Tapestry with Cardoons, Coronets and Peacock Feathers
c. 1450
Northern France, Tournai
210 × 118.5 cm; Tapestry of wool and silk wefts on an undyed wool warp, secured on a dyed linen support, 6½ warps per cm.
A plant with spiky leaves impales coronets accompanied by peacock feathers on a brilliant red ground. The foliage, which most closely resembles a cardoon – a relative of the artichoke and the thistle – dominates the field with its sculptural, deeply lobed leaves and sharply linear stem. Our example is closely related to tapestry fragments produced in Tournai for members of the French court, such as Guillaume Jouvenel des Ursins, chancellor to the King of France between 1445 and 1461. The essence of its bold colour scheme and striking design is vividly preserved, allowing the modern viewer a glimpse of the vibrancy of the most lavish fifteenth-century interiors.
