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Wool Tapestries

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Material: Wool
Vintage Uzbek Kilim Double Saddle Bag in Stripe Pattern in Blue, Yellow, Brown
Located in Barrington, IL
Beautiful and very rare Uzbek Double Kilim Saddlebags from the early 20th century. The bag faces have geometric designs in indigo blue, brown, rust red and pale yellow similar to th...
Category

Early 20th Century Turkish Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool

Art Deco wool world map
Located in Bridgewater, CT
An interesting wall decoration.
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1930s German Art Deco Vintage Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool

Gesture cc-tapis Patcha Square Handmade Rug in Full Mint by Patricia Urquiola
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Patcha by Patricia Urquiola Why not talking about upcycling as a gesture? Patricia Urquiola reinterprets the change of mentality, of moving common habits and creative flows towards s...
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21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Modern Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool

Beautiful New Floral Design Bessarabian Style Flat Kilim Rug, 6ft 6in x 9ft 10in
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Nice new Kilim with beautiful floral design Aubusson style with beautiful colors, entirely handwoven with wool on cotton foundation.
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2010s Indian Aubusson Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool

New Modern Design Handwoven Flat Rug Kilim size 6ft 6in x 9ft 10in
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Beautiful new Kilim with geometrical modern design and light colors, entirely handwoven with wool on cotton foundation.
Category

2010s Indian Modern Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool

Vintage Moroccan Blue Kilim Rug with Geometric Border and Two Diamond Lozenges
Located in Morristown, NJ
Antique early 20th century Moroccan Kilim rug, with two central diamond medallions, made in simple flat-woven or tapestry technique, in which the pattern is produced by horizontal wefts that cover the vertical warps. The ground is a denim blue color with browns, greens, beiges, pinks and blues woven into the border decoration and diamond medallions. The desire for the ‘exotic’ rug family in Western culture played no small part in the entrance of Moroccan style to the world stage and the gradual western influence on the style we see today. Given their thinner, supple structure, Kilim rugs are usable not only as decorative floor covering, but also as wall hangings and on furniture or bed coverlets...
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1950s Moroccan Tribal Vintage Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool

2 Tapistries by Simone Prouve
By Simone Prouvé
Located in Long Island City, NY
Cotton, wool and mix-media. Both signed. Simone Prouve (born 1931) is the daughter Jean Prouve. Dimensions: H 93’´x W 62’´ and H 93’´x W43" for the rope ...
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1970s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Cotton, Rope

Cross 'Me' Knot a cc-tapis Rug by CTRLZAK Studio
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Designer CTRLZAK Studio. Weave: Cotton. Knot: Himalayan wool and silk. Quality: A++ 232.000 knots/sqm. Dimensions: 170 x 240cm 66.93 x 94.49 inches. cc-tapis was created in 20...
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21st Century and Contemporary Nepalese Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Silk

Large Vintage French Verdure Style Landscape Tapestry
Located in New York, NY
This lovely tapestry was handcrafted by skilled artists using the exact same method of weaving used in 16th century. Handwoven in Wool and measuring 6.10 x 12.4 ft. Excellent condi...
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Late 20th Century French French Provincial Wool Tapestries

Materials

Tapestry, Wool

19th-C. Continental Baroque Tapestry Depicting Boar’s Head Feast - Wall Art
Located in Kennesaw, GA
This is a 19th century continental tapestry depicting the Boar’s head feast. The tapestry is mounted on a large wooden stretcher with hanging wire. The Boar’s Head feast originated i...
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Late 19th Century European Baroque Antique Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Silk

1890 Antique French Tapestry Arts & Crafts Ceremonial 8x9 239cm x 257cm
Located in New York, NY
1890 Antique French Tapestry Arts & Crafts Ceremonial 8x9 7'10" x 8'5" 239cm x 257cm 1890 "This is an outstanding very large antique French tapestry- This room size piece incorporat...
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1890s French Antique Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool

Maïlys Seydoux-Dumas, Vendémiaire, Wool Tapestry, Néolice, 2023
Located in Paris, FR
Maïlys Seydoux-Dumas, Vendémiaire, Wool Tapestry, Néolice, 2023 A wool woven tapestry figuring a golden tree and red, blue, brown objects on a beige background. Signed on the lower...
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2010s French Modern Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool

Boos Wool Tapestry, Contemporary Wall Hanging, Naturally Dyed and Handwoven
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This wall hanging is a one of a kind heirloom piece. Taking inspiration from brutalism, mid-century abstraction, and Joseph Albers studies on the interaction of color. The entire pr...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Cotton

16th century Brussels tapestry - The Story of David
Located in Bruxelles, BE
16th century Brussels tapestry The Story of David Brabant, 16th Century Monogram at the bottom left. 320 x 250 cm This splendid Brussels tapestry, crafted from wool and silk during ...
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16th Century Belgian Renaissance Antique Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Silk

18th Century Antique Tapestry Flemish Wool & Silk Handwoven
Located in New York, NY
18th century Tapestry Handwoven Wool & Silk Tapestry Palm Tree 8x12 226cm x 359cm 7'5" x 11'9" circa 1880 "This is very fine antique Flemish tapest...
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1880s Belgian Antique Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Silk

1980s Design Hand made Wool Tapestry - Czechoslovakia
Located in Praha, CZ
- perfect original condition, bright colours - 1985 jr
Category

1980s Czech Mid-Century Modern Vintage Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool

18th Century Fine Brussels Tapestry, Silk Wool, Green, Blue, Mythological Theme
Located in Port Washington, NY
This very fine Oudenaarde tapestry is one in the series related to the mythological story of Ulysses. It was woven in the late 18th century using t...
Category

18th Century and Earlier Belgian Aubusson Antique Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Silk

19th Century Hand Embroidered Persian Kerman Suzani (Termeh) in Red, Blue, Ivory
Located in Barrington, IL
The distinctive Persian Kerman Suzani (Termeh embroidery in Persian) comes from the ancient city of Kerman in Persia. The hand embroidered textile tapestry is on a red cloth background with embroidery designs in blue, purple, yellow, and brown. The Embroidered Textile piece is from the mid-1800s and is in wonderful condition. Traditionally in the Persian homes, they would use this piece as a table cover. The piece is also great to be displayed as a tapestry on the wall and away from direct sunlight to preserve its brilliant colors. Dimensions: 3' x 3' 3? Date of Manufacture: 3rd Quarter of the 1800s Place of Origin: Persia Material: Silk embroidery on wool Condition: Wear consistent with age and use Persian Termeh embroidery, Kerman Termeh, Yazd Termeh, Kerman Embroidery, Antique Kerman Embroidery, Kerman Suzani, Antique Kerman Suzani, Antique Paisley Shawl...
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Late 19th Century Persian Antique Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Cotton, Silk

1970s Patrice Allard Geometric Stitched Textile Art Tapestry from France
Located in Miami, FL
1970s Patrice Allard Geometric Stitched Textile Art Tapestry from France Offered for sale is a 1970s geometric patterned hand-stitched textured textile tapestry by Patrice Allard (F...
Category

1970s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Wool Tapestries

Materials

Metal

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

17th Century French Aubusson Antique Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool

Märta Måås-Fjetterström handwoven tapestry "Maskros"
Located in Båstad, SE
Handwoven tapestry with a dandelion flowers designed by Märta Måås-Fjetterström in 1928. One of all the flowers in the larger wall tapestry Juniblommor by Märta Måås-Fjettesrtröm 19...
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1920s Swedish Arts and Crafts Vintage Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool

French Aubusson Tapestry Greenery 19th century - 1m92x1m50 - No. 1365
Located in Paris, FR
A stone's throw from the Eiffel Tower We are a family business specializing in the purchase, sale and expertise of old, modern and contemporary tapestries, rugs, kilims and textiles....
Category

Mid-19th Century French Aubusson Antique Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Silk

Antique Afghan Turkmen Torba Tent Bag
Located in Skokie, IL
Antique Afghan Turkmen Torba Tent Bag A wonderful, antique Afghan Turkmen Torba Tent Bag wall hanging or decorative wall covering, circa 1930s-1940s. This torba from Afghanistan Tur...
Category

1930s Afghan Tribal Vintage Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool

Artwork Tapestry Made of handspun and handwoven local Wool
Located in Marseille, FR
- Hand-spun and hand-woven wool tapestry - 2020 Dimensions: 250 H x 145 W CM 98.4 H x 57 W IN MADE IN COLLABORATION WITH ODU WORKS EDITION OF 3 + 1 ARTIST’S PROOF WOOD FRAME BY EL...
Category

2010s Moroccan Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool

18th Century Continental Tapestry Fragment with Putti or Angels and Cartouche
Located in Milford, NH
A nice example of a Continental hand wrought tapestry decorated with putti or angels and cartouche, with foliate accents and subtle tan border with raised flowers. The tapestry has a...
Category

18th Century European Baroque Antique Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Silk

Pair of 18th c Belgian Mounted Tapestry Fragments with Putti or Angels
Located in Milford, NH
Pair of Brussels tapestry fragments finely woven of silk and wool featuring angels or putti carrying a basket of flowers above their heads. Opposing angels, one with a gold draped cl...
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1720s Belgian Baroque Antique Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Silk, Wood

Bobyrug’s Nice French Aubusson style needlepoint Tapestry
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Very beautiful mid century French tapestry with nice design representing the party in the field, with characters playing, dancing and having fun. with pretty colors of red, orange, g...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Aubusson Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Cotton

Bobyrug’s Nice French Aubusson Tapestry « Perseus »
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Discover the timeless elegance of this exquisite Aubusson tapestry from the latter half of the 20th century. Featuring a captivating design reminiscent of medieval tapestries, it por...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Aubusson Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Cotton

Bobyrug’s wonderful French Aubusson Tapestry, flowers and butterflies design
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
"Exquisite Vintage Aubusson Tapestry: Adorn your space with timeless elegance! This stunning tapestry features intricate designs of lush pink and red flowers, complemented by verdant...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Aubusson Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Cotton, Silk

Vintage Andean Peruvian Fine Large Manta Cloth South American Textiles Decor
Located in London, GB
Vintage Andean Peruvian Manta Cloth South American Vintage Textiles. A very fine Vintage Manta cloth from the High Andes region of Peru Woven in came-lid fibre (Llama wool )beautiful...
Category

1960s Indonesian Vintage Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Cotton

Bobyrug’s Nice French Aubusson Style Jacquard Tapestry « pastoral loves »
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
« Les Amours Pastorales » based on a painting by François Boucher. The amiable genre of the Pastoral is well suited to the refined and cheerful settings of the 18th century. The pai...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Aubusson Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Cotton

French Greenery Tapestry Aubusson 18th century - 2m67Hx1m97L - N° 1386
Located in Paris, FR
A stone's throw from the Eiffel Tower We are a family business specializing in the purchase, sale and expertise of old, modern and contemporary tapestries, rugs, kilims and textiles....
Category

1750s French Aubusson Antique Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Silk

Textile Poster, Contemporary Handwoven Tapestry by Andrew Boos
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This wall hanging is a one of a kind heirloom piece. Taking inspiration from brutalism, mid-century abstraction, and Joseph Albers studies on the interaction of color. The entire pr...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Cotton

Two Large, 18th Century Figural Tapestries from France
Located in Toronto, CA
Two large, 18th century, French figural tapestries, each with a central male figure standing in nature, one blowing a hunting horn and one with his arm raised in a searching gesture....
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18th Century French Rococo Antique Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool

Tres Pescados By Paula Barragán
Located in Quito, EC
Crafted from 100% Ecuadorian sheep wool, the Tres Pescados Tapestry is a testament to traditional artistry. Handwoven and meticulously dyed with colorfast pigments, each piece is a u...
Category

Early 2000s Ecuadorean Wool Tapestries

Materials

Silver

Jean Lurcat Tapestry, Circa 1950, Les Quatre Saisons
Located in Doylestown, PA
A modernist tapestry by artist Jean Lurcat, French, circa 1950, titled Les Quatre Saisons (The Four seasons) in wool now mounted in a period giltwood frame.
Category

Mid-20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool

Vintage Tapestry Depicting a River 7.1X4.10
Located in Los Angeles, US
A wall hanging tapestry, simply put, is a textile specifically designed and woven to portray an artistic scene with the intent of hanging it on a wall. Antique tapestries, those that...
Category

Early 2000s Unknown Empire Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Cotton

Vintage Tapestry Depicting Farmers 6X5.6
Located in Los Angeles, US
A wall hanging tapestry, simply put, is a textile specifically designed and woven to portray an artistic scene with the intent of hanging it on a wall. Antique tapestries, those that...
Category

Early 2000s Unknown Empire Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Cotton

Vintage Tapestry Depicting an Exotic Bird 6.2X5.3
Located in Los Angeles, US
A wall hanging tapestry, simply put, is a textile specifically designed and woven to portray an artistic scene with the intent of hanging it on a wall. Antique tapestries, those that...
Category

Early 2000s Unknown Empire Wool Tapestries

Materials

Cotton, Wool

Vintage Tapestry Depicting Royalty 6X5.2
Located in Los Angeles, US
A wall hanging tapestry, simply put, is a textile specifically designed and woven to portray an artistic scene with the intent of hanging it on a wall. Antique tapestries, those that...
Category

Early 2000s Unknown Empire Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Cotton

Bobyrug’s Nice French Aubusson Style Jacquard Tapestry
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Beautiful French tapestry from the second half of the 20th century featuring a design by Jean Laurent titled "Le Cavalier" from the 1980s. Depicting a horseman in the woods, adorned ...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Aubusson Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Cotton

Vintage Tapestry Depicting a Hidden Garden 7.5X5
Located in Los Angeles, US
A wall hanging tapestry, simply put, is a textile specifically designed and woven to portray an artistic scene with the intent of hanging it on a wall. Antique tapestries, those that...
Category

Early 2000s Unknown Empire Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Cotton

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...
Category

Late 18th Century French Aubusson Antique Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool

The Return of the Prodigal Son 17th Century Biblical Aubusson Tapestry - N° 1390
Located in Paris, FR
The Prodigal Son is one of the parables given by Jesus of Nazareth, also called the parable of the Lost Son or the Prodigal Son; He is sometimes called the Merciful Father, or the Fo...
Category

1670s French Aubusson Antique Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Silk

Bobyrug’s Nice French Aubusson Style hand printed tapestry
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Immerse yourself in the allure of this mid-20th-century French tapestry, showcasing a design inspired by a 15th-century woven masterpiece titled "The Enchanted Park." Adorned with ex...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Medieval Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Cotton

Vintage Tapestry Depicting Farm Kids 6.9 X 5.2
Located in Los Angeles, US
A wall hanging tapestry, simply put, is a textile specifically designed and woven to portray an artistic scene with the intent of hanging it on a wall. Antique tapestries, those that...
Category

Early 2000s Unknown Empire Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Cotton

Bobyrug’s Nice French Aubusson Style Jacquard Tapestry
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
"Exquisite French tapestry from the mid-20th century, featuring a beautiful design and nice colours, woven at Jules Pansu workshops in jacquard loom by wool and cotton. » ✨✨✨ "Exper...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Aubusson Wool Tapestries

Materials

Wool, Cotton

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...
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