Pygmalion and Galatea
Antwerp, c1690
Height: 8ft 8in (265cm) Width: 17ft 5in (530cm)
Provenance: H.R.H. Prince Vittekind Waldeck (Pyrmont),
Castle Arolsen, Waldeck, Germany.
A rare Antwerp Tapestry, circa 1690, from the workshop of the brothers Philip Wauters, designed by Daniel Janssens who was the master of the Guild of Painters in Antwerp and the in-house designer of the Wauters brothers.
This tapestry, which is in remarkable original condition and retaining fresh and natural colors, is made of wool and silk threads. Probably made for the English market (height of the tapestry to go above dado rail) though later English copies of the early 18th century, Post-Mortlake do exist.
The scene is taken from Ovid’s The Metamorphoses, Book 10, no. 7, Pygmalion sculpting the statue of Galatea from ivory with which he falls in love and asks Venus (Aphrodite) to give it life, which she does and he marries her and makes her his queen (of Cyprus).
The tapestry has the flower and fruit border, which is the rarest type, most common is the cross ribbon border in imitation of a picture frame.
Literature: Wendy Hefford, The Chicago Pygmalion and the English Metamorphosis, Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies, No 10, 1983.
Similar Examples: The Art Institute of Chicago Museum, USA (lacks borders) also at Cotehele, Cornwall, England. (The National Trust).
Price : P.O.A.
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