18th Century Western European Rugs

Nice little French needlepoint tapestry with beautiful floral design and nice natural colors, entirely hand embroidered with needlepoint method with wool. ✨✨✨ "Experience the epitom...

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 Originally made popular in French courts in the 1600’s They were very popular in the French courts.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 ...

A fragment of an Aubusson tapestry from 18th century, with a design of shepherds. Take a look at other Bobyrug items! , search by "Bobyrug" !

Hand-knotted in wool and originating from France circa 1740-1750, this 11x15 antique rug is a rare acquisition in both period and design—possibly among the works of Jean-Joseph Dumon...

English Axminster rug. Axminster, Devon, Great Britain, circa 1760 (George III). Provenance: Baron Guy de Rothschild.

18th Century English George III Needlepoint Carpet 13'4" x 19'4" - 405 x 560

A framed French rustic tapestry from the 18th century, envisioning a pedant seated on a barrel, instructing a group children in music and the arts within a verdant setting. Enclosed ...

18th. Century Extraordinaire Antique French Tapestry Louis XVI Beauvais Silk 3' x 3' 89cm x 88cm "This is an extremely fine Authentic Antique French B...

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...

a late 18th century Flemish Vedure Tapestry Measures: 7'4'' wide x 9' long. Tapestries make integral part of the Flemish cultural heritage. Most of the tapestries have religious, m...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Large French Aubusson Tapestry Rug, 18th Century Excellent condition. Additional Information: Dimensions: 7'9" W x 16'10" L Origin: France Per...

Rare 18th century Tapestry handwoven Wool & Silk Flemish Tapestry 4x9. 102cm x 265cm "This is a very fine authentic antique Flemish tapestry made of Wool & Silk, depicting a h...

18th Century Tapestry Antique Flemish Tapestry Wool Silk Verdure 5x6 4'5" x 5'5" 153cm x 165cm Circa 1790 "This is a very fine authentic antique ...

France, 18th Century Hand-woven wool 190x250 cm

An antique Franco-Flemish mythological tapestry from the 18th century, featuring the goddess of the hunt, Diana with her attendant, Callisto. In this sultry scene, Diana reposes on a...

Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike cloth...

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...

A sublime period flat-weave square 18th century French carpet. A central medallion of double concentric paterae in gradient blue and olive ...

An antique 18th century Flemish mythological tapestry, size 11'0 H x 12'6 W. This period European tapestry depicts the Greek God Apollo, who is the deity of the arts, poetry, crops, ...

Mid 18th Century French Needlepoint Carpet ( 5' x 8 8'' - 152 x 264 )

A Flemish verdure tapestry from the 18th century, depicting two exotic birds within a profuse landscape, with acanthus plants in the foreground, bloomin...

18th Century French Savonnerie Carpet ( 5'6" x 8'10" - 168 x 269 )

Early 18th Century French Tapestry 3' X 6' - 90 X 185

Louis XV Period fireplace screen in dore wood and tapestry French work, 18th century carved and gilded wooden fireplace screen from the Louis ...

Mid 18th Century Scenic English Needlepoint ( 2'4" x 2'7" - 71 x 79 )

A French Aubusson rustic tapestry from the 18th century, envisioning a wooded landscape in which several youngsters play leapfrog. Enclosed within a scrolling border of fruiting and ...

A Flemish verdure landscape tapestry panel from the 18th century, featuring a verdant scene with large trees and various foliage and including a lake. Enclosed within a stylized bord...

Handwoven, French Aubusson rug 18th century Center Medallion.

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...

Aubusson panel 18th century tapestry, from a border fragment, entirely handwoven with silk and wool, applied on velvet foundation.

Small but precious this tapestry that comes from the French town of Aubusson. A decoration rich in flowers and fruits revolves around a fight scene between a feline and a bird of pre...

Alpujarra rugs were traditionally woven between the 15th and the 19th centuries in the villages of the Alpujarra district, located in southern Spain in the Granada region. These are ...

A Flemish rustic tapestry from the 18th century, depicting a charming scene with two young noblemen pulling a young damsel on a swing within a verdant courtyard setting. Enclosed by ...

A French Rambouillet pictorial tapestry from circa 1890, portraying a trio of putti at play in a paradisiacal floral setting, with peacocks and other birds in the background, within an interconnecting key design border. This is a replica from a set of the Giochi di Putti, woven after cartoons by Giovanni da...

Mid 18th Century Verdure Tapestry ( 9' 6'' x 14' 4''- 290 x 437 cm )

Late 17th Century French Tapestry ( 10'9" x 13'8" - 327 x 416 cm ) Material: Wool warp,18 warps per inch; wool and silk pattern wefts, Z-2; woven sideways. This extremely attractive...

Beautiful Aubusson border tapestry, from 18th century, with nice floral design, applied on velvet foundation, entirely handwoven with silk and wool.

Framed Set of 18th Century French Beauvais Tapestries 2'9" x 7'6" 83 x 228 cm

An antique 18th century Flemish verdure landscape tapestry, size: 8.0 H x 4.6 W. This fine handwoven European wall hanging features a lovely land...

Mid 18th Century English Axminster Carpet ( 3'4" x 17'4" - 102 x 528 cm )

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...

A French pastoral landscape tapestry from the 18th century, envisioning a placid scene in which a shepherd and shepherdess repose under a large tree with three of their sheep within ...

Pair of antique needlepoint framed circa 1750. Measures: 2'6" x 2'9".

A French Aubusson chinoiserie verdure tapestry, 18th century. A small bird to the left, an acanthus bush in the center, and pagodas in the left distance, within a symmetrical scrolli...

Mid 18th Century English Axminster Carpet - George III Period 13'8" x 15'8" - 417 x 478

A French Aubusson genre tapestry from the 18th century, featuring a rustic scene in which a youth plays his instrument for his damsel, who is reposing in the clearing of a forest. En...

A French Aubusson tapestry which is very likely part of a set from 'The Story of Telemachus' woven at Aubusson between 1776 and 1800 after engraved designs by various painters including Franc¸ois Boucher Antonio Tempesta and Charles Monnet...

Very beautiful antique Aubusson tapestry with a happy design of music and dance, finely handwoven with silk and wool, natural beautiful colors.

Authentic 18th Century Bold, Floral Gobelins Tapestry Size: 11'8" × 13'5" (355 × 408 cm) An early 18th century Gobelins Tapestry, the black field...

An antique 18th century French Aubusson tapestry, size 8'10" H x 7'9" W. This fine, handwoven tapestry envisions a scene with Don Quixote and his squire, Sancho Panza, as he attends ...

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...

A French Aubusson verdure landscape tapestry from the 18th century, with a crane at the center of the idyllic landscape scene, sitt...

Antique English Needlepoint, Country of Origin: England, Circa: 18th Century –Size: 7 ft 5 in x 9 ft 7 in (2.26 m x 2.92 m).

Authentic 18th century Verdure Tapestry 'Fragment' rug Size: 7'6" × 11'10" (228 × 360 cm) Although European rugs are in general younger and less diverse than oriental ones, the tapestry making can justly be considered a European specialty. Tracing its origin back to the 18th century Flanders, this antique Verdure tapestry is a true treasure of the Old Continent’s weaving art, permeated with history and beauty. This exceptionally well-preserved fragment exhibits a coherent composition featuring a picturesque landscape of the city suburbs with two herons...