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18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

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Period: 18th Century and Earlier
Antique Signed French Jean-Baptiste Deshays Pictorial Tapestry - Rug & Kilim
Located in Long Island City, NY
Made with handwoven wool, this 12x18 antique French Beauvais tapestry represents an iconic museum-quality addition to Rug & Kilim's Tapestry Collection—an extremely collectible and r...
Category

French Aubusson Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Gorgeous Antique Large 17th century Aubusson Tapestry historical battle scene
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Very beautiful and rare 17th century French Aubusson tapestry with a nice design in style of Louis XVI, featuring a historical battle probably from Alexander or a Roman battle, conqu...
Category

French Aubusson Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Silk, Wool

Beautiful Antique 18th Century Aubusson Tapestry
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Very beautiful 18th century French Aubusson tapestry with beautiful design and beautiful with red, blue and green, entirely handwoven at Aubusson manufacturing with wool and silk wov...
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French Aubusson Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Late 16th Century Flemish Historical Tapestry, with the Roman General Scipio
Located in New York, NY
A Flemish tapestry from the late 16th century, with the renowned Roman general, Scipio at left, after having conquered Carthage in the Battle of Zama, en...
Category

European Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool, Silk

Late 16th Century Brussels Historical Tapestry with the Roman General Scipio
Located in New York, NY
A Brussels historical tapestry, attributed to Martin Reymbouts, late 16th century. From the story of Scipio series, the renowned Roman general, a royal c...
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Belgian Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Late 16th Century Brussels Historical Tapestry, with Famed Roman General Scipio
Located in New York, NY
A Brussels historical tapestry, attributed to Martin Reymbouts, late 16th century. From the Story of Scipio series, the renowned Roman general, victorious after the Punic War, with k...
Category

Belgian Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Late 17th Century Flemish Mythological Tapestry
Located in New York, NY
A Flemish (possibly Antwerp) mythological tapestry from the “Story of Achilles” series, woven in the second half of the 17th century, envisioning a scene in which Achilles’ mother, T...
Category

European Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Antique 18th Century French Landscape Verdure Tapestry, with Birds in the Woods
Located in New York, NY
An antique 18th century French Beauvais landscape verdure tapestry, size 12'1 H x 10'1 W. This tapestry features a group of birds in a verdant woodland setting near a bridge, with th...
Category

Belgian Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool, Silk

French Antique Aubusson Rug, with Medallion and Floral Pattern
Located in Long Island City, NY
Handwoven in wool, this 12x14 French Antique Aubusson rug features a play of medallion and all over style with floral patterns particularly acanthus motifs, the curvaceous garlands i...
Category

French Aubusson Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Antique French Aubusson Tapestry in Beige and Blue Pictorial rug by Rug & Kilim
Located in Long Island City, NY
An antique 10x10 pictorial tapestry from France, handwoven in wool circa 1650-1660. This flat weave is a new addition to the most collectible European curations by Rug & Kilim. Fur...
Category

French Aubusson Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Late 17th Century Franco-Flemish Rustic Tapestry
Located in New York, NY
A Franco-Flemish rustic tapestry, possibly Lille or Aubusson, from the late 17th century, featuring a rustic scene with a group of people singing and playing music in a verdant setti...
Category

European Rustic Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool, Silk

17th Century French Aubusson Mythological Tapestry
Located in New York, NY
A French Aubusson mythological tapestry from the 17th century, depicting the Spartan king, Menelaus, seated at left, sending his brother...
Category

French Aubusson Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Late 17th Century French Aubusson Mythological Tapestry, with Pan and Syrinx
Located in New York, NY
A French Aubusson mythological tapestry from the late 17th century. This tapestry describes the myth of Pan and Syrinx after Ovide’s Metamorphoses. The God Pan pursues the nymph of t...
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French Aubusson Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

17th Century Brussels Mythological Tapestry Persephone from the History of Ceres
Located in New York, NY
A Baroque Brussels tapestry from the 17th century, signed by Marcus de Vos, depicting Proserpine (Persephone) reaching for a pomegranate and on the right side a dragon, probably from...
Category

Belgian Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

17th Century Brussels Historical Tapestry, the Marriage of Suleiman & Emmanuel
Located in New York, NY
A Brussels historical tapestry from the 17th century, depicting a scene from the epic of the legendary Mongol conqueror, Tamerlaine, victor over the Turkish Sultan...
Category

Belgian Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Oversized Antique French Savonnerie Rug with Floral Patterns
Located in Long Island City, NY
This 19x19 antique Aubusson rug is an exciting new addition to Rug & Kilim’s European rug collection—a masterpiece of the French Neoclassical flatweave style, handwoven in wool and o...
Category

French Kilim Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

17th Century Brussels Mythological Tapestry
Located in New York, NY
A Brussels mythological tapestry from the first half of the 17th century, woven by Peter van den Berghen, depicting an interior scene from the st...
Category

Belgian Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Antique Flemish Verdure Pictorial Tapestry in Blue and Cream Tones - Rug & Kilim
Located in Long Island City, NY
Handwoven in wool, this 8x10 Flemish Verdure tapestry from the late 17th Century is a rare and special new curation from Rug & Kilim—featuring a particularly popular aesthetic with l...
Category

Belgian Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

17th Century French Aubusson Verdure Tapestry
Located in New York, NY
A French Aubusson verdure landscape tapestry from the 17th century, featuring a paradisiacal vision of a remote cottage with a beautiful waterfall placed within a lush lakeside setti...
Category

French Aubusson Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

17th Century Antique Flemish Verdure Tapestry w/ Trees & bird
Located in New York, NY
An antique 17th century Flemish Verdure Landscape Tapestry An antique 17th century Flemish verdure landscape tapestry, size: 7.4 H x 4.9 W. This fine handwoven European wall hanging...
Category

Belgian Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool, Silk

Louis XIV Style Antique French Aubusson Verdure Tapestry, Venus and Adonis
By Francesco Albani, Gobelins Royal Manufactory, Peter Paul Rubens
Located in Dallas, TX
Louis XIV Style Antique French Aubusson Verdure Tapestry, Venus and Adonis Wall Hanging 13'09 x 09'05. Drawing inspiration by Italian Baroque painter, Francesco Albani...
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French Aubusson Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool, Silk

Pretty antique 17th century French Aubusson Tapestry fragment
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
"Exquisite fragment of a border of a French Aubusson tapestry from the middle of the 17th century, featuring a beautiful design of flowers and nice natural colours, entirely hand wov...
Category

French Aubusson Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool, Silk

17th Century Flemish Historical Tapestry with the Roman General Coriolanus
Located in New York, NY
An antique 17th century Flemish historical tapestry, size 7' H x 11' W, depicting the Roman general Coriolanus, enthroned at left, with his domineering m...
Category

Belgian Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Bobyrug’s Antique European 17th Century Embroidery Fragment
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Very beautiful and rare antique embroidery probably french, from the 17th century, with floral design and nice natural colors, embroidered with wool, Sizes including the frame : 45...
Category

European Aubusson Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Antique 17th Century Flemish Historical Tapestry, Featuring Dido and Aeneas
Located in New York, NY
A French Aubusson historical tapestry from the late 17th century, depicting Aeneas relating his adventures to Dido, from 'The Story of Dido and Aeneas'...
Category

Belgian Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool, Silk

Antique 17th Century Flemish Mythological Tapestry, with the Courtship of Apollo
Located in New York, NY
An antique 17th century Flemish mythological tapestry, size 9'1 H x 12'8 W, envisioning The Courtship of Apollo, with the Greek deity Apollo at left with his lyre and laurel garland,...
Category

Belgian Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool, Silk

17th Century Needlework Armorial Table Carpet
Located in Canterbury, GB
A RARE HERALDIC TABLE CARPET 17TH CENTURY Circa 1650 Probably Netherlands Entirely hand worked in gross and petit point silk and wool needlework. Central oval petit point cartou...
Category

Dutch Baroque Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool, Silk

Oversized Antique Axminster Rug in Camel with Floral Patterns - Rug & Kilim
Located in Long Island City, NY
Hand-knotted in wool circa 1790-1800, this oversized 15x26 antique axminster rug is an extremely rare collectible English palace rug—an exciting new classic curation in Rug & Kilim’s...
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English Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Bobyrug’s Beautiful Little 18th Century French Needlepoint Fragment Tapestry
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Nice little French needlepoint tapestry with beautiful floral design and nice natural colors, entirely hand embroidered with needlepoint method with wool. ✨✨✨ "Experience the epitom...
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French Aubusson Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Antique 17th Century Brussels Mythological Boar's Head Tapestry, by Jan Leyniers
By Jan Leyniers, Charles Le Brun
Located in New York, NY
An antique 17th century Brussels mythological tapestry, size 11'6 H x 10'8 W, from the workshop of the renowned weaver, Jan Leyniers, after cartoons by Charles Le Brun...
Category

Belgian Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool, Silk

Early 18th century Flemish antique tapestry 10x13 Verdure Wool & Silk 297x384cm
Located in New York, NY
Early 18th Century Antique Flemish Tapestry Fine Verdure Wool & Silk 9'9" x 12'7"(10x13) 297cm x 384cm Circa 1720 "This is a very fine Authentic Antique Flemish wool & silk Tapest...
Category

French Baroque Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool, Silk

17th Century French New Testament Religious Tapestry, Marriage of Mary & Joseph
Located in New York, NY
A French religious tapestry from Paris, circa 17th century, size 11' H x 11' W. This magnificent handwoven wool and silk wall hanging envisions the marriage of the New Testament figures, Mary and Joseph, with the High Priest flanked by Mary and Joseph at center and a dove above them, and with the central figures attended by a noblewoman and a group of men, and with a mother and child seated in the right foreground. The central scene is enclosed within a border that is characterized by upper and lower central cartouches, supported by putti. It contains a star above, and the armorial of Pierre Guischard below. Six additional cartouches containing the symbols of the Evangelists run through the rest of the border, interspersed with fruiting and flowering elements, decorative swags, and birds. Pierre Guischard (1614-1701) was doctor of Theology of the Holy Faculty of Paris and Great Master of the College of Navarre in Paris, Advisor, Chaplain and King Louis 14th...
Category

French Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool, Silk

Antique European Rug in Black and Red with Floral Patterns by Rug & Kilim
Located in Long Island City, NY
Hand-knotted in wool, an antique 8x11 European rug originating from Ireland circa 1920-1930 - inspired by Persian rugs of the same and preceding periods On the Design: The design e...
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Northern Irish Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

18th Century George III Period Axminster Carpet ( 11'8" x 18'6" - 356 x 564 )
Located in New York, NY
18th Century George III Period Axminster Carpet ( 11'8" x 18'6" - 356 x 564 )
Category

English George III Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

17th Century Flemish Historical Tapestry with the Roman General Coriolanus
Located in New York, NY
A Flemish historical tapestry panel from the 17th century, featuring the famed Roman general, Gaeus Marcius, now called Coriolanus, returning triumphantly from the battle in which he captured the Volscian town of Corioli, arriving on horseback with his Volscian prisoners in tow, and greeted by his domineering mother, Volumnia, as well as the cheering Roman townspeople. Enclosed within a narrow monochrome border. Wool with silk inlay. Measures: 8’6” H x 7’10” W. Hanging: The tapestry comes ready for hanging, with linen backing and a strip of hook and loop tape at the top end, which can be connected to the opposite side of the supplied hook and loop tape, which could be tacked to your wall. For those who prefer the use of a tapestry rod...
Category

Belgian Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool, Silk

17th Century French Aubusson Historical Tapestry
Located in New York, NY
A French Aubusson historical tapestry from the late 17th-early 18th century, depicting a knight embracing a woman in classical dress, beside a man carrying a sword on horseback, a wo...
Category

European Aubusson Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Late 17th Century French Aubusson Tapestry
Located in New York, NY
A French Aubusson rustic tapestry from the late 17th century, depicting several villagers on either side of a large tree in the right foreground, watching the cargo being unloaded from a large vessel docked by the verdant river bank at left. Enclosed by a narrow monochromatic border. Wool with silk inlay. Measures: 10’1” H x 7’0” W This tapestry was probably woven after a design by the French painter Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714-1789), renowned for his Marines, or maybe by his student Charles Grenier de Lacroix also known as Lacroix de Marseille...
Category

French Aubusson Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Late 17th Century French Aubusson Tapestry
Located in New York, NY
A French Aubusson Biblical tapestry from the late 17th century, depicting King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba seated on a throne at center, flanked on either side by attendants, to t...
Category

French Aubusson Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Doris Leslie Blau 18th Century Bold Floral Gobelins Tapestry
Located in New York, NY
Authentic 18th Century Bold, Floral Gobelins Tapestry Size: 11'8" × 13'5" (355 × 408 cm) An early 18th century Gobelins Tapestry, the black field w...
Category

French Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Other

17th century Antique Aubusson/Gobelin tapestry, France Architectural land, silk
Located in Berlin, DE
17th century Antique Aubusson/Gobelin tapestry, France Architectural landscape, silk Antique Museal Aubosson tapestry made of silk and partly wool. Very fine and antique design. Dep...
Category

French Baroque Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool, Silk

Tapestry Royal Manufacture of Aubusson, Louis XVI period 1738 at the Gobelins
Located in Madrid, ES
Tapestry from the Royal Manufacture of Aubusson, Louis XVI period , made in 1738 at the Gobelins One panel from a series of Gobelins tapestries depicting the History of Esther, illustrating Esther seated and attended by handmaidens, one washing her feet in golden basin, another fastening a bracelet, another offering a mirror, all observed by Mordecai, woven in the workshop of Michele Audran after a design by J. F. de Troy. The Toilet of Esther c.1778-85.Royal Collection Trust-Queens Audience Chamber Windsor Castle The Sketches for the Esther Cycle by Jean-François de Troy (1736) “and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mor’decai, ..., took for his own daughter.” (Est. 2:7) A supple and undulating genius, both a flattering portraitist and a prolix history painter, as well as a brilliant genre painter, in a gallant or worldly vein, Jean-François de Troy (Paris, 1679 – Rome, 1752), solicited, although he had passed the threshold of old age, a new royal commission up to his ambitions. To obtain it, he submitted – successfully - for the approval of the Bâtiments du roi (administration), seven modelli painted in 1736 with his usual alacrity. Inspired by one of the most novelistic texts of the Old Testament, the Book of Esther, these sketches in a rapid and virtuoso manner were transformed by the artist, between 1737 and 1740 into large cartoons intended to serve as models for the weavers of the Gobelins factory. Showing undeniable ease and skill in the composition in perfect harmony with the sensitivities of the times, the tapestry set met with great success. The Story of Esther perfectly corresponded to the plan of the Bâtiments du roi to renew the repertoire of tapestry models used for the weavers of the royal factories while it also conformed to the tastes of Louis XV’s subjects for a fantastical Orient, the set for a dramatic tale in which splendour, love and death were combined. Indeed, no tapestry set was woven in France during the 18th century as often as that of Esther. The series of modelli painted by de Troy during the year 1736 looks to the history of French painting and decoration under Louis XV as much as it does the history of the Gobelins. It probably counts among the most important rococo pictorial groups to have remained in private hands. First the Biblical source illustrated by De Troy which constitutes the base of one of the richest iconographical traditions of Western art will be considered. Then the circumstances and specific character of French civilisation during the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV which contributed to making the theme of Esther a relevant subject, both attractive to contemporaries and remarkably in line with the sensitivities of the time will be elucidated. An examination of the exceptional series of sketches united here, the cartoons and the tapestries that they anticipate as well as a study of their reception will close this essay. The Book of Esther: A scriptural source at the source of rich iconography. The origin of the Esther tapestry set by Jean-François de Troy – origin and creation of a masterpiece According to the evidence of one of the artist’s early biographers, the chevalier de Valory, author of a posthumous elegy of the master, read at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture on 6 February 1762, it was apparently due to early16 rivalry with François Lemoyne (1688-1737), his younger colleague who had precisely just been appointed First Painter to the King in 1736, that had encouraged François de Troy to seek a commission allowing him to show off his ease and his promptitude at the expense of a rival who was notoriously laborious: “M. De Troy, retaining some resentment of the kind of disadvantage which he believed to have suffered compared with his emulator looked to regain some territory by making use of the facility his rival did not possess. Lemoyne was excessively long in the creation of his works,and M. De Troy of a rare celerity: consequently, with this particular talent, the latter offered to the court to make paintings appropriate to be executed at the Gobelins Factory; and it is to this circumstance that we owe the beautiful series of the Story of Esther, which would be sufficient alone to give him a great reputation.”17 Beyond the suspicion inspired by the topos, which still constitutes, more or less, a tale of rivalries between artists in ancient literature, there is probably some truth in what Valory reports although A.-J. Dezalier d’Argenville (who indicates rather spitefully that de Troy did not hesitate to “cut prices” to impose himself, benefitting from the productivity assured by the unlikely rapidity of his brush)18 proves to be more evasive: “As he looked to busy himself, he had offered to make the paintings that serve as models for the King’s tapestries cheaply: which did not please his colleagues. He was given a choice of two tapestry series to be made and he took the Story of Esther and that of Jason”.19 Whether or not the choice was actually left to de Troy (which would appear rather casual on the royal administration’s part all the same), it seems likely that the artist, whose contemporaries extol his “fire”, as the faculty of invention was then called, must have ardently aspired to the possibility of using on a very large scale the “creative genius” with which Dezallier d’Argenville credits him. The decoration of the private apartments, the fashion for which Louis XV had promoted at Versailles and Fontainebleau, offered little opportunity to excel in this area. Other than painting for altarpieces, only tapestries could allow comparison with Lemoyne who had been granted – unfortunately for him – a major decoration: the enormous ceiling of the Hercules Room at Versailles. Favoured by the recent improvement in France’s financial situation, the revival of patronage offered de Troy a commission fitting for him, in a field in which, however, he had hardly any experience. Anxious to renew the repertoire of models available to the Gobelins factory, the Duc d’Antin, surintendant des Bâtiments du roi from 1708 to 1736 followed by his successor, Philibert Orry comte de Vignory, gave him the task of producing seven large cartoons inspired by the Book of Esther corresponding to the brilliant sketches or modelli which de Troy had produced in one go, or almost (very few preparatory drawings can in fact be linked to the Esther cycle and all seem to be at the execution stage of the cartoons).20 Subjected to the approval of the Administration des Bâtiments according to the procedure in use for projects being planned for the Gobelins, sketches made rapidly during 1736 were approved and the project launched immediately. Thereupon came the news of François Lemoyne’s death, who, ground down by work and a victim of his private torment, committed suicide on 4 June 1737. Against all expectations, de Troy did not replace his rival in the position of First Painter (which remained vacant until the appointment of Charles Coypel in January 1747), which would perhaps have made him too obviously the beneficiary of the drama. The awarding of the position of Director of the French Academy in Rome came to console him while he had already produced (or he was in the process of finishing), in Paris, three of the seven cartoons of the cycle (The Fainting of Esther finished in 1737 and the Toilet and Coronation of Esther, both finished in 1738). De Troy, we can see, did not follow the order of the narrative but began with the subjects which apparently offered the least difficulty because he had already depicted them, or because they fall into a strong pictorial tradition (such is the case especially for the Fainting of Esther). He had hardly settled at the Palazzo Mancini in August 1738, when his first task which awaited the new director of the French Academy naturally consisted of honouring the royal commission and finishing without delay the final cartoons of the Story of Esther after the sketches he must have taken with him. As prompt as ever, de Troy discharged himself of the execution of the four remaining cartoons in only two years, by beginning with the largest format which allowed him to strike the imagination and to impose himself as soon as he arrived on the Roman stage: the Triumph of Mor’decai which was finished in 1739 (like Esther’s Banquet). The following year, the Mor’decai's Disdain and The Sentencing of Haman were brought to an end in the same Neo-Venetian style, obviously tributary to Veronese with its choice of “open” monumental architecture which is characteristic of the entire cycle.21 The series, it should be noted, was almost augmented with some additional scenes in the mid 1740s. Indeed, the first tapestry set finished at the Gobelins in 1744 proved to be unsuitable for the arrangement of the Dauphine’s apartments at Versailles for which it had been intended to decorate the walls the following year (cf infra). Informed of this, de Troy, considering that the story of Esther offered “several good subjects,” immediately offered to illustrate one or new subject among those “which could appear to be the most interesting”. The directeur des Bâtiments Orry, who managed the State’s accounts, obviously judged it less costly to have one of the tapestries widened to fill in the end of the Dauphine’s bedroom,22 which has probably deprived us of very original compositions, because de Troy had already illustrated the most famous themes, those that benefitted from a strongly established iconographical tradition and from which it was not easy to deviate The Tapestry Set of the Story of Esther Placed on the tapestry looms of the Gobelins at the end of the 1730s in Michel Audran’s workshop, the cycle created by de Troy aroused true infatuation. The few hundred tapestries made between 1738 and 1797 – all in high-warp tapestry and woven in wool and silk except for four in low-warp made in Neilson’s workshop – show the impressive success of a tapestry set that was without any doubt the most frequently woven of the 18th century in France. 29 Only three cartoons had been delivered by de Troy in 1738 when the first tapestry set was begun by Audran under the expert eye of Jean-Baptiste Oudry to whom the Directeur général des bâtiments, Philibert Orry had assigned the (weekly) supervision of the weaving. During the summer of 1738, the piece of the Fainting of Esther, which Oudry judged to be admirable, was finished. During the winter of 1742, Oudry informed Orry that about two ells of the Triumph of Mor’decai had been made “with no faults”,that the Coronation of Esther was finished and that the Esther at her Toilet “a very gracious tapestry” was “a little over half” finished. Exhibited at Versailles in 1743, these two last pieces were admired by Louis XV and the Court. On 3 December 1744, the set of seven tapestries was finally delivered to the Garde Meuble. It was intended, the honour was not slight, to decorate the apartments of the Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain whose marriage to the young Dauphin Louis-Ferdinand had been fixed for the following year (it took place on 23 February 1745). Apparently it was thought that the theme of Esther the biblical heroine and wife of a foreign sovereign was appropriate for the apartments of the Spanish Dauphine. As early as the month of March, the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel informed de Troy that her grand cabinet was decorated with the “Esther tapestry set” specifying however that “for lack of two small or one large piece, we have not been able to decorate the end of the room”. This difficulty led immediately to the Banquet episode being woven a second time in two parts (they were delivered to the Garde-Meuble on 30 December 1746) to garnish the panels on each side of the bed of the Dauphine who would hardly enjoy them (she died on 22 July 1746 and the decoration was installed for the new Dauphine Maria Josepha of Saxony). The appearance of the set’s remarkable border, which imitated a richly sculpted wooden frame, should be mentioned. Conceived in 1738 by the ornamentalist Pierre Josse-Perrot and used in the later weavings until 1768, it tended to reinforce the resolutely painterly appearance of the tapestry set which, in this regard, pushed the art of tapestry as far as its ultimate mimetic possibilities. With the exception of Mor’decai's Disdain which had been removed earlier, the “editio princeps” of the story of Esther (from then on in nine pieces) remained at Versailles until the Revolution. Of the eight surviving tapestries, four are at the chateau of Compiègne and four belong today to the Mobilier National. No less than seven tapestry sets reputed to be complete (one of them in fact only had six tapestries) would be produced officially at the Gobelins up to 1772. Literature: 1- The Œuvres mêlées of an emulator of Racine, the Abbé Augustin NADAL thus include an Esther. Divertissement spiritual which is exactly contemporary with Jean François de Troy’s cycle since it was performed in 1735 and published in Paris three years later. 2-Le Siècle de Louis XIV, 1751, 1785 ed., p. 96-97 for French ed. 3- Lemoyne and de Troy had been obliged to share the First Prize in the competition organised in 1727 between the most prominent history painters of the Académie Royale. 4- Mémoires…, pub. L. DUSSIEUX et al., 1854, II, p.265. 5-The fact that de Troy, at the risk of falling out with his colleagues, did not hesitate to make use of prices in order to convince the new directeur des Bâtiments Philibert Orry, is confirmed by Mariette who adds tersely “it caused much shouting” (pub. 1851-1860, II, p. 103). 6- Abrégé de la vie des plus fameux peintres…, ed. 1762, IV, p. 368-369 20 Early comments on the painter are inclined to present him as a kind of “pure painter”, doing without the medium of drawing, a few intermediary studies between the Esther sketches and the large cartoons at the Louvre nevertheless show that de Troy used red chalk (see in the catalogue, the notice for the Meal of Esther and Ahasuerus under the entry drawing) to change one or other figure. 7-C. GASTINEL-COURAL (cat. exp. PARIS, 1985, p. 9-13) as well as the article by J. VITTET, exh. cat. LA ROCHE-GUYON, 2001, p. 51-55. 8-The Hermitage in St. Petersburg conserves five tapestries of these two royal gifts whose provenance still awaits elucidation (as far as we are aware). In 1766, the Grand Marshal of Russia, Count Razumovski (or Razamowski), acquired the Fainting and the Banquet extracted from the sixth weaving (J. VITTET, 2001, p. 53). 9- Lettres écrites de Suisse, d’Italie…,quoted by J. VITTET, op. cit., p. 54. 10-The tapestry set remained in the hands of a branch of the Hapsburg-Lorraine family until 1933 (ibid. P. 54). 11-Quoted by Chr. LERIBAULT, 2002, p. 97, note 269. 12-Y. CANTAREL-BESSON, 1992, p. 241. Catalogue The Esther at her Toilet Oil on canvas, 57 x 51 cm Provenance: Painted in 1736 at the same time as the six other modelli of the Story of Esther intended to be presented, for approval, to the direction des Bâtiments du Roi; perhaps identifiable among a lot of sketches by Jean-François de Troy in the post mortem inventory of the amateur, historian and critic Claude-Henri Watelet (1718-1786) drawn up on 13 January 1786 and following days (A.N. T 978, n° 30) then in the sale of the property of the deceased, Paris, 12 June 1786, n° 33; Paris, François Marcille Collection (who owned a series of six sketches from which the Triumph of Mor’decai was missing, see infra); Paris, Marcille Sale, Hôtel Drouot, 12-13 January 1857, n° 36; Asnières, Mme de Chavanne de Palmassy ( ?) collection; Paris, Galerie Cailleux; Paris, Humbert de Wendel collection (acquired from the Galerie Cailleux in 1928); by inheritance in the same family; Paris, Sotheby’s, 23 June 2011, n° 61. In order not to add unnecessarily to the technical commentary on each work, the catalogue raisonné by Chr. Leribault which contains a substantial bibliography on the series should be referred to. The other bibliographical references only concern the publications and exhibitions to have appeared and been presented more recently. Bibliography and Exhibitions: Chr. LERIBAULT, 2002, n° P. 247 (repr.); E. LIMARDO DATURI, 2004, p. 28; Exh. cat. NANTES, 2011, p. 138, n° 34, referred to in note 1; Sotheby’s catalogue, Tableaux anciens et du XIXe siècle, 23 June 2011, n° 61 (repr.). Related Works: Tapestry cartoon: The cartoon (oil on canvas, 329 x 320 cm), the third made by the artist in Paris after the sketches had been approved by the direction des Bâtiments, is in the Louvre (Inv. 8315). It previously bore the painter’s signature and the date 1738 (inscriptions which are found on the tapestries). The royal administration paid 1600 livres for it on 21 June 1738 and it was exhibited at the Salon in the year of its creation. Summary Biography 1679 (27 January): Baptism in Paris (Parish of St. Nicolas du Chardonnet) of Jean-François de Troy, son of the painter François de Troy and Jeanne Cotelle, sister of the painter Jean II Cotelle. 1696-1698: Studies (apparently rather turbulent) at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture. 1698-1708: First trip to Italy. Is obliged to leave Rome in January 1711 after a tempestuous affair (a duel?), de Troy extends the traditional Roman experience as a pensionnaire at the Académie de France by also visiting Tuscany where he stays for a long time, Venice (his art in face has a strongly Venetian character) and Genoa. 1708: De Troy (whose father had been elected Director of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture on 7 July) is agréé and immediately received at the Académie with Apollo and Diana Piercing with their Arrows the Children of Niobe (Montpellier, Musée Fabre) on 28 July. 1710: First royal commission, paid for on 10 May (a sketch representing “the Promotion of the Order of the Holy Spirit” for the tapestry series of the History of the King). 1716: Jean-François de Troy is elected Assistant Professor at the Academy. 1720: He is appointed Professor. 1723: The artist creates the double portrait of Louis XV...
Category

French Baroque Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Silk, Wool

Zabihi Collection Mid 18th Century French Tapestry of Charlemagne
Located in New York, NY
Beauvais, France. Depicts arrival at a castle, royal horse being heralded by trumpeter and escorted by two guards, continuous floral border and two minor borders. Linen and wool slit weave Beauvais technique with natural indigo, weld, walnut husk, tannin variegated, lichen and moss greens. Condition: Good. Original border intact, minor repair and protective reconstruction with back added as structural safeguard. Some areas with holes, some areas of repair to border. Measures: 8'7'' wide x 10'1'' long. Tapestries make integral part of the Flemish cultural heritage. Most of the tapestries have religious, mythological and historical subjects as well as hunting and harvest scenes. They are known for their high quality and extended use of colors. The oldest ones were made in the 13th century. The most important production centers were Doornik and Arras. These two centers got a lot of assignments of the Dukes of Burgundy. In the 14th century tapestries...
Category

French French Provincial Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Antique Tapestry 9’4” x 14’10”
Located in New York, NY
Antique Tapestry 9’4” x 14’10”.
Category

French Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool, Silk

Mid-17th Century Flemish Tourani Tapestry
Located in New York, NY
Mid-17th Century Flemish Tourani Tapestry 2'9" x 7' - 84 x 213
Category

Belgian Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Swans Ducks 18th Century Aubusson French Tapestry Panel
Located in New York, NY
Late 18th century Aubusson tapestry panel made in France. Measures: Height 9 feet 4 inches, width 7 feet 11 inches. Swans and ducks swimming in a lake...
Category

French French Provincial Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Late 17th Century French Aubusson Tapestry
Located in New York, NY
A French Aubusson rustic tapestry from the late 17th century, with the turbulent sea at center, and other ships docked by the riverside cityscape in the left distance. Enclosed by a narrow monochromatic border. Wool with silk inlay. Measures: 10’1” H x 7’2” W This tapestry was probably woven after a design by the French painter Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714-1789), renowned for his Marines, or maybe by his student Charles Grenier de Lacroix also known as Lacroix de Marseille...
Category

French Aubusson Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

18th century Verdure Tapestry
Located in Palm Springs, CA
18th century Verdure tapestry measuring approximately 8 by 10 feet. Originally made popular in French courts in the 1600’s They were very popular in the French courts. This example ...
Category

French French Provincial Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Fabric

Antique Audran "Mois Grotesques" Gobelins Pictorial Panel Tapestry - Rug & Kilim
Located in Long Island City, NY
Handwoven in wool and originating from France, this 2x11 French Gobelins pictorial tapestry from the early 18th Century is a rare and special new curation from Rug & Kilim—"Mois Grot...
Category

French Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

17th Century Large Wool & Silk English Baroque Garden Mortlake 10x13 Tapestry
Located in Houston, TX
Ashly Fine Rugs Presents AN ENGLISH BAROQUE GARDEN LANDSCAPE TAPESTRY, ROYAL MORTLAKE WORKSHOP, 17TH CENTURY, woven with silk and wool in a rectangular form centering a stone footbridge over a meandering stream with paired geese amidst a garden of various blossoming plant species beneath towering trees concealing a parrot and magpie foraging on large grape clusters, within a topiary garden hedge and spherical wall before a fountain with a forest and manor in the distance, enclosed by a spiraling acanthus leaf wrapped fruiting and flowering border framed by a lambrequin edge trimmed in a brown outer slip, surmounted by a coronet above an armorial three bar shield flanked by palm fronds centering a fleur-de-lys. Note: The Mortlake Tapestry...
Category

English Baroque Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool, Silk

17th Century Brussels Verdure Landscape Tapestry in Chinoiserie Style
Located in New York, NY
A Brussels verdure landscape tapestry from the 17th century, featuring a verdant landscape with stately and exotic trees at right, a striking acanthus bush in the foreground, and a l...
Category

Belgian Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

17th Century Traditional French Aubusson Style Flat-Weave Rug
Located in Secaucus, NJ
Handwoven recreation of the Classic French flat-weave Aubusson rugs that have been found in the finest homes and palaces since the late 17th century. Size 6' x 9'.
Category

Chinese Aubusson Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Antique 18th Century Brussels Mythological Tapestry, with Diana the Huntress
Located in New York, NY
An 18th century Brussels mythological hunting tapestry, size 9' H x 8' W, depicting the Roman goddess of the hunt, Diana, reposing in a forest setting with her attendants, with one h...
Category

Belgian Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool, Silk

18th Century English George III Needlepoint Carpet ( 13'4" x 19'4" - 405 x 560 )
Located in New York, NY
18th Century English George III Needlepoint Carpet 13'4" x 19'4" - 405 x 560
Category

English George III Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Late 17th Century French Aubusson Rustic Tapestry with a Boat Unloading Cargo
Located in New York, NY
A French Aubusson rustic tapestry from the late 17th century, depicting several villagers on either side of a large tree in the right foreground, watching the cargo being unloaded from a large vessel docked by the verdant river bank at left, with the turbulent sea at center, and other ships docked by the riverside cityscape in the left distance. Enclosed by a narrow monochromatic border. Wool with silk inlay. Measures: 10’1” H x 13’9” W This tapestry was probably woven after a design by the French painter Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714-1789), renowned for his Marines, or maybe by his student Charles Grenier de Lacroix also known as Lacroix de Marseille...
Category

French Aubusson Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

18th Century French Felletin Verdure Landscape Tapestry, with Birds and Trees
Located in New York, NY
An antique 18th century French Felletin verdure landscape tapestry, size 8'10 H x 9'7 W. This handwoven antique wall hanging feat...
Category

French Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool, Silk

18th Century French Felletin Chinoiserie Mythological Tapestry w/ Trees & Satyrs
Located in New York, NY
An 18th century French Felletin chinoiserie mythological tapestry, size 11'6"H x 17'9"W. This grand mythological tapestry depicts a mythological forest scene, with various satyrs and other mythological figures reveling in Dionysian fashion in the confines of the woodland setting. Finely detailed, with nimble articulation of figures and form, the piece also incorporates chinoiserie motifs, with stylized trees and bushes that have Oriental styling. The lower right corner of the primary field features both the town mark and weaver's mark, as well as the French symbol of the fleur de lis. The tapestry is enclosed within an elaborate outer border, featuring pendant...
Category

French Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool, Silk

18th Century Antique Flemish Tapestry Handmade Wool & Silk 1x8 31cm x 244
Located in New York, NY
18th Century Antique Flemish Tapestry Handmade Wool & Silk 1790 1x8 31cm x 244 "This is a very fine authentic antique Flemish tapestry made of Wool & Silk, depicting intricate desi...
Category

Belgian Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

Louis XV Period Fireplace Screen in Dore Wood and Tapestry 18th Century
Located in Madrid, ES
Louis XV Period fireplace screen in dore wood and tapestry French work, 18th century carved and gilded wooden fireplace screen from the Louis ...
Category

French Baroque Antique 18th Century and Earlier Western European Rugs

Materials

Wool

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