PAIR OF IMPORTANT LATE 17TH CENTURY GOBELINS TAPESTRIES

PAIR OF IMPORTANT LATE 17TH CENTURY GOBELINS TAPESTRIES
Each with central gold two handled urns with red poppies under an arch supported on either side by columns with abundant poppies and leaves, the whole on a yellow (cafe-au-lait) ground.
The borders with ribbon-tied vine leaf poles and foliate spandrels. Finely woven in wool and silk. Manufacture Royale des Gobelins circa 1680.
Both tapestries are backed with linen. For a full condition report please contact us.

The Gobelins Factory was established by Louis XIV (1638–1715) in Paris in 1662 to supply furnishings for the French royal palaces. The quality and design of its high-warp textiles were among the finest in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe. Tapestry production in France was encouraged by Louis XIV's finance minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619–83), who hoped to rival other European factories. In 1662 he brought an existing manufactory, at Gobelins, under control of the Crown for the purpose of supplying royal furnishings and gifts. The factory closed briefly between 1694 and 1699 due to financial difficulties, but it flourished soon after, producing some of the most sophisticated European tapestries of the eighteenth century. Designs for Gobelins tapestries were provided by the leading artists of the day – including Charles Le Brun and Charles Coypel. The panels were woven at one of three workshops, each of which operated under a master workman.

HEIGHT : 298 cm (117¼")
WIDTH: 224 cm (88¼")
HEIGHT: 299 cm (117¾")
WIDTH: 220 cm (86½")