Details
Woven in silks and wool, depicting flowering branches with perched exotic birds on a dark ground; minor areas of re-weaving
128 in. (325 cm.) long; 49 in. (124 cm) wide
Special notice
This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.
Specified lots (sold and unsold) marked with a filled square ( ¦ ) not collected from Christie’s, 8 King Street, London SW1Y 6QT by 5.00pm on the day of the sale will, at our option, be removed to Crozier Park Royal (details below). Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite.If the lot is transferred to Crozier Park Royal, it will be available for collection from 12.00pm on the second business day following the sale.Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Crozier Park Royal. All collections from Crozier Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only.Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com.If the lot remains at Christie’s, 8 King Street, it will be available for collection on any working day (not weekends) from 9.00am to 5.00pm
Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.
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Lot Essay

Also known as 'verdure' tapestry, this rare and brilliant example relates closely to recorded 16th century Mille-fleurs tapestries attributed to the manufactory of Enghien. By comparison, the use of blue and green colour palette and similar stylised floral motifs on a dark background can be found on a 'verdure avec animaux' tapestry in the Rijksmuseum (inv. BK-16114), with a mark for the town of Enghien. Other examples would be the 'verdure avec animaux' tapestry in the 'Stadtische Kunstsammlungen' of Augsburg (inv. DMIII 12), and two others at the Palais Episcopal de Côme, also bearing the marks for the Enghien town. Further examples can also be found at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Musée de Cluny in Paris.
The continuous repetitive or stylised mille-fleur pattern ground emerged from the mid 15th century, testyfying a love of nature, which carried on well into the mid 16th century. As seen in some of the museum examples mentioned above, figures and animals were sometimes part of the harmonious decor and these uniterrupted panels were especially popular in the second half of the 15th century, where workshops dedicated only to verdure tapestry thrived, Enghien being one of the most successful.
Research through important household inventories found that nobles and kings had rooms ('chambres de tapisseries') with walls covered in these uninterrupted tapestries with no borders, emerging themselves completely in a naturalistic setting.

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