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Apollo spying on Mars and Venus thumbnail 2
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Apollo spying on Mars and Venus

Tapestry
1670-1685 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Tapestry woven in wool and silk. With Apollo spying on Mars and Venus. Mars, who has his armour discarded at the lower left of the scene, kisses Venus who is seated holding flowers beneath a tree. Wild roses and ferns form a screen behind them. Trees spring up at the right from a rocky ledge. In the sky at the right is the tiny figure of Apollo in his chariot.

The border has an inner guard of bead and reel. The sides has twisting columns with sprays of flowers in the twists, square pedestals and foliated capitals. The upper and lower has sprays of flowers caught with blue bows centring on a brown cartouche frame with a plain blue centre. The lower cartouche is decorated with dolphins. With the Mortlake mark.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Apollo spying on Mars and Venus
  • Vulcan and Venus (series title)
Materials and techniques
Tapestry woven in wool and silk
Brief description
Tapestry woven 'Apollo spying on Mars and Venus' in wool and silk from 'Vulcan and Venus' series, probably made at Mortlake Tapestry Factory, England, 1670-1685
Physical description
Tapestry woven in wool and silk. With Apollo spying on Mars and Venus. Mars, who has his armour discarded at the lower left of the scene, kisses Venus who is seated holding flowers beneath a tree. Wild roses and ferns form a screen behind them. Trees spring up at the right from a rocky ledge. In the sky at the right is the tiny figure of Apollo in his chariot.

The border has an inner guard of bead and reel. The sides has twisting columns with sprays of flowers in the twists, square pedestals and foliated capitals. The upper and lower has sprays of flowers caught with blue bows centring on a brown cartouche frame with a plain blue centre. The lower cartouche is decorated with dolphins. With the Mortlake mark.
Dimensions
  • Top edge width: 234cm
  • Bottom edge width: 234cm
  • Left side height: 347cm
  • Right side height: 344cm
  • Height: 138in
  • Width: 103in
  • Weight: 27kg
Weight including roller
Marks and inscriptions
Mortlake mark
Collection
Accession number
T.346-1965

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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