Tapestries

Mr. Nemati's personal collection of masterpieces representing the very finest designs from the 16th through the 20th century, each have the distinction of being featured in his landmark book, The Spendor of Antique Rugs and Tapestries (Rizzoli, 2001).

If you are seeking a work of art of a similar quality, but with a different subject or scale, please let us know. Mr. Nemati's collection includes many other exceptional tapestries available for investment.

The Crowning

Oudenaarde, Flanders

16th Century

8 feet by 10 feet 9 inches, 2.47 by 3.27 meters

This 16th century tapestry depicts a dramatic episode of courtly life with a life-size bearded king crowning an enthroned queen, viewed by a group of highly individualized male and female figures. The visual composition and the strongly allegorical nature of the male and female participants along with their dress and symbolic attributes suggest this vignette is part of a larger series of didactic events in either an historical or mythological legend. On all four sides, a lush meandering garland of floral and folate swags is augmented with antique urns.

Literature: The Splendor of Antique Rugs and Tapestries, Parviz Nemati, PDN Communications and Rizzoli, 2001, plate 279, pp. 380-381

(Price upon request.)

Zeus Seducing Diana

Paris, France

17th Century

10 feet 7 inches by 12 feet 8 inches, 3.23 by 3.86 meters

This lovely tapestry from the 17th century, illustrated in plate 274 of Mr. Nemati's book, The Splendor of Antique Rugs and Tapestries, depicts Zeus seducing Diana. Zeus, assuing anothe rof his proean transformations, attempts the seduction of Diana, Goddes of the Hunt, in a lush leafy flower-strewn bower. While he assumes the disguise of a young maiden, he is accompanied by his heraldic symbol of the eagle. Diana reclines in her antique warrior garb, complete with a quiver of arrows. Using the popular convention the multiple episode and magic, in the skies of the distant background, Hermes (Mercury), the messenger god, points toward the approaching twilight. On four sides of this image, highly detailed and lavish floral and foliate columns are centered with elaborate shields and augmented with fruit and vegetable-filled baskets.

Literature: The Splendor of Antique Rugs and Tapestries, Parviz Nemati, PDN Communications and Rizzoli, 2001, plate 274, p. 373

(Price upon request.)

Roman Consul Decius Mus Presenting an Idol to the Senate

Executed by Jan Raes I (1574-1651), Circa 1620

Brussels, Flanders

11 feet 6 inches by 14 feet 9 inches, 3.50 by 4.50 meters

This tapestry illustrates a turning point in the design and execution of Flemish tapestries. It is one from the first series designed by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) circa 1616 and executed at the Brussels workshop of Jan Raes I (1574-1651) depicting the history of Decius Mus, the Roman Consul and patriot admired by the artist. Rubens brought his innovative vision to the art of tapestry design by showcasing only a select few monumental figures in his compositions, careful not to clutter the field like his predecessors. The series was probably first commissioned by Sir Dudley Carlton, the Ambassador of his Majesty of Great Britain to The Hague, and Raes is known to have produced just a few sets of the series. This particular scene depicts Decius Mus presenting an idol to the senate before start of the First Samnite War, circa 343 BC. The Kilkenny Castle in Ireland has an identical tapestry. Tapestries by Jan Raes I and his son can be found in museums around the globe, including the Hermitage Museum, J. Paul Getty Museum, the National Trust Collections, the Liechtenstein Museum, Museum Nacional del Prado, among others.

Literature: The Splendor of Antique Rugs and Tapestries, Parviz Nemati, PDN Communications and Rizzoli, 2001, plate 270, pp. 368-369

(Price upon request.)

The Heron

Verdure Tapestry

Flanders

17th Century

5 feet 8 inches by 9 feet 6 inches, 1.73 x 2.90 meters

This exceptionally fine example of a well-loved genre - the Flemish verdure tapestry - is a carefully composed landscape. The eyes of the viewer focus on lush white flowers in front of dense foliage and pause on a life-size water bird. A stream divides the landscape, leading the viewer to a castle in the distance. A lavish fruit and foliate garland with two repeats of the bird frame this well-balanced scene.

Literature: The Splendor of Antique Rugs and Tapestries, Parviz Nemati, PDN Communications and Rizzoli, 2001, plate 276, p. 376

(Price upon request.)

Exotic Flora

Aubusson, France

First Half, 18th Century

8 by 13 feet, 2.44 by 3.96 meters

This extraordinary tapestry, illustrated in plate 287 of Mr. Nemati's book, The Splendor of Antique Rugs and Tapestries, depicts a scene of exotic architecture combined with flora and fauna in a classically structured composition. A coconut tree, palm tree and abundant flowering plants frame a turkey hen, cock and flying macaw in front of a slender triple-column garden pavilion. In the distance, beyond a wide river, a jungle landscape overlooks broad waterfalls. A stepped, mountainous road leads to a temple rising above lush forest. The design elements of this remarkable scene suggest this fantasy landscape is an imaginary view of the New World. The signature of the maker indicates the tapestry was woven after the Aubusson workshop received royal accreditation.

Literature: The Splendor of Antique Rugs and Tapestries, Parviz Nemati, PDN Communications and Rizzoli, 2001, plate 287, p. 390

(Price upon request.)

Ulysses Finding Achilles Among the Maidens

After the Original from Mortlake Tapestry Works, Mortlake, England

England

First Half, 18th Century

7 feet 4 inches by 17 feet 4 inches, 2.24 by 5.28 meters

This extraordinary tapestry, illustrated in plate 6 of Mr. Nemati's landmark book, The Splendor of Antique Rugs and Tapestries, depicts the sixth episode of seven in the mythological legend, the 'Story of Ulysses', illustrating Ulysses (in Greek, Odysseus) finding Achilles among the maidens at the Court of Lycomedes. On the left in the open colonnade, Ulysses in disguise with Domed offers musical instruments to the daughters of King Lycomedes. Four maidens are grouped around the seated Achilles, dressed in women's clothes. As he draws a sword from its sheath, two other maidens enter from the right. The mythological sequence for this dynamic composition is compelling. When Achilles was a boy, a prophet predicted that he alone would conquer Troy. Achilles' mother, Thetis, soon realized that such a destiny would bring death upon her son. To protect him from the evident peril she hid him in the court of King Lycomedes, disguised as one of the maidens. Eventually, the Greeks, helped by Ulysses, revealed Achilles' identity through an ingenious trick. Ulysses placed arms and armor amidst a display of women's finery and musical instruments that he presented to the daughters of Lycomedes. One story tells that Ulysses seized upon Achilles when he was the only 'maiden' to be fascinated by the swords and welds, whereas another version narrates that when Ulysses and his companions created battle cries and sounded the trumpets, Achilles, thinking they were being attacked, rushed for weapons. He then went willingly with the Greeks to attack Troy, for he could not escape his destiny.

This tapestry as identical to the example illustrated in English Tapestries of the 18th Century London, Henry Currie Marillier, Medici Society, 1930, plate 42b. At the time of publication, known examples from the 'Story of Ulysses' series were limited to one set of five pieces located at Hinwick House, Wellingborough, England, and one set of three pieces formerly at the Spanish Art Gallery, one piece the former property of a Mr. Herrmann. A fine copy of this tapestry with a different border and dimensions was located at Tylney Court, Hampshire, England.

The Mortlake tapestry works were established in 1619 in the village of Mortlake, west of London at the urging of King James I (1566-1725). The king and his son Charles, Prince of Wales, later Charles I (1600-1649) became the workshop’s prime customers. Throughout the 17th century Mortlake produced tapestries of the finest quality, rivaling the output from France and Flanders.

Mortlake tapestries are found in numerous institutional collections, including 24 held by the Royal Collection Trust, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among others. Today, Mortlake tapestries are on display at St James's Palace, Kensington Palace and the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

Literature: The Splendor of Antique Rugs and Tapestries, Parviz Nemati, PDN Communications and Rizzoli, 2001, plate 6, pp. 28-29.

(Price upon request.)

Scene Outside French Chateau

Aubusson, France

Early 19th Century

8 feet 5 inches by 13 feet 3 inches, 2.57 by 4.04 meters

This ravishing tapestry from the early 19th century, illustrated in plate 294 of Mr. Nemati's book, The Splendor of Antique Rugs and Tapestries, depicts a number of carefully crafted themes. In the foreground a dog hunts a pair of ducks. A peacock sits on top of a majestic, ornamental marble fountain. A magnificent chateau with formal garden surrounded by moat stand before a snowy mountainous landscape in the distance. Exotic botanical elements frame this classically balanced composition. They include a grapevine on the left, and fruit tree and blossoming plants on the right.

Literature: The Splendor of Antique Rugs and Tapestries, Parviz Nemati, PDN Communications and Rizzoli, 2001, plate 294, pp. 396-397.

(Price upon request.)

WPA Tapestry in Social Realism Style

Anton Refregier (Russian-American, 1905-1979)

Circa 1940s

9 by 29 feet, 2.74 by 8.84 meters

This tremendous work of art by the Russian-born American painter and muralist, Anton Refregier, may be the largest and most important WPA-era tapestry in private hands and available for purchase anywhere today. Measuring 29 feet across, it depicts work scenes typical of the artist’s painted murals in the Social Realist style produced during the height of the artist’s output, popularity, and acclaim, when he worked as an artist in the Federal Art Project of the Works Projects Administration or WPA. It is believed to have been commissioned by the City of Cincinnati for its airport and depicts scenes of work life characteristic of the city’s leading industries, including fishing, riverboats, music education and ceramic casting.

Refregier was born in Moscow and emigrated to the United States in 1920 and earned a scholarship to the Rhode Island School of Design in 1921. He settled in New York City in 1925 where he worked for interior decorators, creating replicas of François Boucher and Jean-Honoré Fragonard paintings. He studied under Hans Hofmann in Munich in 1927 and upon his return joined the Mount Airy artists' colony in Croton-on-Hudson.

Following the passage of the Federal Art Project in 1935 within the Works Progress Administration (renamed in 1939 the Works Projects Administration) Refregier received numerous commissions for government-sponsored projects, including murals for the American Pavilion at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City.

In 1940 he won a juried competition to earn the commission for his most famous work, the History of San Francisco, located in the lobby of the Rincon Center in San Francisco, California, at the time a post office known as Rincon Annex. Completed by Refregier from 1940 through 1947 (paused during WWII), when complete it included 27 murals totaling over 2,750 square feet. His earnings for the project, $26,000, were the highest valued commission issued to-date by the WPA for painted artworks.

Refregier’s artworks can be found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, among others throughout the U.S.

Literature: The Splendor of Antique Rugs and Tapestries, Parviz Nemati, PDN Communications and Rizzoli, 2001, plate 295, pp. 398-399.

(Price upon request.)