Description :

Reference number: 78J / 3121A

Origin: Flanders-Brussels

Period: 16th century

Provenance: Private Collection

Composition: Wool and silk

Dimesions:145 L x 2.45 H

Tapestry from the Brussels from the 16th century Fine tapestry from Basse-Lisse, Brussels, woven in wool and silk around 1550-1580, "Scipio and Hannibal" The hanging of Scipio's History was one of the largest and most famous tapestry sets woven in the 16th century, relating one of the great epics of ancient history, the Punic wars in which Scipio and Hannibal clashed. Very famous, A set of the same subject was used for the great ceremonies at the Louvre Palace and in the other royal residences, and transported during royal travels........ The borders of this richly decorated tapestry have a complex program. They are representative of many Brussels series from the third quarter of the 16th century and display the grotesque style, popularised by Raphael's school in the first half of the 16th century. This brilliant decoration is inspired by the paintings of the Domus aurea (Golden House) discovered in Rome in 1493. Filled with animal allegories borrowed from late antiquity treatises, such as those of Pliny, these images are allusions to the moral qualities illustrated in the central scene.