Reference No.: 78J/ 2541

Origin: Flanders - Brussels signed in the counter border

Period: 17th century

Provenance: Private Collection

Composition: Wool and silk

Dimension: W 3.11 x H 2.87

Tapestry of Brussels, 1st half of the 17th century "La Toilette d'Esther"

Exceptional tapestry from Flanders, Brussels signed below right, Wauters (1619-1660) finely woven in wool and silk. Beautiful border with side columns supporting a lintel decorated with two love stories, framing a cartouche decorated with a landscape. The subject evokes an episode of Esther's Life.

Our panel shows "La Toilette d'Esther".

Mordecai had adopted his cousin Hadassa, who was called Esther. Her body was splendid and her beauty remarkable [...] The young girls had to follow the beauty treatment prescribed for women for one year: the first six months they were massaged with myrrh oil and the next six months with perfumed balms and other female beauty products.

"The story reported here came in the time of King Xerxes, who ruled one hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia. In the third year of his reign, the king, installed in his royal palace in the citadel of Susa, organized a banquet for all his senior officials and ministers; he gathered with him the officers of the Persian and Medieval armies, governors and heads of provinces. He showed them the magnificent riches and dazzling luxury that made the glory of his reign. The festivities lasted for a very long time, six months in total. At the end of this period, the king also offered a banquet to the people of all conditions, rich or poor, who were in the citadel of Susa. This celebration took place for a week in the palace gardens. " - Esther 1:1-

"On the seventh day of the banquet, King Xerxes was enlivened by the wine. He called the seven eunuchs. He ordered them to bring him Queen Vasti with the royal crown. He wanted to show his senior officials and other people present how beautiful the queen was. She was indeed of remarkable beauty. The eunuchs transmitted the king's order to the queen, but she refused to come. The king was seized with violent anger. He consulted his experts, as royal affairs were always settled with the help of legal and customary experts. Memoukan then declared to the king and his senior officials: "Queen Vasti acted very badly not only towards the king, but also towards his senior officials and even towards all the men who live in the different provinces of the empire. Indeed, all women will learn the queen's behaviour and they will start despising the authority of their husbands.

If His Majesty the King thinks fit, let him promulgate a decree prohibiting Vasti from appearing before him forever and granting the title of queen to a woman who is more worthy of it than she is. This royal decree must be included among the laws of Persia and Medea, which cannot be annulled. When this decision is known in all parts of the immense empire, every woman will have consideration for her husband, whether important or modest. "The king and his high officials liked the idea, and the king followed Memukan's advice. " - Esther 1:10-21...........