Tapestry 'The March' woven in wool and silk, from 'The Art of War' series, probably after Philipp De Hondt, woven by Judocus de Vos, Brussels, 1718-24

Tapestry woven in wool and silk and framed in borders of military trophies with at centre top a larger trophy of flags and lances surmounted by trumpets crossed through a laurel wreath. The lower trophy is of saddles, bundles, harness, trunks and riding boots.

In the centre a group of mounted officers attended by messengers and servants, one a black African, and following them is a long file of mounted men and foot soldiers winding across the distant plain. The commander of the army is mounted on a white horse and holding a baton, and leads the foreground group. Watching the scene on the ground at the left are a countryman and a woman nursing a child.

Woven with 20 warp threads to the inch.

Given by Mrs Josa Finney, in memory of her husband, Oswald James Finney

Mrs Finney first offered the group of seven Art of War tapestries to the museum, in memory of her husband, Oswald J Finney, in April 1962. They were then under sequestration in Alexandria (Mrs Finney was resident in Rome). The tapestries were released and sent to Rome in 1971. They were received by the Museum in July 1972.

The tapestries had been purchased by Mr Finney for his house in Alexandria some time in the late 1920s or 1930s. Mrs Finney remembered that her husband became interested in the tapestries when some of them were shown at an exhibition in America, and that a dealer in Paris was commissioned to acquire them. Hefford explains that the seven Finney tapestries appear to have been acquired in at least five separate transactions.

The first 'Art of War' series was designed by the tapestry cartoon painter Lambert de Hondt and woven in the Brussels workshops of Jerome Le Clerc and Gaspar van der Borght. This tapestry is from the second series woven by de Vos and probably designed by Philipp de Hondt. Some sets of the second series include scenes and figures borrowed from the cartoons of the Marlborough Victories at Blenheim Palace.

Five of the 'Art of War' tapestries belonging to Mr Finney are believed to be from the set of the second Art of War which was made for Augustus the Strong of Saxony, and was formerly at Dresden. Hefford sets out in detail the justification for this attribution. 'The March', 'The Camp' and 'Cutting Fascines' were illustrated in Ackerman's publication on the Dresden tapestries in 1926. 'The Siege' and 'The Ambush', not known to Ackerman, appear to be part of the same set, which is noted in the Marillier tapestry catalogue, anecdotally quoting Bernheimer, to have been of eight pieces. Of the two further pieces from Dresden illustrated by Ackerman, 'The Halt' is now in the National Museum, Warsaw, and the tapestry after 'Blenheim' was sold at Sotheby's, London, in 1964. It is now in the Toms collection, Lausanne. The eighth, missing piece may have been similar to Marlborough's tapestry of 'Malplaquet' for the Dresden set was known as 'Die Schlachten bei Höchstädt und Malplaquet'.

The use of tapestry hangings to commemorate military exploits has a long history. While for Renaissance audiences battles were often depicted full of violence and slaughter, the seventeenth century saw the emphasis move towards a celebration of the glorious commander, and the nobility of the victor. An exceptional example was set with the series Histoire du Roi woven for Louis XIV at the Gobelins in France from the 1660s, with scenes including his military victories. In the 1690s, a series of scenes of army life was woven in Brussels, designed by Lambert de Hondt for Elector Maximillian Emmanuel of Bavaria and subsequently commissioned by others including King William III; a document recording his purchase in 1700 provides its name, “d’Exercitie van den Oorloghe”, usually translated as the Art of War.

One of the other purchasers of this first version of the Art of War series was John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. He later owned another series of tapestries depicting military scenes, this time his own victories in the War of the Spanish Succession. The relationship between them and a second version of the Art of War series was the subject of an important study by Alan Wace, incorporating research carried out in the 1930s, but published posthumously in 1968. Following the gift to the V&A of seven Art of War tapestries in 1972 from Mrs Josa Finney, Wendy Hefford undertook further research on the design and relationship between the different series, published in 1975 (see bibliography) .

The use of tapestry hangings to commemorate military exploits has a long history. For Renaissance audiences battles were often depicted full of violence and slaughter, but the 17th century saw the emphasis move towards a celebration of the glorious commander, and the nobility of the victor. An exceptional example was set with the series Histoire du Roi woven for Louis XIV at the Gobelins in France from the 1660s, with scenes including his military victories. In the 1690s, a series of scenes of army life was woven in Brussels, designed by Lambert de Hondt for Elector Maximillian Emmanuel of Bavaria and subsequently commissioned by others including King William III; a document recording his purchase in 1700 provides its name, “d’Exercitie van den Oorloghe”, usually translated as the Art of War.

This tapestry is from a second series of The Art of War dating from the early 18th century, woven by de Juducos de Vos and probably designed by Philipp de Hondt. It is believed to be from a set of that subject which was made for Augustus the Strong of Saxony.

T.283-1972