Captive Unicorn - Blue Tapestry

This tapestry was woven at the end of the fifteenth century, and is probably the last one in the series of La Chasse la Licorne (The Hunt of the Unicorn), this piece indicating the end of the hunt in that the Unicorn is finally captured. This set of tapestries was probably woven circa 1500 for Anne of Brittany, having been commissioned on the occasion of her marriage to Louis XII, King of France from 1498 to 1515. The letters AE appear tied around the tree with a golden chain, being the first and last letters of the brides name, Anne. From the style of the design and the weaving technique employed in the original, it is thought that this tapestry was probably woven in Brussels, from a design by an artist familiar with French art. The Mille-Fleurs (thousand flowers) background of this tapestry is typical of the style which developed in the fifteenth century, possibly inspired by the custom of strewing the ground with cut flowers on fte days. Regarded as a symbol of purity in the Middle Ages, the legendary and mythical creature of the Unicorn is fastened by a golden chain to a pomegranate tree, signifying marriage and fertility. For several centuries the tapestries were at the Rochefoucauld Chteau at Verteuil, France. There they remained until they were acquired by John D Rockefeller, who presented them to the Cloisters at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1938, where they still hang today. The original tapestry measures 120 high by 82 wide (368 x 251cm), and was restored in the nineteenth century to magnificent condition.

This beautiful tapestry is woven on a jacquard loom by skilled weavers, keeping alive the centuries old tradition of tapestry manufacturing from generation to generation. This tapestry is fully lined incorporating a rod pocket on the back for hanging with an exclusive Heirloom flush-to-wall hanging rod. Alternatively, this tapestry can be hung with a decorative pole of your choice.