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Southern Netherlands Brussels

In the 15th and 16th and early 17th centuries Brussels was the pre-eminent centre for tapestry design and production.  Workshops produced the latest designs for tapestry series to be exported throughout Europe, with emperors, kings and popes competing for the finest pieces.  The market was strongly regulated and from 1528 it became obligatory for weavers to sign their tapestries with an accompanying BB denoting Brussels Brabant.  The list of great sets and individual pieces is almost endless, but highlights include Los Honores, Raphael’s Acts of the Apostles, in the Vatican, The Hunts of Maximilian, in the Louvre, The Conquest of Tunis, the Valois tapestries in the Uffizi and Rubens’ Triumph of the Eucharist and his Story of Achilles.  Elsewhere in the Southern Netherlands workshops operated in Antwerp, Bruges, Enghien, Grammont, Oudenaarde, Tournai, and Lille.  A number of exceptional sets were produced and some weavers gained international reputations, although these centres did not in general achieve the status of Brussels.  In Antwerp the Wauters family gained prominence.  Lille, at times under control of France as now, was a significant tapestry centre.  Lille's most celebrated workshop and weaver was Guillame Wernier, who gained fame for his exceptional series of tapestries woven after paintings by David Teniers II (1610 – 1690).

Renaissance Garden Tapestry

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Brussels, circa 1600
10ft 6in width x 11ft 7in height
3.20m x 3.53

  • The Battle of Zama

    The Battle of Zama

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    Brussels Tapestry, Mid 16th Century
    From a set woven for Jacques d’Albon, Marshal of France (c. 1505 – 1562)
    Adapted from an earlier series: The Deeds of Scipio
    21ft 7in width x 11ft 5in height
    6.58m x 3.48m

  • Landscape Tapestry with Deer and Swans

    Landscape Tapestry with Deer and Swans

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    Brussels, circa 1670
    From the workshops of Marcus de Vos (signed)
    15ft 1in width x 10ft 3in height
    4.60m x 3.12m

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