A Flemish Game Park Tapestry, Enghien or Brussels late 16th century

woven with formal garden structures and architecture centred around a balustraded fountain, with huntsmen pursuing a hare in front, and the foreground depicting various animals and birds, including rabbits in their fern surrounded burrow, within an elaborate and deep four-sided architecturally compartmentalised border, with various female allegorical figures and attributes, some within niches and flanked by term figures, the top border centred by a seated figures of Justice with her sword and scales, the lower corners with an allegorical figure seated in a chariot pulled by a pair of horse and pair of leopards respectively, all on a cream ground, with further narrow inner and outer stylised interlocking motif borders, with outer selvedge

Guy Delmarcel, Flemish Tapestries, London, 1999, pp.172-173, illustrates a particularly fine weaving of a Hunting Tapestry, with the arms of Croy-Lalaing: Hunt with Peacock, Flemish, Enghien, dated 1589, with the Enghien town mark. It has a similar composition of detailed buildings and formal garden structures in a landscape setting, and figures involved in the hunt across the central plane, and the inclusion of animals and birds, some with allegorical and mythological symbolism. The border is composed of alternating allegorical figures and the exotic groupings of fruit and flowers, with similar term figures flanking the figures. Professor Delmarcel notes that the use of hunting scenes in front of the buildings and gardens, is in the style of Hans Vredeman de Vries. Cartoons which were previously employed by the Brussels workshop of Frans Geubels (and active until 1629).

Anna Bennett, Five Centuries of Tapestry, The Fine Art Museums of San Francisco, 1992, pp.128-129, no.32, catalogues a `Verdure with Peasant Dance, Flemish, Brussels, circa 1550-1575, with Brussels town mark only, no weaver's marks. It has similar elements within the largely landscape setting, with distant farm, village and figures, and incorporates rabbits in the exburant foliate foreground, it also has a four-sided border, with allegorical figures seated on chariots in the lower corners.

A. Cavallo, Textiles - Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, 1986, pp.70-73, illustrates and discusses two Flemish Garden Tapestries, with figures, circa 1585-1600 (no.14a & 14b), which incorporate small figures within elaborate formal garden settings, with animals and birds in the foreground, one of which bears the Brussels town mark, together with the weaver's mark of Jacob Geubel (used by his son of the same name and his widow Katharine van den Eynde, between 1585-1629), the second tapestry having lost the original outer selvedge and therefore the same marks which would be expected. They are both in four-sided borders with stylised swags and pendant ribbon bows, and groupings of fruit and flowers, and no incorporation of allegorical figures.  

Guy Delmarcel, Tapisseries Anciennes d'Enghien, Mons, 1980, pp.50-53, no.20-22, illustrates three Jardins et Paysages tapestries, end of 16^th century, workshop of Philippe van der Cammen, with the Enghien town mark, and weaver's initials PVC, two have exotica woodlands and wild animals, and the other incorporates formal gardens and buildings, with charming animal details, within an elaborate landscape settings, together with some figures within the main tapestry composition. All these particular tapestries have elaborate borders typical of this period in Flanders, with allegorical figures, including Plenty, alternating with groupings of strapwork flowers and fruit.  

This tapestry has old hessian lining. It would benefit from being re-lined and having Velcro attached across the top for future hanging purposes. The blue selvedge is original on three sides, not the lower horizontal selvege, bottom right half, as visible in photograph by different colour weave. Colours in reality are crisper and more lively and attractive. Not so orange and appearance not as dark. As a result of printing images of fine weave, there are yellow and blue dappled markings in areas, called moiré, it is especially visible in light areas, which is not the colour of the tapestry in reality. For example see across the centre from the turkey, across the hunstmen and the hounds, where yellow moiré in particualr is visible in the catalogue image. The tapestry still has subtle yellow and pink shades and although there is some discolouration to the figures, flesh colours and the sky, commensurate with age, the appearance overall is still attractive. Old silks still present. Some old repairs. For example see bottom left corner of border, sections of the lower horizontal inner border and to areas of detailings such as the horn of central huntsman. Overall balanced colour and composition. Dynamic and charming tapestry, with highly decorative border. Fine quality of weave and high level of expertise evident in the success of the result of the detailed composition.
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