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Tapestry

ca. 1695-1710 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Wool and silk tapestry. Decorated with a genre scene showing ramshackle buildings of an inn or farm with a table outside at which a man sits embroidering a piece of work in a small frame. Around the table are a girl with a parrot in a cage, a black servant, a woman with a jug, and a small girl holding a cup. Two boys with a goat are on the right. A pet dog cavorts in front of the table. A woman holding a broom in a doorway, on the left, chides a monkey on a window still. A cat sits at a window higher on the left. In the lower left corner is a table with an earthenware jug and dishes, and by it are two wooden tubs on the ground. At the far right is a tree, and trees are seen in three places over the buildings. Only at the right is a distant landscape visible with a river in the middle distance.

The borders may not belong as there are joins across the side borders. At the top is an oval of weaving over both sky and border shows where a coat of arms or monogram was applied shortly after weaving and subsequently removed.

The upper border is also strange in its design, suggesting reweaving at some stage. The border design is of swags and pendants, alternating with flowers and fruits, hanging from rings tied with pale blue ribbons. In the centre sides are three porcelain jars of different shapes standing on a shelf supported by a lion mask bracket. The same shelf with porcelain appears in the centre bottom and on a level with the top of the lower border stands three more pieces of porcelain.

A lot of mixed threads are used in the sky, ground foliage and the costumes. 22 warp threads to the inch.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Tapestry woven wool and silk
Brief description
Wool and silk tapestry, possibly made by Stephen de May, England, ca. 1695-1710
Physical description
Wool and silk tapestry. Decorated with a genre scene showing ramshackle buildings of an inn or farm with a table outside at which a man sits embroidering a piece of work in a small frame. Around the table are a girl with a parrot in a cage, a black servant, a woman with a jug, and a small girl holding a cup. Two boys with a goat are on the right. A pet dog cavorts in front of the table. A woman holding a broom in a doorway, on the left, chides a monkey on a window still. A cat sits at a window higher on the left. In the lower left corner is a table with an earthenware jug and dishes, and by it are two wooden tubs on the ground. At the far right is a tree, and trees are seen in three places over the buildings. Only at the right is a distant landscape visible with a river in the middle distance.

The borders may not belong as there are joins across the side borders. At the top is an oval of weaving over both sky and border shows where a coat of arms or monogram was applied shortly after weaving and subsequently removed.

The upper border is also strange in its design, suggesting reweaving at some stage. The border design is of swags and pendants, alternating with flowers and fruits, hanging from rings tied with pale blue ribbons. In the centre sides are three porcelain jars of different shapes standing on a shelf supported by a lion mask bracket. The same shelf with porcelain appears in the centre bottom and on a level with the top of the lower border stands three more pieces of porcelain.

A lot of mixed threads are used in the sky, ground foliage and the costumes. 22 warp threads to the inch.
Dimensions
  • Weight: 30kg
  • Top edge width: 328cm
  • Bottom edge width: 328cm
  • Left side height: 286cm
  • Right side height: 284cm
  • Top length: 129in
  • Bottom length: 129.5in
Weight including roller
Collection
Accession number
T.221-1982

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Record createdAugust 2, 2004
Record URL
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