Huet, J. B., 196
Hunt with Falcon, 54
Hunt, The Boar, 139
Hunting the Unicorn, 52
Hunting Scene, Late Gothic
*207
Hunts, The New, 193
Hunts of Maximilian, 18, 96, 172,
173
Hyckes, Richard, 142, 143
ILIAD, THE, 179, 195, 295
Imitations of Tapestry, 199, 238
Imperial Globe, 279
Indies, The, 172, 173, 179, 184 •
Indies, Conquest of, 196
Indo-Chinese Tapestries, 146. See
also Oriental Scenes
Inghele, Josse, 106
Instruments of the Passion, 51
Invasion of England by the Nor-
mans, 36
Ireland, 141
Isabel, Archduke of the Nether-
lands, 99, 102, 106
Issoire, Courthouse of, 58, 301, 327,
364
Italian Looms, 216-225, 324, 407
* 219, 221, 277
JACK OF DIAMONDS. See Hector,
300, 301
Jacob, Story of, 290, 322, 362, 364,
390
*4o6
Jacquard Picture Tapestries, 30
Jacques, 182, 184
Jaille, Isabelle de la, 70
James I of England, 105, 108, 115,
119, 328
James II of England, 126
James, Prince, the Old Pretender,
126, 127
Jans, Jean (father and son), 90, 162,
163, 170
Jans, Jean- Jacques, 163
Jason, 179
INDEX
427
Jeanne, Daughter of the Emperor
Charles V
Jeanne, George Sand's, 50
Jeaurat, Etienne, 179
Jeptha, 156
Jerusalem, Capture of, 58, 414, 416
*4io, 411
Jesus, 62
*37
Joan of Arc, 100, 300
*3i3
Joao de Castro, Deeds of, 306
Joseph, Story of, 220
John the Baptist
*373
Joseph II, the Emperor, 184
Joshua, 290, 297, 298, 300
*29I
Jubinal, M., 301
Judas Maccabseus, 297, 298
Judith and Holophernes, 382
*347
Julius II, Pope, 84, 258
Julius III, Pope, 92
Jiirss, Julius, 227
Juno, 398
Jupiter, 398
KARCHER, JOHN AND NICOLAS, 87,
218, 220
Kerchoe, 192
King's Return, The, 226
*329
Knight, 136
Knight Armed by the Ladies, 51
Knight Leading a Lady's Horse, 52
LA CHAISE-DIEU, 63, 67, 326
Lafontaine, Fables of, 194
Lady with the Unicorn, 48-51, 52,
264
*49,
Lagrenee, 196
La Marche, 200
Lambeth, Tapestry Works at, 145,
146
Larssen, Carl, 230
Last Judgment, 62, 280, 346
Lauingen, 226, 352
Laurent, Henri, 90, 162, 170
Latona
*357
Lebarbier, 196
Leblond, Etienne, 163
Leblond, Etienne-Claude, 163
Lebrun, Charles, 90, 148, 153, 160,
162, 164, 166, 170, 171, 173,
236, 241, 260, 275
* 165, 167, 169
Lecoq, Hugues, 68
Lefevre, Jean (father and son), 90,
162, 163, 170
Lefevre, Pierre, 162
* 221
Leefdael, 406
Leinster, Duke of, 139
Leipsic, 193
Le Mans, Cathedral of, 64, 72
*75
Lemke, Ph., 190
Lenoncourt, Reverend Robert de,
64, 262
Lenygon, Francis, 152
Leo X, Pope, 8 1 , 84, 90, 92 , 1 09
Leopold, Prince, 138, 140
Leprince, 196
Lerambert, Henri, 154, 344
Leroux, Louise, 70
Le Roy Collection, Martin, 52
*203
Lessing, Julius, 362
Le Viste, House of, 50
Leyniers, Daniel, 21, 24, 152
Leyniers, Everaert, 288
Leyniers, Jan, 288
Lille, 99
428
INDEX
Lisses, The, 248, 250, 252
*25I
Loretto, Cathedral of, 82
London Bridge, Tournament on,
139
Loriquet, Charles, 358
Lorraine, 286, 288. See also Guise,
Charles de
Louis-Philippe sale, 18
Louis XI of France, 60, 86, 100
Louis XIII of France, 223
Louis XIV, The Story of, 168-171,
179, 262, 276, 310
* 169, 263
Louis XIV, Conquests of, 189
Louis XIV of France, 82, 122, 126,
160, 162, 178, 189, 235, 246
* 167
Louis XV of France, 178, 182, 195,
199, 202
Louis XV, The Hunts of, 179, 205,
276
Louis XVI of France, 177, 184, 199
Louis of Luxembourg, Count of
Saint Pol, 60
Louvois, 173
Louvre, Tapestry Works at, 156
Louvre Cabinet of Designs, 94
Louvre Museum, 62, 63, 72, 94, 96,
256, 268, 280, 304, 384
* 257, 269
Loves of the Gods, 22, 180, 194, 195,
246
Lovett, John, 141
Lowengard Collection, 397
Low Warp, 118, 124, 162, 177, 197,
201, 238-254
*247, 249, 251,253
Lucas Van Leyden, 96. See also
Months of Lucas
Luxuria, 142
Lyons Museum, 33, 237, 356
*35
MACVEAGH, HON. WAYNE, 362
Madonna with Attendants, 21
Madrid, 24, 128, 227, 362
Maecht, Philip de, 106, in, 117,
148, 158
Magazines that print tapestry ar-
ticles, 366
Magdalen, 42
Maincourt, Renaud de, 218
Maincy, Tapestry Works at, 160
Male, M. Emile, 67
Man, Story of, 279
•17
Mancini, Marquis, 90
Mander, K. V., 344
Mantegna's Triumphs of Caesar, 84,
114, 115, 118, 125, 217, 256-260
Mantua, 87, 88, 217, 258-260
Mantua, Church of Saint Barbara
at, 88
Mantua, Marchese of, 84
Margaret of Anjou, 56, 340
Margaret of Austria, 80, 81, 99, IO2,
292
Margaret of Parma, 99, 102
Margaret of York, 60, 340
Marie Antoinette, Queen, 184
Marie Leczinska, Queen, 184
Marignan, Battle of, 160
Marigny, Marquis de, 1 80
Marine Divinities, 190
Marks and Signatures, 21, 22, 24,
43, 44, 57, 64, 68, 70, 72, 74, 88,
90, 115, 116, 119, 122, 125, 143,
144, 148, 152, 160, 163, 170,
I9O, 191, 222, 225, 267-273,
284, 288, 306, 322, 336, 344,
352, 413
Marquand sale, 20
Marriage, 390, 392
"183
Marriage of Cana, 311, 312, 404
INDEX
429
Marriage of Mercury and Philology.
See Quedlimburg Rugs
Mars, 160
Mars and Venus, 22
Marsyas
'307
Martin, J. B., 190
Martin V, Pope, 217
Mary of Burgundy, 60, 99, IOO
Mary of Hungary, 99, 102, 306
Mathieu, M., 170
Materials of tapestries, 42, 44, 56,
234, 235, 378, 380, 386, 409,
412
Matignon, Charles- Auguste de, 126,
127
Maximilian, The Emperor, 80, 99,
100, 340. See also Hunts of
Maximilian
Mazarin, Cardinal, 90, 122, 162
Mazarin Inventory, 122-125
Mazarin Tapestry, 32, 63, 234, 280,
284, 336, 378, 380, 383, 384,
386, 400, 412
*369
Meaux, Cathedral of, 190
Medici, 220, 224, 259
Meleager and Atalanta, The Hunts
of, 1 60
Menon, Sieur de, 196, 197, 404
Merche, 242, 243
Mercier, Pierre, 202
Mercury. See Quedlimburg Rugs
Mercury and Herse, 32, 366, 412,
413
* Colour plate no. Ill
Merou, Sieur de, 22, 192, 193
Merry Wives of Windsor, 139
Merton, Tapestry Works at, 127-
138, 266, 339
* 129, 131,133, 135, 137,233
Metamorphoses, 124, 174, 192, 194,
295
Metropolitan Museum, 21, 30, 45,
56, 58, 70, 106, 120, 121, 177,
223, 228, 264, 274, 297, 312,
348, 350, 388-416
*46, 47, 71, 107, 123, 369, 401,
403,410,411, 415, colour plates
nos. II and III
Metropolitan Museum Library, 40,
94, 323, 324, 340, 356
Mexican scrapes, 245
Michael, 34
Michiel, Marc-Antonio, 84, 258
Middlebourg, 99
Mignard, Pierre, 172, 173
*357
Milan, 88
* 29
Military Scenes, 196
Mimata, Canon de, 74
Miracles of the Eucharist. See
Eucharist
Moliere, The Comedies of, 193,
348
Monmerque, Mathieu, 163
Monnoyer, Baptiste, 164
Monsian, 196
Montague, Ralph, 117
Montespan, Madame de, 189
Montezert, Pierre de, 202
Months, The, 118, 146, 176, 220
*2I9, 379, 391
Months of Lucas, 18, 172, 173
Montmorency, Constable, 92
Moorish Tapestries, 297
Morality Plays, 294
Morat, 60, loo
Morris, William, 127-136, 255, 266,
338
Morgan, J. Pierpont, 32, 45, 70, 92,
94, 177, 226, 280, 312, 380, 396,
413, 416
*7i, 369, 403
Morte d'Arthur, 139
430
INDEX
Mortlake, 28, 90, 105-127, 156, 158,
232, 235, 275, 316
* 107, 121, 123
Mortlake mark, 116, 246, 271
Morton, Cardinal, 74
Moscow Museum, 228
Moses, 67, 96, 156, 171, 222, 288,
406, 408, 409
Mozin, Jean-Baptiste, 163
Munich, 226, 268, 352
Munthe, Gerhard, 230
Musee des Arts Decoratifs, 51, 54,
190
* 27, 345
Muses, The, 160. See also Apollo
Museum Guides, 348, 350, 352, 354,
356, 358
NANCY, 100, 288
Nantes, Edict of, 202
Naples Museum, 98, 354
*309
Napoleon, 177, 204
Nassaro, Matteo del, 154
Nassau, Prince of, 173
Natoire, Charles, 179, 194
National Society of Sculpture, 212
Nattier, 184
Navajo blankets, 245
Neilson, Jacques, 30, 163, 174, 177,
1 80, 197
Neptune and Amymone, 22
Netherlands, 99-104, 153, 308
New Testament, 62, 176, 290
New York, 206, 214, 216, 246
New York Museum of Natural His-
tory, 244, 262
New York Public Library, 323
New York, Story of, 216
Newton, Lord, of Lyme, 149
Nicolas V, Pope, 218
Night
*22I
Nimes Tapestries, 198
Noble Pastoral, 195, 348
Normans. See Invasion of Eng-
land by the Normans
Norway, 230, 245, 364
*23I
Notre Dame du Sablon, 77-81, 336
*79
Nottingham, Earl of, 148-151
Nouzou, 21
Nuremberg, 33, 226, 237
Nys, Daniel, 259
ODYSSEY, 124, 295
Oktanton, 76
Old Testament, 156, 176, 290
* 101
Opera Fragments, 179
Oriental kelims, 245
Oriental rugs, 26, 36, 242-244
Oriental Scenes
*H7
Orleans, Henri d'. See Aumale,
Duke d'
Orleans, Philip, Duke of. See
Regent
Orley, Barend Van (Bernard), 84,
96, 172, 292, 308, 340, 354
* 309, 339
Oudenarde, 99, 106, 158, 163, 264
Oudry, Jean Baptiste, 22, 24, 179,
182, 193-195, 197, 205, 318,
348
Ovid. See Metamorphoses, and
Arachne
Outdoor Games, 193
Owen, Sir Cunliffe, 139
PAINTINGS. See Tapestries and
Paintings
Pallas, 296
Pannemaker, Pieter Van, 292
Pannemaker, Willem Van, 98, 284,
292, 308, 412
INDEX
431
Paris, Tapestry Works at, 38, 128,
246. See also the Gobelins
* 155, 331
Paris Mark, 160
Parisot, Peter, 151
Parrocel, Charles, 179
Partridge, Bernard, 138
Passion. See Instruments of the
Passion, 51
Passion of Christ, 20
Passion of Our Lord, 42, 63, 342
Pastoral Scenes, 213
Patrons, Grands and Petits, 256,
260, 301, 302
Pau, 96
Pavia, Battle of, 96, 308, 354
*309
Peasant Tapestries, 230
Pegasus, the Horse, 159
Pembroke, William, First Earl of,
142
Penelope, 295, 296
Penni, Francesco, 304
Pennsylvania Museum of Indus-
trial Art, 322
Penthesilea, 51, 300, 302
Permentiers, Jan, 288
Persian rugs, 48
Peruvian Tapestries, 244
Pescara, Don Avalos de, 98
Peter the Great, 173, 228
*229
Philip, Master, 62
Philip II of Spain, 82, 96, 99, 102,
292
Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy,
44, 68, 99, 100, 244, 340, 388
Philip the Handsome, 81, 86, 99,
1 02, 292
Picardy, 186, 201
Pickering, Sir Gilbert, 114, 260
Piscina Probatica, 358
Pius VII, Pope, 92
Planche, Frangois de la, 105, 106,
157. J59» 160. 162, 166, 223,
328
Planche, Raphael de la, 159
Planken, Frans Van Den. See
Planche
Plato, 34
Plessis-Mace, Chateau du, 72
Pluto and Proserpine, 22
Poldi Pezzoli Museum
* 29
Polidore, Story of, 115
Polovtsoff Sale, 22
Pomona, 136
Pompadour, Madame de, 184
Pope, The, 382
Portieres of the Gods, 174
Portland Family, 76
Portraits in Tapestries, 80, 96, 115,
182, 184, 228, 262, 306
Pettier & Stymus, 216
Poussin, 171
Poyntz, Francus, 115, 116, 146
Poyntz, Thomas, 146
Presburg, 230
Presentation of the Infant Jesus at
the Temple, 36, 338
*37
Preux and Preuses, 51, 297, 298,
300
Prices of Tapestries, 18-24, 38, 39,
40, 84, 92, 93, 109, no, in,
112, 113, 115, 149, 170, 176,
182, 188, 191, 193, 195, 198,
204, 340
Prier, Toussaint, 43, 44
Primaticcio, 154
Procaccini, Andrea, 225, 227
Proserpine, 24
Psyche, 96, 159, 195, 318
QUEDLIMBURG RUGS, 36
432
INDEX
Queen of Sheba before Solomon, 21
Quicherat, M., 62
RAES, JAN, 87
Raphael's Acts of the Apostles, 24,
28, 77, 81-94, IO9> 118-120,
148-151, 156, 172, 174, 190,
252, 256, 260, 275, 286, 288,
290, 316, 350, 358, 360, 412;
Titles of, 90; Morgan photo-
graphs of, 92, 94
*83, 85, 89, 91,93
Rape of Europa, 22
Raphael, 96, 142, 172, 174, 235, 358
Ratisbon Rathaus, 225
Recollet, Pere Luc, 159
Red Sea, Crossing the
* 97, 249
Regent, The, of France, 178, 179
Reichsapfel, 279
Reims, Archbishop of, 177, 358
Reims, Cathedral of, 60, 63, 64, 201,
358
*299
Reims, Church of Saint Remi at, 63,
64, 262
*65
Reims, Toiles Peintes of, 256, 356
Renaissance tapestries, 28, 77-98,
264, 275, 280, 311, 3H-3I6,
368, 374, 407, 409, 412, 413
Rennes, 298
Repairing tapestries, 32 1
*3i9
Restoration of 1660, The, 114
Restout, Jean, 179
Revelation, Gospel of. See Apoca-
lypse and Angers Apocalypse
Reydams, H., 288
Reymbouts, Martin, 290
Ribs of tapestries, 28, 56, 132, 138,
199 colour plate no. IV, 232,
233, 239, 378, 386, 394, 404
Rhinelander, Frederick W., 272, 407,
408
Riviera, Jacopo della, 223
Rivieres, 118, 125, 126
Robb Sale, 52
Rocci, Gasparo, 224
Roche Aymon, Cardinal de la, 177
Roche-Guyon, Chateau de la, 125
Rococo tapestries, 368
Roland, 20, 60, 159
*6i
Rolin, Jean; Rolin, Nicolas, 68, 70
Roman de la Rose, 136
Romanelli, Jean Francois, 223, 224,
306
Rome, 21, 92, 218, 222, 225, 360, 406
Rome, Ancient, 295-297
Romulus and Remus, 94, 306, 402
Ronceray, Abbey of, 70
Roosevelt, Miss Alice, 31
Roost, John, 218, 220
Rosebecke, Battle of, 45
Roumania, 230
Royal Exchange, Queen Elizabeth
Opening, 139
Royal Residences of Louis XIV, 166,
177,205,310
*i67
Royal Residences, Views of the
English, 139
Rubens, Peter Paul, 119, 159, 236,
306
Russian Games, 196
Russian Imperial Carriage Museum,
173,228
Russian Looms, 228, 366, 374
* 229
Rutland, Countess of, 114, 118, 125,
145
Rymer's Foedera, 109
SABINE WOMEN, 407, 408
*4<>5
INDEX
433
Sablon. See Notre Dame du Sablon
Sagan Collection, De, 24
Sages, The, 24. See Angers Apo-
calypse, 41
Saints, Lives of, 279, 294
Saint Anatoile, 267
Saint Antoine, 42
Saint Catherine, 42
Saint-Cloud, Gallery of, 172, 173
Saint Crispin, 156
Saint Crispinian, 156
Saint Denis, 42
Saint Eleuthere, 43-45, 267
Saint Etienne, 63, 66
Saint George, 42 (three times), 220
Saint Gereon fragments, 33, 225,
237, 356
*35
Saint Germain, Faubourg, 159
Saint Gervais, 64, 72
*75
Saint Hugh, 68
Saint John, 41, 292
St. John the Divine, Cathedral of,
223
Saint Joseph, 362
Saint Louis of Toulouse, 51
Saint Luke painting the Virgin and
Child, 62, 268
*257
Saint Marcel, Faubourg, 210
Saint Margaret, 42
Saint Mark, 220
Saint Nicaise, 201
Saint Paul, The Story of, 113
*393
Saint Peter, 218
*363
St. Petersburg, 128, 173, 228, 374
Saint Piat, 43-45, 267
Saint Pol. See Louis of Luxembourg
Saint Protais, 64, 72
*75
Saint Quentin, 63, 66, 67
Saint Remi, 63, 64, 201, 262
*65
Saint Theseus, 42
Sales and sale catalogues, 340, 342,
344, 346
Salins, 267, 336
Sand, George, 50
Samson, 156
Sandwich, 142
Sandwich, Earl of, 1 16 r
San Michele, Hospital, 225, 227
Santa Barbara Tapiestry Works, 227
362
Saracen, 42, 58, 198, 241 - 244,
297
Saragossa, Cathedral of, 63, 300
Saunders, Paul, 152
Scherrebeck, 230
Schickler Collection, 52, 262
Schiller, 138
Schongauer, Marten, 414
Sciences and Arts, 196
Scipio, Story of, 94, 154, 172, 173,
218, 302, 304, 306, 360
*95
Scotland, 267
Screen
*i87
Seaports, 192
Seasons, The, 22, 136, 139, 144, 145,
159, 1 66, 174, 184
*383
Segers, William, 402
Seneca, 34
Senecterre, Jacques de, 67
Serlio, Sebastien, 154
Servia, 230
Seve, M. De, 170
Seven Deadly Sins, Tapestries of
the, 294
Seven Sacraments, 30
Seville, 362
434
INDEX
Shaw, Byam, 136
*I37
Sheba, Queen of, 67, 226
*29
Sheldon, Ralph, 144
Sheldon, William, 142, 143
Shepherds and Shepherdesses, 51,
54
*55
Sibyl, The Tiburtine, 384
Siena, 217
Signatures. See Marks and Signa-
tures
Simonet, Jean, 225
Simpson, Mrs. John W., 223
Sistine Chapel, 82, 92
Sizes of tapestries, 17-24, 34, 38, 44,
45, 48, 56, 64, 67, 70, 72, 77,
119, 125, 170, 177, 184, 224,
275, 276, 279, 308, 396
Sleath, 136
Slot, Gerard, 218
Socrates, 34, 196
Soho, 152
Soissons, Capture of, 60
Soissons, Cathedral of, 72
Solebay, Battle of, 1 16
Solomon, 67, 136, 226, 398
* 29
Somzee Sale, 20
Souef, 192
Sonet, Jean, 163
South Kensington Museum. See
Victoria and Albert
Southwold. See Solebay
Spain, 362, 366
Spain, King of, 160, 177, 228
Spanish Collection, Royal, 63, 82,
88, 94-96, 159, 190, 227, 275,
284, 286, 308, 332, 412
* 95, 307, 372, 373, 377, 381, 387,
393, 405
Spanish Looms, 227
Speculum Humanae Salvationis, 67
Spicre, Pierre, 70
Stage Scenes, 179
Stanmore Hall, 136
Stockholm, 230
Stoetkens, Beatrix, 78
Stokes, Mrs. Adrian, 138
Strecken, 406
Straaten, Jan Van, 222
Stuyvesant, Peter, 216
Sujets de la Fable, 172
Sumner, Heywood, 138
Superbia, 142
Susannah and the Elders, 20
Sweden, 230, 318
Swedish Collection, Royal, 120, 148,
190, 195, 228, 332, 334
* 121, 335
Swiss, 60
TAPESTRIES AND PAINTINGS, 26, 276,
Tapissiers sarrazinois, 241-244
Tarragona, Cathedral of, 366
Tasso's Jesusalem Delivered, 21,
225, 406
*277
Tatler, 146
Taxis, Francis de, 78, 81, 262
Taxis, Jean-Baptiste de, 81
Telemachus, 190, 296
*343
Temple of Venus, 22
Teniers, 22, 236
* 337, 36i
Terlon, 122
Tessier, 182, 184
Testelin, M., 170
Texture of Tapestries, 26, 81, 82,
86, 132, 138, 232-254, 376, 378,
394
Theagenet and Charides, 159
INDEX
435
Theseus, 179
Thomson, Mrs. Archibald, 406
Titans, Combat of, 218
Titus, the Roman Emperor, 58, 346,
402, 414
Tobias, 22
*287
Torental, 230
Toudouze, Edouard, 298
Toulouse, Count of, 189, 190
Tournai, 99, 267
Tournai, Cathedral of, 43, 44
Tracey, Sir John, 144
Trespassement de Notre Dame, 42
Trinite, Hopital de la, 154, 156
Trinity, 42, 279
Triptych Tapestries, 63
* 269, 369, 370, 371
Triulce Months, 222
Triumph of Christ, 20, 32, 62, 280,
300, 380, 382, 384
* 369, 370
Triumph of Cupid, 396, 398, 400
* 375, 395
Triumph of David, 21
Triumph of Fame, 20
*365
Triumph of Gluttony, 20
*359
Triumphs of the Gods, 172, 174
Triumph of Time, 396, 398
*395
Triumph of the Virgin, 20, 63, 268,
384
* 269, 372
Triumphal Car, 160
Trojan War, 58, 256, 301, 302, 364,
366
*59
Trondhjem, 230
Troy, Jean-Frangois de, 179, 284
Truth, Blindfolding of, 136
Tunis, Conquest of, 98, 160, 227,
274, 276, 306, 308
Turkish Costumes, 180
Turkish Embassy, 179
ULYSSES, 296
Unicorn. See Lady with Unicorn,
48-51 ; Hunting the Unicorn, 52
*49
Union Centrale Tapestry Exposi-
tion 1882, 36, 125, 338
Urban VIII, Pope, 222, 223
VALAvis, M., 159
Valentinois, Duchess of, 199
Vandalism, 15, 16, 40, 56
Vanderbank, John, 146, 148
Vanderbank, Moses, 148
Vanderbilt, C., 140
Vandergoten, Jacques, 24, 227
Vandermeulen, Adam Frangois, 164
Vanloo, Amedee, 180
Vanloo, Carle, 179
Vanloo, Louis Michel, 182
Vasari, 86
Vatican, 77, 88, 90, 92, 94, 290, 358,
362
Vatican, Chambers of, 172
Vaucanson, 197
Vauxcelles, Peace of, 96
Vaux-le-Vicomte, 160
Venice, 217, 259
Venus, Passing of, 136
Venus, The Temple of, 193
Verdures, 48, 199,264,266. See also
Gothic Verdures with Personages
Verdures, Oudry's, 194
Vermeyen, Jean, 98, 306, 308
Vermoulen, Louis, 106, in
Vernansal, 190, 192
Verrio, 114
Versailles Museum, 166
Verteuil, Chateau de, 52
436
INDEX
Vertumnus and Pomona, 94, 195,
306, 340
* Colour plate no. I, 181
Vices and Virtues, 62, 280
Victoria, Queen, 139
Victoria and Albert Museum, 18, 33,
56, 58, 77, 108, 118, 126, 136,
139, 149, 226, 237, 252, 256,
324, 326, 328, 364, 380
* 59, 325
Vigevano, 222
Village Marriage, 188
Vincent, Francois Andr6, 184
Virgin, The, 42, 63, 201, 220, 292,
346. See Trespassement de
Notre Dame, 42; Saint Luke
Painting the Virgin, 62; Notre
Dame du Sablon, 77-81
Virgin at Beaune, The, 63, 68, 263
*69
Virgin at Reims, The, 33, 63, 66, 67,
358
*26i, 289
Vos, Judocus De, 308
Vouet, Simon, 156
Vulcan and Venus, 22, 96, 106, no,
114, 118, 120-127, 145, 146, 180
* 107, 123
WALES, PRINCE OF, 106, 115
Walk in the Country, 51
Wallace, Sir Richard, 139
Wardle, T., 130, 132, 136
Warwickshire, Map of, 143
Wauters, M., 306
Weaving, The Process of, 238-241,
245-254, 362
*233, 247, 249, 251,253
Westminster, Duke of, 139
Weston, 142
Weyden, Rogier Van Der, 62, 268,
340
*257
White Sale, 21, 346
Whitehall, 146
Widener, P. A. B., 213
Williamsbridge, Tapestry Works at,
128, 200, 206-214, 246-254
Windsor Castle, 146, 352, 354
Windsor Tapestry Works, Royal,
128, 138-141, 206
Winter
* 209
Wolsey, Cardinal, 350
Wood, D. T. B., 280, 294
Wood Cutters, 54
*345
XERXES. See Ahasuerus
YALE, ELIHU, 146
Yerkes Sale, 22, 346
York, Duke of, 116
York Philosophical Society, Mu-
seum of, 144
Yvart, M., 164, 170
ZAMORA, CATHEDRAL OF, 256, 302
Zedlitz, Mrs. Von, 106, 122, 126, 416
Zeunen, I. Van, 290
Ziesch, W. & Co., 226, 227
Zodiac, Signs of, 144, 398
INDEX OF BIBLIOGRAPHY
Critical descriptions of the more important books will be found in
chapter XV, on pages 323-366, as referred to below.
ALBA SALE 1877, 62, 63, 340, 342
Anderson Mortlake, 328
Angers Apocalypse, 354, 356
Art Journal, 139, 142, 144, 152,366
Archives Nationales, 243
Astier Scipio, 302, 304, 306, 358, 360
BADIN BEAUVAIS, 190, 191, 194, 330,
332
Belgium 1880, 62, 334, 336, 408
Bruges 1907, 338, 340
Brussels 1905, 334, 336, 338
Belvoir Manuscripts, 114
Birk Austrian, 288, 290, 332
Boettiger Swedish, 116, 122, 189,
191, 195, 228, 332
Britain Manuscripts, 114, 116
Burlington Magazine, 280, 294, 312,
350, 386
CAL VERT'S ESCORIAL, 227
Calvert's Goya, 228
Champeaux Decoratifs, 350
Champeaux Tapestry, 360
Charles I Inventory, 286, 348
Christie, 362
Cole South Kensington, 350
Connoisseur, 148
Cox Lyons, 356
DECORATIFS 1882, 334, 338
Destree Cinquantenaire, 356
Dollfus Sale 1912, 342
EUROPEAN MAGAZINE, 108
FARCY ANGERS, 354
Fenaille Gobelins, 173, 330
Florence Tapestries, 352, 354
Forma Spanish, 366
GAZETTE DBS BEAUX- ARTS, 126, 366
Gentili Arazzi, 360, 362
Gerspach's Tapisseries des Gobelins,
246
Goya Tapices, 227, 362
Grosch Norwegian, 364
Guichard French, 118, 332, 334, 397
Guiffrey Bibliography, 323
Guiffrey Generale, 324
Guiffrey Gobelins, 330, 332
Guiffrey Histoire, 326, 328, 330, 344
Guiffrey, Seizieme, 51, 54, 68, 74,
262, 330
HAMILTON SALE 1882, 340, 342
Hampe Nuremberg, 350, 352
Hampton Court Catalogue, 350, 352
Harleian Manuscripts, 1 13, 348
Hoentschel Collections, 364
Hooper, 362
INTERNATIONAL STUDIO, 350
JUBINAL TAPISSERIES, 58, 74, 301,
326
437
438
INDEX
KANN COLLECTION 1907, 193, 195,
348
Kristeller's Mantegna, 258
LAKING WINDSOR, 352, 354
L'Art, 126
Law Hampton Court, 350
Le Roy Collection, 346, 348
Lessing Wandteppiche, 362, 364
Louis XIV Inventory, 118, 156, 166,
1 88, 348
MACKAIL'S WILLIAM MORRIS, 130
Macomber Bibilography, 324
Manuscripts in Bibliotheque Na-
tionale, 243, 297
Mazarin Inventory, 348
Migeon, 326
Muentz, 90, 326, 328, 330
Muentz Generale, 324
Muentz Vatican, 119
Munich Guide, 350, 352
Munich Neubau, 350, 352
NAPLES MUSEUM, 352, 354
Newton Mortlake, 328
PARIS 1900, 338
Pinchart Generale, 244
RAPHAEL VATICAN, 358, 360
Reims Peintes, 256, 346, 358, 414
Reims Tapisseries, 358
Reinach's Repertoire de Peintures,
402
Robb Sale 1912
Rossi Arazzo, 225, 360
SAN DONATO SALE 1880, 344
Savary's Dictionnaire du Com-
merce, 20 1
Schumann Trojan, 301, 364, 365
Siret's Dictionnaire, 126
Sommerard Cluny, 350, 352
Somzee Sale 1901, 223, 340, 342
South Kensington Bibliography, 324
Spiliotti Russian, 228, 366
Spitzer Sale 1903, 340, 342
Spitzer Collection 1890, 77, 346, 348
Suzanne Sale 1910, 344
THOMSON, 56, 108, 113, 115, 326,
348, 4H
VALENCIA SPANISH, 290, 304, 332,
384
Voltaire, 127
WHITE SALE 1907, 406
Williams Spain, 362
YERKES SALE 1910, 346
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