17
A Beauvais Mythological Tapestry
Estimate: $5,000-$7,000
Sold
$4,750
Live Auction
European Furniture and Decorative Arts
Location
Chicago
Description
A Beauvais Mythological Tapestry
Late 18th Century
depicting Dionysus with Ariadne in a chariot.
8 feet 8 inches x 12 feet 5 inches.
Property from the American University Museum, Washington, D.C.
This lot is located in Chicago.
Condition
Heavily repaired, with patches on the back which are more numerous around the sky where fraying occurred. The repairs probably date to the earlier 20th century. There is some discoloration showing through to the front, mainly in the sky, where the patches are pasted to the back surface. The tapestry is overall stable, but needs conservation and cleaning. Very faded colors. Scattered small separations and areas of fraying which need repair. Mostly intact from its original size, but probably reduced slightly or reduced by having lost its original border. Additional photos available upon request.
Provenance
Provenance:Probably with French and Co., New YorkCollection of William A. Clark (American, 1839-1925)Corcoran Gallery of Art (acquired in 1928)Note:An illustrated handbook of the William A. Clark Collection, dating to 1928, notes that the three Beauvais tapestries accessioned, Genius of the Arts, representing Painting and Sculpture, Genius of the Arts, representing Life and the Harvest or Earth Bringing Forth in Abundance, and Ceres in a Chariot, and Zephyr Leading Psyche into the Palace of Love are after designs by François Boucher [1]. A more recent museum publication from 2001 conversely attributes two of the scenes, Painting and Sculpture and The Sciences and the Arts, to Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée and just one, Zephyr Leading Psyche into the Palace of Love, as being after a cartoon by Boucher. [2][1] The Corcoran Gallery of Art. Illustrated Handbook of the W.A. Clark Collection (The Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1928), 71.[2] The Corcoran Gallery of Art. Antiquities to Impressionism: The William A. Clark Collection (The Corcoran Gallery of Art, 2001), 21.