CHINESE GROTESQUE: A Chinaman, fantastically dressed, stands between two tall tropical trees. On a pale-blue ground.
The piece is a delightful example of the taste for chinoiseries which the Pompadour fostered for the benefit of the French East India Company, in which she was interested, and which taste was eagerly followed by the frivolous and bored French court, always seeking novelty.
72 AUBUSSON, XVIII CENTURY
Wool and Silk.
H. 4 ft. 3 in.
W. 3 ft. 9 in.
Exhibited: Detroit Museum of Fine Arts, 1919.
Lent by Dikran K. Kelekian.
ARMORIAL: On a red ground, two angels support a shield. Border of scrolls.
This crisp and delicate little armorial is a fine example of the best quality of work done at Aubusson in the late XVIIIth century. The clear drawing on the deep-red background makes a vivid piece of decoration.
The rendition of a coat of arms in tapestry is difficult, because the decorative value of heraldic devices depends almost entirely on the beauty of the line-drawing, and tapestry, because of the character of the weave and the surface, is not a good medium for clean lines. In the earlier periods, therefore, the shield was usually made incidental to a design better adapted to tapestry (cf. No. 9). It was only well into the XVIIIth century that the bearings could be woven delicately enough to let them stand alone.
73 IMPERIAL RUSSIAN TAPESTRY WORKS, ST. PETERSBURG, 1811
Wool and Silk.
H. 9 ft. 4 in.
W. 6 ft. 7 in.
Exhibited: Metropolitan Museum, 1912.
CATHERINE THE GREAT: Catherine stands in her robes of state holding the sceptre while the Imperial crown rests on a stool beside her. On the wall is the Russian motto, NACHATOYE SOVERCHAYET ("What is begun is accomplished"). It is signed and dated.