Description

Reference number: 78J / 2643

Origin: Flanders-Antwerp

Period: 17th century

Provenance: Private Collection

Composition: Wool and silk

Dimension: L 4.52 x H 3.15

Summer and harvest - The Goddess Ceres In the company of her daughter Proserpine.

Very fine tapestry panel from the 17th century, woven in one of the many workshops of Antwerp (Flanders) who worked primarily for export. The panel that we present here is exceptional, preserved the freshness of all its colors as in the early days. This tapestry for summer register with the harvest and is part of a series of drapes in four panels with the theme of the four seasons. The composition of the cardboard inclines us to suggest that it is probably a work of Jan Wildens (1586-1653). A rich border, in places collaborating, composed of flowers and fruits with a small dog in the center (characteristic of some Antwerp workshops), is pleasantly enhanced the high quality of this tapestry.

Analysis of the composition of the panel

The structure of the composition of the characters suggests a double interpretation, the mythological one with the Goddess Ceres (or Demeter for the Greeks) and her daughter Proserpine (or Persephone for the Greeks), and the other more contemporary at the time of the realization of the tapestry. If the clothing of the women subdues that the sponsor of this tapestry can be a follower of the rigor demanded by the "Reformed" church, the hat in the hands of one of the characters in the background in the middle invites us to believe him.

To the left of the panel or can see the harvesters working in the fields, mowing and tying the wheat boots. Characters of the central scene, on the left the Goddess Ceres dressed in red her tutelary color, in front of her daughter, Proserpine, lying on the sheaves and a gallant bourgeois in the background, two other young women to whom Ceres presents crowns of wheat, symbol of fertility and fertility.

Mythological context

In Sicily, every year, in commemoration of the departure of Ceres for his long journeys. The islanders, neighbors of the volcano Etna, ran at night with burning torches and shouting loudly.

These feasts were introduced later in Rome, in the form of processions around the fields, the Ambarvales celebrated by the Arvales Brothers: they were celebrated by the Roman ladies dressed in white. Even men, mere spectators, dressed in white stuffs. It was believed that these feasts, to be agreeable to the goddess, should not be celebrated by people in mourning. For this reason, they were omitted the year of the Battle of Cannes.

In addition to pork, sow or lettuce, Ceres also accepted the ram as a victim. In its solemnities the garlands used were myrtle or narcissus; but the flowers were forbidden, because it was by picking flowers that Proserpine had been removed by Pluto. The poppy alone was consecrated to him, not only because he grew in the midst of the corn, but also because Jupiter fed him for sleep, and consequently for a truce to his pain.

Ceres has an only daughter, with Jupiter, king of the gods. His name is Proserpine, assimilated to the Persephone of the Greeks. But while her daughter was picking flowers with her friends, she was kidnapped by the god of the underworld, Pluto. Ceres did not recover and stopped farming. She went to inquire about the divine judgment of Jupiter, who ordered Proserpine to stay in Hell for the winter, and to spend the rest of the year with his mother.

Sources:

History of tapestry since the Middle Ages to the present day Guyffrei 1896

Dictionary of symbols, myths, dreams, customs, gestures, shapes, figures, colors, numbers. Coll. BOUQUINS, Edt Robert Laffont / Jupiter. Jean Chevalier1987.

Our house ensures you the sale of a tapestry with invoice and approved expertise, well cleaned, in good condition with its fixing system. Should this be necessary, we will specify the work that has been done. All our tapestries can be presented to your home in France and bordering countries before your final decision.