In their masterly filling of the allotted space, in the fine subordination of the varied details to the general effect, as well as in the loftiness and intensity of the emotion expressed, these glorious products of the loom are worthy exemplars of the highest ideals of mural decoration no less than of the aristocratic art of tapestry-weaving. Reflections such as these are the natural consequence of a comparative study of art, and these and kindred reasons are the impelling causes prompting one to exhibit, not only tapestries, but rugs and textiles of all kinds, in an art museum and to give them the same serious study one would accord a Leonardo, a Giotto, a Rembrandt. Æsthetically and racially, they are no less revealing and frequently more interesting in that they are the products of the earliest expressions of those æsthetic impulses the manifestation of which has come to be called art; nor are they less authentic and expressive because communicated with the force and directness of the primitive loom, which give to all its products a certain character and worth rarely equaled by the more sophisticated products of the so-called fine arts.
It is our hope that this catalogue will serve as a helpful guide to all those wishing to make such use of this collection. Every serious student of the subject no less than every unbiased specialist will, I am sure, appreciate at its true worth the scholarly work done by Dr. Ackerman, whose researches have made such a text possible. Bringing to the task a critical judgment and a scientific method of analysis hitherto applied almost exclusively to the identification and interpretation of primitive paintings, the author has been able to correct several well-established errors and to throw new light on many doubtful and obscure points which are so well documented as should make them contributions of permanent value to the literature of the subject.
In conclusion we wish to thank Messrs. William Baumgarten & Company, C. Templeton Crocker, Demotte, Duveen Brothers, P. W. French & Company, A. J. Halow, Jacques Seligmann & Company, Dikran K. Kelekian, Frank Partridge, Inc., W. & J. Sloane, William C. Van Antwerp, Wildenstein & Company, and Mesdames James Creelman, William H. Crocker, Daniel C. Jackling, and Maison Jamarin of Paris, for their kindness in lending us these priceless examples of the European weavers' art that constitute this notable assemblage of tapestries, and to record our deep appreciation of the generous co-operation of the patrons and patronesses whose sponsorship has made the exhibition possible by guaranteeing the very considerable expense involved in bringing the collection to San Francisco. And last, but not least, we wish to express our grateful appreciation of the unremitting thought and attention devoted by the printer to designing and executing the very fitting typographical form that contributes so largely to making the varied material contained herein readily available to the reader, and to acknowledge, on behalf of the author, the friendly help of Arthur Upham Pope, whose suggestions and criticisms have been found of real value in the preparation of the text of the catalogue.
J. NILSEN LAURVIK, Director
San Francisco, September 29, 1922.
The patrons and patronesses of the Exhibition are: Messrs. William C. Van Antwerp, Edwin Raymond Armsby, Leon Bocqueraz, Francis Carolan, C. Templeton Crocker, Sidney M. Ehrman, William L. Gerstle, Joseph D. Grant, Walter S. Martin, James D. Phelan, George A. Pope, Laurance Irving Scott, Paul Verdier, John I. Walter, Michel D. Weill, and Mesdames A. S. Baldwin, C. Templeton Crocker, Henry J. Crocker, William H. Crocker, Marcus Koshland, Eleanor Martin, George A. Pope, and Misses Helen Cowell and Isabel Cowell, and The Emporium.
THE SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF ART
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
WILLIAM C. VAN ANTWERP, EDWIN RAYMOND ARMSBY
ARTHUR BROWN, JR., FRANCIS CAROLAN, CHARLES W. CLARK
CHARLES TEMPLETON CROCKER
WILLIAM H. CROCKER, JOHN S. DRUM, SIDNEY M. EHRMAN
JOSEPH D. GRANT, DANIEL C. JACKLING
WALTER S. MARTIN, JAMES D. PHELAN, GEORGE A. POPE
LAURANCE I. SCOTT, RICHARD M. TOBIN
JOHN I. WALTER
DIRECTOR
J. NILSEN LAURVIK
THE MUSEUM IS HOUSED IN THE PALACE OF FINE ARTS
ERECTED BY THE PANAMA-PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL
EXPOSITION IN 1915