A Brussels Late Gothic Old Testament Tapestry from the Series The Story of David and Bathsheba

Second Quarter 16th Century

woven in wool and silk, depicting The Coronation of Bathsheba, with the richly-dressed Bathsheba kneeling in the center foreground, two attendants holding her mink-lined cloak, King David standing to her left, holding the crown above her head, surrounded by courtiers between spirally-turned columns, the King’s throne just visible at the left edge of the scene, within borders of foliate-filled vases and ribbon-tied floral garlands, the blue outer selvedge with the Brussels town mark.
8 feet 10 inches x 10 feet 7 1/2 inches.

Property from a Private Family Trust

This lot is located in Chicago.

Note:

This regal tapestry panel is part of a series of weavings, now dispersed, composed of six scenes from the life of David and Bathsheba, which enjoyed great popularity in the late Gothic and early Renaissance. The first three parts, to which the present example counts, tell the story of David and his wife Bathsheba, while the last three depict that of Solomon and his mother Bathsheba.

Well known sets of weavings from this series include a group in the Royal Collection, Madrid, once owned by King Manuel I of Portugal (recorded as early as 1505), and another set purchased by King Henry VIII of England, now in the Musée National de la Renaissance at Château d'Écouen. A set of six tapestries from the collection of the late First Lord Rochdale, was sold at Sotheby’s, London, 11th December 1987, lots 165-170. While owned by Lord Rochdale, they had been on loan to the House of Lords in London, where they hung in the Peers Dining Room. That set included next to ‘The Coronation of Bathsheba’ also the panels `King David sends the messenger to Bathsheba’ (II Samuel, 11), `Bathsheba receives the King’s messenger’ (II Samuel, 11: 4), `The toilet of Bathsheba’ (II Samuel, 11: 2), `King Solomon welcomes his mother Bathsheba' (I Judges, 2:19) and `King Solomon invites Bathsheba to share his throne (I Judges, 2:19). The presence of the Brussels Brabant town mark in the lower right-hand corner of the selvedge of this tapestry – and similarly recorded for the Rochdale tapestries - identifies it as a weaving after 1528.

A Brussels Late Gothic Old Testament Tapestry from the Series The Story of David and Bathsheba