Online-Katalog
Auktion 24. Juni 2020 - Internationale Kunst bis 1900 Provenienz
Unternehmenssammlung, Schweiz
Vergleichsliteratur
Guy Delmarcel, Tapisseries anciennes d'Enghien, Mons, 1980, passim.
Nello Forti Grazzini, Arazzi del Cinquecento a Como, Como, 1986, S. 88-92.
Simon Franses, European Tapestries 1450-1750, A Catalogue of Recent Acquisitions, London, 1986, S. 14-17.
Pilar Bosqued Lacambra, Flora y vegetacion en los tapices de La Seo, Zaragoza, 1989.
Adolfo S. Cavallo, Medieval Tapestries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1993, S. 503.
Candace J. Adelson, European Tapestry in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, New York und Minneapolis, 1994, S. 106.
Inna Dufour Nannelli, Storie di arazzi e di fiori, Mailand, 1997.
Paolo Peri (Hrsg.), L'arazzo "millefiori" di Pistoia, Pistoia, 2002.
This tapestry was surely surrounded by woven borders with a specific design, but these are now unfortunately lost . According to the disposition and the design of the plants, we may deduce that the weaving of this remaining central part is complete in its width, but that it has lost material in the upper and lower parts. Some repair is visible on the lower right border. The general pattern may have been originally repeated on both sides of the tapestry, as it appears on examples discussed below.
The entire surface of the weaving is covered with vivid flower plants. They consist of more than twenty different species, each of them represented in full length with leaves, stem and flower, but interlocked in such manner that there is almost nothing left for a background, appearing in dark blue on a few spots. A rosebush stays in the middle of the composition; on its left, a white iris; on the right, a maize plant (introduced from America to Europe in 1492); above the maize, a winter cherry (physalis). Some birds, a rabbit and a chicken walk through this botanic garden.(Figs. 1-3)
By lack of borders with specific design, that may have contained marks of city and/or manufacture, a firm attribution to a weaving centre and a year is not possible. However, by comparison with similar pieces, we can state that this tapestry must have been woven in the Southern Netherlands, very probably in Brussels or in Enghien , in the period between ca. 1520 and 1550.
Floral design as background for protagonists or armorials started in the 15th century. The best known example is the Armorial of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, woven in Brussels in 1466, now in the Historisches Museum Basel. On a dark blue background, plants and flowers are rendered with accuracy, but clearly separated from each other (Fig.4 , detail) . This system , later called “millefleurs” , survives until the first quarter of the 16th century, mainly in pastoral scenes. Around 1520, the flora became rendered with ever greater density, and the background tended to disappear, as in the Virgin and Saints on the choir tapestries in Xanten (Stiftskirche and Museum), dated 1520 (Fig. 5 ; 170 x 520 cm) .
The next stage is given on the tapestry here discussed. The plants are now rendered with more volume and detail , but still organized in vertical lines at near view. A rosebush stays more or less in the middle of the pattern, and other plants are grouped around it; most visible are the flowering irises. An extremely large and well preserved example of such “millefleurs” verdure, now at the San Zeno cathedral of Pistoia, may provide an idea of the original look of the here discussed piece (Fig. 6; 270 x 790 cm). The rosebush is repeated three times, and it is surrounded in the centre by a unicorn (Fig. 7) and other animals that may have had a symbolic meaning: the rosebush and the unicorn are attributes of the Virgin Mary in late medieval devotion. It has almost surely been woven in Brussels in the period 1510-1530, considering the border type. This symbolism, repeated in a Bruges tapestry of around 1530, now in the Minneapolis Institute of Art,. (Fig. 8), cannot be found in the here discussed piece.
Very related to the here discussed weaving ,by the design and the disposition of the flora, is a large Verdure, that was offered in 1986 on the London art market, now in private collection (Figs. 9 and 10 ; 208 x 410 cm) . The borders point to a later Brussels weaving of 1530-1540 , with the flora entwined and attached to a kind of palm tree trunk, as used for famous Brussels series from those years such as the Maximilian Hunts (Louvre) and the Battle of Pavia (Naples, Capodimonte).
An isolated example without borders is kept at the Metropolitan Museum in New York ( Fig. 11, 263 x 286 cm). It has been attributed to the Southern Netherlands , 1500-1530.
A weaving in Brussels is therefore highly probable, but not exclusive. Several quite related Verdures from the same period bear the city mark of Enghien, a production centre some 40 kms south-west from Brussels. The quality of weaving and of design of these pieces is very high. The local manufacturers apparently worked often as sub-contractors for the more renowned Brussels producers. Models and cartoons were often exchanged , according to the availability of the looms. Some existing pieces from Enghien may be compared to the here discussed tapestry, as two of them in the episcopal palace in Como (Fig.12 ; 220 x 335 cm) and one on the art market in 1993 (Fig. 13). These tapestries are mostly dated around 1550.
However, almost all the above mentioned examples have a height of maximum 220 cm : the here analysed tapestry is an exceptionally high and wide piece, which makes it highly valuable as a textile work of art.
Art Historical Report, Guy Delmarcel, Professor Emeritus der Kunstgeschichte, Universität Leuven, Belgien
Der angebotene Wandteppich ist ein außergewöhnlich hohes und breites Stück, was ihn als textiles Kunstwerk sehr wertvoll macht
The entire surface of the weaving is covered with vivid flower plants. They consist of more than twenty different species, each of them represented in full length with leaves, stem and flower, but interlocked in such manner that there is almost nothing left for a background, appearing in dark blue on a few spots. A rosebush stays in the middle of the composition; on its left, a white iris; on the right, a maize plant (introduced from America to Europe in 1492); above the maize, a winter cherry (physalis). Some birds, a rabbit and a chicken walk through this botanic garden.(Figs. 1-3)
By lack of borders with specific design, that may have contained marks of city and/or manufacture, a firm attribution to a weaving centre and a year is not possible. However, by comparison with similar pieces, we can state that this tapestry must have been woven in the Southern Netherlands, very probably in Brussels or in Enghien , in the period between ca. 1520 and 1550.
Floral design as background for protagonists or armorials started in the 15th century. The best known example is the Armorial of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, woven in Brussels in 1466, now in the Historisches Museum Basel. On a dark blue background, plants and flowers are rendered with accuracy, but clearly separated from each other (Fig.4 , detail) . This system , later called “millefleurs” , survives until the first quarter of the 16th century, mainly in pastoral scenes. Around 1520, the flora became rendered with ever greater density, and the background tended to disappear, as in the Virgin and Saints on the choir tapestries in Xanten (Stiftskirche and Museum), dated 1520 (Fig. 5 ; 170 x 520 cm) .
The next stage is given on the tapestry here discussed. The plants are now rendered with more volume and detail , but still organized in vertical lines at near view. A rosebush stays more or less in the middle of the pattern, and other plants are grouped around it; most visible are the flowering irises. An extremely large and well preserved example of such “millefleurs” verdure, now at the San Zeno cathedral of Pistoia, may provide an idea of the original look of the here discussed piece (Fig. 6; 270 x 790 cm). The rosebush is repeated three times, and it is surrounded in the centre by a unicorn (Fig. 7) and other animals that may have had a symbolic meaning: the rosebush and the unicorn are attributes of the Virgin Mary in late medieval devotion. It has almost surely been woven in Brussels in the period 1510-1530, considering the border type. This symbolism, repeated in a Bruges tapestry of around 1530, now in the Minneapolis Institute of Art,. (Fig. 8), cannot be found in the here discussed piece.
Very related to the here discussed weaving ,by the design and the disposition of the flora, is a large Verdure, that was offered in 1986 on the London art market, now in private collection (Figs. 9 and 10 ; 208 x 410 cm) . The borders point to a later Brussels weaving of 1530-1540 , with the flora entwined and attached to a kind of palm tree trunk, as used for famous Brussels series from those years such as the Maximilian Hunts (Louvre) and the Battle of Pavia (Naples, Capodimonte).
An isolated example without borders is kept at the Metropolitan Museum in New York ( Fig. 11, 263 x 286 cm). It has been attributed to the Southern Netherlands , 1500-1530.
A weaving in Brussels is therefore highly probable, but not exclusive. Several quite related Verdures from the same period bear the city mark of Enghien, a production centre some 40 kms south-west from Brussels. The quality of weaving and of design of these pieces is very high. The local manufacturers apparently worked often as sub-contractors for the more renowned Brussels producers. Models and cartoons were often exchanged , according to the availability of the looms. Some existing pieces from Enghien may be compared to the here discussed tapestry, as two of them in the episcopal palace in Como (Fig.12 ; 220 x 335 cm) and one on the art market in 1993 (Fig. 13). These tapestries are mostly dated around 1550.
However, almost all the above mentioned examples have a height of maximum 220 cm : the here analysed tapestry is an exceptionally high and wide piece, which makes it highly valuable as a textile work of art.
Art Historical Report, Guy Delmarcel, Professor Emeritus der Kunstgeschichte, Universität Leuven, Belgien
Der angebotene Wandteppich ist ein außergewöhnlich hohes und breites Stück, was ihn als textiles Kunstwerk sehr wertvoll macht
Online-Katalog Auktion 24. Juni 2020 - Internationale Kunst bis 1900 Los 21 Südliche Niederlande 16. Jh., Brüssel oder Edingen
Millefleurs-Tapisserie, Ziergrün von blühenden Pflanzen und Rosenbusch, wohl um 1520/50
Wolle
317 x 418 cm
*CHF 15'000 – 20'000
Verkauft für*CHF 100'807
Provenienz
Unternehmenssammlung, Schweiz
Vergleichsliteratur
Guy Delmarcel, Tapisseries anciennes d'Enghien, Mons, 1980, passim.
Nello Forti Grazzini, Arazzi del Cinquecento a Como, Como, 1986, S. 88-92.
Simon Franses, European Tapestries 1450-1750, A Catalogue of Recent Acquisitions, London, 1986, S. 14-17.
Pilar Bosqued Lacambra, Flora y vegetacion en los tapices de La Seo, Zaragoza, 1989.
Adolfo S. Cavallo, Medieval Tapestries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1993, S. 503.
Candace J. Adelson, European Tapestry in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, New York und Minneapolis, 1994, S. 106.
Inna Dufour Nannelli, Storie di arazzi e di fiori, Mailand, 1997.
Paolo Peri (Hrsg.), L'arazzo "millefiori" di Pistoia, Pistoia, 2002.
This tapestry was surely surrounded by woven borders with a specific design, but these are now unfortunately lost . According to the disposition and the design of the plants, we may deduce that the weaving of this remaining central part is complete in its width, but that it has lost material in the upper and lower parts. Some repair is visible on the lower right border. The general pattern may have been originally repeated on both sides of the tapestry, as it appears on examples discussed below.
The entire surface of the weaving is covered with vivid flower plants. They consist of more than twenty different species, each of them represented in full length with leaves, stem and flower, but interlocked in such manner that there is almost nothing left for a background, appearing in dark blue on a few spots. A rosebush stays in the middle of the composition; on its left, a white iris; on the right, a maize plant (introduced from America to Europe in 1492); above the maize, a winter cherry (physalis). Some birds, a rabbit and a chicken walk through this botanic garden.(Figs. 1-3)
By lack of borders with specific design, that may have contained marks of city and/or manufacture, a firm attribution to a weaving centre and a year is not possible. However, by comparison with similar pieces, we can state that this tapestry must have been woven in the Southern Netherlands, very probably in Brussels or in Enghien , in the period between ca. 1520 and 1550.
Floral design as background for protagonists or armorials started in the 15th century. The best known example is the Armorial of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, woven in Brussels in 1466, now in the Historisches Museum Basel. On a dark blue background, plants and flowers are rendered with accuracy, but clearly separated from each other (Fig.4 , detail) . This system , later called “millefleurs” , survives until the first quarter of the 16th century, mainly in pastoral scenes. Around 1520, the flora became rendered with ever greater density, and the background tended to disappear, as in the Virgin and Saints on the choir tapestries in Xanten (Stiftskirche and Museum), dated 1520 (Fig. 5 ; 170 x 520 cm) .
The next stage is given on the tapestry here discussed. The plants are now rendered with more volume and detail , but still organized in vertical lines at near view. A rosebush stays more or less in the middle of the pattern, and other plants are grouped around it; most visible are the flowering irises. An extremely large and well preserved example of such “millefleurs” verdure, now at the San Zeno cathedral of Pistoia, may provide an idea of the original look of the here discussed piece (Fig. 6; 270 x 790 cm). The rosebush is repeated three times, and it is surrounded in the centre by a unicorn (Fig. 7) and other animals that may have had a symbolic meaning: the rosebush and the unicorn are attributes of the Virgin Mary in late medieval devotion. It has almost surely been woven in Brussels in the period 1510-1530, considering the border type. This symbolism, repeated in a Bruges tapestry of around 1530, now in the Minneapolis Institute of Art,. (Fig. 8), cannot be found in the here discussed piece.
Very related to the here discussed weaving ,by the design and the disposition of the flora, is a large Verdure, that was offered in 1986 on the London art market, now in private collection (Figs. 9 and 10 ; 208 x 410 cm) . The borders point to a later Brussels weaving of 1530-1540 , with the flora entwined and attached to a kind of palm tree trunk, as used for famous Brussels series from those years such as the Maximilian Hunts (Louvre) and the Battle of Pavia (Naples, Capodimonte).
An isolated example without borders is kept at the Metropolitan Museum in New York ( Fig. 11, 263 x 286 cm). It has been attributed to the Southern Netherlands , 1500-1530.
A weaving in Brussels is therefore highly probable, but not exclusive. Several quite related Verdures from the same period bear the city mark of Enghien, a production centre some 40 kms south-west from Brussels. The quality of weaving and of design of these pieces is very high. The local manufacturers apparently worked often as sub-contractors for the more renowned Brussels producers. Models and cartoons were often exchanged , according to the availability of the looms. Some existing pieces from Enghien may be compared to the here discussed tapestry, as two of them in the episcopal palace in Como (Fig.12 ; 220 x 335 cm) and one on the art market in 1993 (Fig. 13). These tapestries are mostly dated around 1550.
However, almost all the above mentioned examples have a height of maximum 220 cm : the here analysed tapestry is an exceptionally high and wide piece, which makes it highly valuable as a textile work of art.
Art Historical Report, Guy Delmarcel, Professor Emeritus der Kunstgeschichte, Universität Leuven, Belgien
Der angebotene Wandteppich ist ein außergewöhnlich hohes und breites Stück, was ihn als textiles Kunstwerk sehr wertvoll macht
The entire surface of the weaving is covered with vivid flower plants. They consist of more than twenty different species, each of them represented in full length with leaves, stem and flower, but interlocked in such manner that there is almost nothing left for a background, appearing in dark blue on a few spots. A rosebush stays in the middle of the composition; on its left, a white iris; on the right, a maize plant (introduced from America to Europe in 1492); above the maize, a winter cherry (physalis). Some birds, a rabbit and a chicken walk through this botanic garden.(Figs. 1-3)
By lack of borders with specific design, that may have contained marks of city and/or manufacture, a firm attribution to a weaving centre and a year is not possible. However, by comparison with similar pieces, we can state that this tapestry must have been woven in the Southern Netherlands, very probably in Brussels or in Enghien , in the period between ca. 1520 and 1550.
Floral design as background for protagonists or armorials started in the 15th century. The best known example is the Armorial of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, woven in Brussels in 1466, now in the Historisches Museum Basel. On a dark blue background, plants and flowers are rendered with accuracy, but clearly separated from each other (Fig.4 , detail) . This system , later called “millefleurs” , survives until the first quarter of the 16th century, mainly in pastoral scenes. Around 1520, the flora became rendered with ever greater density, and the background tended to disappear, as in the Virgin and Saints on the choir tapestries in Xanten (Stiftskirche and Museum), dated 1520 (Fig. 5 ; 170 x 520 cm) .
The next stage is given on the tapestry here discussed. The plants are now rendered with more volume and detail , but still organized in vertical lines at near view. A rosebush stays more or less in the middle of the pattern, and other plants are grouped around it; most visible are the flowering irises. An extremely large and well preserved example of such “millefleurs” verdure, now at the San Zeno cathedral of Pistoia, may provide an idea of the original look of the here discussed piece (Fig. 6; 270 x 790 cm). The rosebush is repeated three times, and it is surrounded in the centre by a unicorn (Fig. 7) and other animals that may have had a symbolic meaning: the rosebush and the unicorn are attributes of the Virgin Mary in late medieval devotion. It has almost surely been woven in Brussels in the period 1510-1530, considering the border type. This symbolism, repeated in a Bruges tapestry of around 1530, now in the Minneapolis Institute of Art,. (Fig. 8), cannot be found in the here discussed piece.
Very related to the here discussed weaving ,by the design and the disposition of the flora, is a large Verdure, that was offered in 1986 on the London art market, now in private collection (Figs. 9 and 10 ; 208 x 410 cm) . The borders point to a later Brussels weaving of 1530-1540 , with the flora entwined and attached to a kind of palm tree trunk, as used for famous Brussels series from those years such as the Maximilian Hunts (Louvre) and the Battle of Pavia (Naples, Capodimonte).
An isolated example without borders is kept at the Metropolitan Museum in New York ( Fig. 11, 263 x 286 cm). It has been attributed to the Southern Netherlands , 1500-1530.
A weaving in Brussels is therefore highly probable, but not exclusive. Several quite related Verdures from the same period bear the city mark of Enghien, a production centre some 40 kms south-west from Brussels. The quality of weaving and of design of these pieces is very high. The local manufacturers apparently worked often as sub-contractors for the more renowned Brussels producers. Models and cartoons were often exchanged , according to the availability of the looms. Some existing pieces from Enghien may be compared to the here discussed tapestry, as two of them in the episcopal palace in Como (Fig.12 ; 220 x 335 cm) and one on the art market in 1993 (Fig. 13). These tapestries are mostly dated around 1550.
However, almost all the above mentioned examples have a height of maximum 220 cm : the here analysed tapestry is an exceptionally high and wide piece, which makes it highly valuable as a textile work of art.
Art Historical Report, Guy Delmarcel, Professor Emeritus der Kunstgeschichte, Universität Leuven, Belgien
Der angebotene Wandteppich ist ein außergewöhnlich hohes und breites Stück, was ihn als textiles Kunstwerk sehr wertvoll macht