Paris (Northern France), c. 331 x 187 cm, first third of the 17th century, Manufacture des Gobelins by Marc de Comans and Francois de la Planche; cartoon by Henri Delambert;
museum-quality weaving with very high proportion of silk and gold threads of the highest weaving quality, tapestries of this quality are very rarely found on international market places, unfortunately the exact iconography of this scene depicted here cannot be established, it is probably about the young King David with the three philosophers, the weaver's mark of a lily on the right lower galloon is also unknown, however the workmanship shows that the tapestry originates from the Parisian workshop belonging to Marc de Comans and Francois de la Planche, the pattern was designed by Henri Delambert, a very similar series is preserved in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the carpet has a replaced border on both narrow ends, is trimmed and as a result is slightly shorter, due to the mounting of tapestries the ends often suffer and in the course of the restoration the lower weaver's mark was likely lost, the tapestry is cleaned and backed with new supporting linen, furthermore some repairs have been carried out, this piece is now preserved in very good condition, with a warp break to the lower image towards the border - however this can be easily sewn, this piece has already once been successfully sold and as a result of inheritance has found its way back to our auction. (MA)

Published:
Dorotheum auction catalogue, Oriental carpets, textiles and tapestries, September 2011, lot 98. Further reading:
Candace J. Adelson, European Tapestry in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.