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Material: Silk
After Pablo Picasso, Framed Serigraph on Silk - Buste de Femme au Chapeau Bleu
Located in Morristown, NJ
After Pablo Picasso (Spanish/ French, 1881-1973), Buste de Femme au Chapeau Bleu, serigraph on silk. A hand-colored and hand pulled scarf in 12 color...
Category

1980s French Modern Vintage Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk, Plexiglass, Giltwood

28x29 in Embroidered 100% Silk Wall Hanging. New Tablecloth. Modern Throw
Located in Spring Valley, NY
Celebrate the rich heritage of Asian craftsmanship with this exquisite 100% silk Suzani textile, meticulously hand-embroidered by skilled artisans. A true work of art, this piece emb...
Category

2010s Central Asian Suzani Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

Antique 19th Century French Aubusson Rococo Tapestry
Located in New York, NY
This is a lovely antique 19th century square French Aubusson tapestry depicting a on a beautiful spring day in the countryside with lush trees and vegetation with a woman on a swing and her husband and two children beside her. It is a lovely silk and wool tapestry with in the classic Rocco style...
Category

19th Century French Rococo Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Tapestry, Wool, Silk

Framed Fine Embroidered Fifth Rank Badge Chinese Qing Dynasty
Located in Atlanta, GA
A finely embroidered silk civil rank badge panel presented in a giltwood frame circa mid-late 19th century. The square rank badge is known in Chinese ...
Category

19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

Vintage Framed Bird Scene, Japanese, Silk Cotton Embroidery, Art Deco, C.1940
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is a vintage framed bird scene. A Japanese, silk cotton embroidery display, dating to the Art Deco period, circa 1940. Attractive Oriental ...
Category

Early 20th Century Japanese Art Deco Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

16th Century Brussels Biblical Old Testament Tapestry, with Moses Joshua
Located in New York, NY
An antique Brussels biblical tapestry from the late 16th century, attributed to Jan (Ian) Raes, depicting Moses at right, with Joshua kneeling before ...
Category

16th Century Belgian Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Wool, Silk

Palm Tree Chinoiserie Wallpaper Hand Painted Wallpaper on Silk Panel
Located in Wuxi, 32
If you love the look of De Gournay wallpaper but not the price, this is for you. Measures: 3 ft x 8 ft. The colorways in this sections present ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

6.8x7.8 Ft Central Asian Suzani Textile, Embroidered Cotton Silk Wall Hanging
Located in Spring Valley, NY
In the most technical sense of the word, "Suzani," in Central Asia and Iran, means needle and is used to describe this type of needlework, but to most people, such as decorators or c...
Category

Late 20th Century Uzbek Suzani Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Cotton, Silk

Framed Antique Fez Emboidery, E. 20th C. Morocco
Located in Istanbul, TR
First the fragment has been hand backed on a linen fabric, then stretched over a wooden stretcher and finished with a wooden frame. Early 20th C. Morocco. Ready to go on a wall. Fra...
Category

Early 20th Century Moroccan Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

Pretty antique Hungarian embroidery tissue
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Beautiful antique hungarian embroidered tissue fragment , with beautiful designs of flowers and with nice natural colours, entirely hand embroide...
Category

Early 19th Century Hungarian Aubusson Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

Monumental Mughal Framed Rajasthani Painting of Maharaja on Horseback - India
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
A monumental traditional Rajasthani painting professionally framed in a gilt frame. We often come across miniature versions of these which are ref...
Category

20th Century Indian Anglo Raj Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Glass, Wood, Paint, Silk

Antique Uzbekistan Tashkent All Over Silk Suzani Embroidered Rare Wall Hanging
Located in Tokyo, JP
This wall hanging is all over hand-embroidered Suzani design, silk cotton ground and the embroidery thread is 100% silk. Suzani, which means "embroidery" in Uzbek, began aro...
Category

Early 20th Century Uzbek Kilim Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk, Natural Fiber, Organic Material

Framed Antique Fez Emboidery, E. 20th C. Morocco
Located in Istanbul, TR
First the fragment has been hand backed on a linen fabric, then stretched over a wooden stretcher and finished with a wooden frame. Early 20th C. Morocco. Ready to go on a wall. Fra...
Category

Early 20th Century Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

1900 Antique French Tapestry Wool Silk Game 7x7 Square 196cm x 201cm
Located in New York, NY
1900 Antique French Tapestry Wool & Silk Game 7x7 Square 6'5" x 6'7" 196cm x 201cm "This is an outstanding antique French Aubusson tapestry in a fantastic large square size- This wo...
Category

Early 1900s French Baroque Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Wool, Silk

Professionally Framed Uzbek Suzani Fragment, Uzbekistan, 19th C.
Located in Istanbul, TR
First the fragment has been hand backed on a linen fabric, then stretched over a wooden stretcher and finished with a wooden frame. Late 19th C. Uzbekistan Ready to go on a wall. Fr...
Category

19th Century Uzbek Suzani Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

Professionally Framed Antique Suzani Fragment, 19th Century.
Located in Istanbul, TR
The suzani fragment on the frame is from a 19th C. Suzani. It is hand backed on linen and streched over a strecher and finished with a wooden frame. Ready to go on any wall. The ite...
Category

19th Century Uzbek Suzani Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

Set Of Four 19 Century Antique Silk Suzani Wall Hanging
Located in Delray Beach, FL
This beautiful set of four Suzani embroidery features intricate geometric and floral patterns, showcasing traditional Uzbek craftsmanship. The vibrant colors and tight stitching sug...
Category

19th Century Uzbek Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Cotton, Silk, Acrylic, Wood

Huge 17th C. Regal Flemish baroque Historical tapestry Royal court Antique LA CA
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Huge 17th C. Regal Flemish baroque Historical tapestry Royal court Antique LA CA . The period followed Renaissance and preceded Rococo and Neoclassical styles. The movement exuberant...
Category

17th Century Belgian Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Wool, Silk, Paint

Wall Decoration In Style of François Boucher Silk Handmade Embroidered Tapestry
By Alexander s Collection, François Boucher
Located in Hong Kong, HK
Wall Decoration In Style of François Boucher Silk Handmade Embroidered Tapestry Add a touch of timeless elegance to your home decor with our exquisite tapestry inspired by the works ...
Category

2010s Hong Kong Chinoiserie Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

Late 19th Century Uzbekistan Nurata Suzani Textile, Embroidered Wall Tapestry
Located in Dallas, TX
78198 Rare Late 19th Century Antique Uzbek Nurata Suzani Tapestry, 03'06 x 05'01. Immerse yourself in the rarefied elegance of this Late 19th Century Antique Uzbek Nurata Suzani Tape...
Category

Mid-19th Century Uzbek Suzani Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Cotton, Silk

Professionally Framed Ottoman Embroidery Fragment, Turkey, E 20th Century.
Located in Istanbul, TR
First the fragment has been hand backed on a linen fabric, then stretched over a wooden stretcher and finished with a wooden frame. E 20th C. Ottoman Turkey Ready to go on a wall. ...
Category

Early 20th Century Turkish Folk Art Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

Japanese Silk Scroll Painting of Moneys Edo Period Mori Tetsuzan
Located in Atlanta, GA
A Japanese mounted vertical hanging scroll painting by Mori Tetsuzan (Japanese, 1775-1841) circa 19th century Edo period. The watercolor and ink on silk ...
Category

19th Century Japanese Japonisme Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk, Paper

Chinoiserie Panels Hand Painted Wallpaper on Emerald Green Silk / Panel
Located in Wuxi, 32
If you love the look of De Gournay wallpaper but not the price, this is for you. Measures: 3ft x 8ft The colorways in this sections present our latest colorways, which can be appl...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

19th Century French Aubusson Verdure Tapestry
Located in New York, NY
Place this long and narrow antique tapestry in a staircase or in between two windows for a pop of color. Handwoven in Aubusson, France in the 19th Century, this lovely verdure wall p...
Category

Mid-19th Century French Aubusson Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Tapestry, Wool, Silk

17th century Antique Flemish Tapestry Wool Silk Verdure Art Nouveau 4x6ft
Located in New York, NY
17th century Antique Flemish Tapestry Wool & Silk Verdure Art Nouveau 4x6ft 122cm x 178cm "This is a very fine high quality rare authentic Antique Frenc...
Category

1690s French Baroque Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Wool, Silk

Wonderful antique silk and golden metal Chinese rich Embroidery
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Very beautiful and antique Chinese embroidery with beautiful design with birds, dogs, symbols and scriptures, and with nice natural colours with a red brown background, entirely hand...
Category

19th Century Chinese Chinoiserie Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Metal

Japanese Four Panel Screen: Early Spring Into Summer
Located in Hudson, NY
Japanese Four Panel Screen: Early Spring Into Summer, Meiji period (1868 -1912) painting of plum in bloom with red camellias on the right and peony and thistle on the left. A clutc...
Category

Early 1900s Japanese Meiji Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Gold Leaf

Late 19th Century Uzbekistan Shakhrisyabz Suzani Textile, Embroidered Tapestry
Located in Dallas, TX
78199 Rare Late 19th Century Antique Uzbek Shakhrisyabz Suzani Tapestry, 03'07 x 05'00. Behold the majestic splendor of this Early 19th Century Antique Uzbek Shakhrisyabz Suzani Tape...
Category

Late 19th Century Uzbek Suzani Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Cotton, Silk

Framed Antique Chinese Embroidery Qing Dynasty Provenance
Located in Atlanta, GA
A Chinese antique embroidery presented in a museum quality frame, originally purchased from Galerie Du Monde in Hongkong. Originally, the te...
Category

19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Linen, Silk, Wood

Professionally Framed Ottoman Embroidery Fragment, Turkey, E 20th Century.
Located in Istanbul, TR
First the fragment has been hand backed on a linen fabric, then stretched over a wooden stretcher and finished with a wooden frame. E 20th C. Ottoman Turkey Ready to go on a wall. F...
Category

Early 20th Century Turkish Folk Art Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

17 Foot Long Signed Flemish Tapestry from the Series of 7 Liberal Arts, C. 1670
Located in Dallas, TX
More information coming soon… Originally part of a series of tapestries from Flemish weaver Michel Wauters, depicting the Seven Liberal Arts. This massive tapestry (well over eight...
Category

Mid-17th Century Belgian Neoclassical Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Textile, Wool, Linen, Silk

Bobyrug’s Beautiful Antique French Needlepoint Round Tapestry
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Nice antique French tapestry with beautiful design and nice colors, entirely hand embroidered with needlepoint method with wool and silk, assembled on a wooden panel. ✨✨✨ "Experienc...
Category

Late 19th Century French Aubusson Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Wool, Silk

Framed Fine Chinese Embroidery on Silk Birds on Branch 69x47cm
Located in Poperinge, BE
Framed fine Chinese embroidery on silk, depicting birds on a branch and peony flowers with character signs at the top left, second half of the 20th century. This embroidery is frame...
Category

1970s Chinese Chinoiserie Vintage Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk, Glass, Wood

Framed Antique Fez Emboidery, E. 20th C. Morocco
Located in Istanbul, TR
First the fragment has been hand backed on a linen fabric, then stretched over a wooden stretcher and finished with a wooden frame. Early 20th C. Morocco. Ready to go on a wall. Fra...
Category

Early 20th Century Moroccan Suzani Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

Flanders tapestry 17th century - Children s games - L3m55xH2m40 - No. 1367
Located in Paris, FR
A stone's throw from the Eiffel Tower We are a family business specializing in the purchase, sale and expertise of old, modern and contemporary tapestries, rugs, kilims and textiles....
Category

17th Century French Aubusson Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Wool, Silk

Tibetan Thangka of Sakyamuni with Silk Brocade, C. 1880
Located in Chicago, IL
Historically in Buddhist Tibet, patrons and monks commissioned thangka art, or sacred painting, to focus their meditations and prayers. This 19th-century Tibetan Thangka, painted in rich red, green, and blue pigments, still maintains incredible vibrancy. The central figure is the Sakyamuni Buddha, seated in the diamond position with alms bowl...
Category

Late 19th Century Tibetan Tibetan Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Linen, Silk

Antique French Aubusson Tapestry, Greenery 19th century - W1m84xH2m20 - N° 1465
Located in Paris, FR
This Tapestry has been Cleaned by our artisan workshop Epoch: 19th century Style: Greenery Condition: Perfect condition (Revised by our artisan workshop) Material: Wool Width: 184 cm...
Category

19th Century French Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Wool, Silk

"Study in Stripes" Kite by Michael Thompson
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Canvas, Silk, Bamboo

Vintage Indian Pishwaa Painting on Silk
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A fabulous vintage Boho Original oil painting on silk. A chic storied Indian Pishwaa in deep rich colors. A lot of extra goats for extra good luck! Acquired from a Palm Beach estate.
Category

Late 20th Century Indian Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Metal

"Shibori Sky" Kite by Michael Thompson
Located in Chicago, IL
Based in Chicago, IL, contemporary artist Michael Thompson creates unique kites, collages and mixed media works assembled from material fragments of past and present collected in his...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Organic Modern Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Canvas, Bamboo, Silk

Leaf Wallpaper Hand Painted Wallpapers on Silk, 1 Panel
Located in Wuxi, 32
If you love the look of De Gournay wallpaper but not the price, this is for you. The colorways in this sections present our latest colorways, which can be applied to any designs and any base ground (silk, tea paper, metallic, fabric and etc.) Price Price is for 1 panel of 36" wide x 96" high, background is on silk. We accept custom size and painting colors. Price doesn't include the embroidery. Dear customer, please note: For safe delivery, all the panels roll in a strong tube. Please have the professional installer to install the wallpapers, there is a standard overlap between panels, and a black dot marked on the top and bottom of each panel, please check well before installing. Shipping We do our best to process & ship all orders...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

19th Century Japanese Edo Six Panel Kano School Landscape Screen
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Late Edo period 19th century Japanese six-panel landscape screen featuring a cypress tree over a flowering hibiscus with a pair of hototogisu birds. Kano school painted with ink and ...
Category

19th Century Japanese Edo Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk, Wood, Paper

29"x32" ALL SILK Brand-New Wall Hanging, Handmade Wall Art, Embroidered Tapestry
Located in Spring Valley, NY
Celebrate the rich heritage of Asian craftsmanship with this exquisite 100% silk Suzani textile, meticulously hand-embroidered by skilled artisans. A true work of art, this piece emb...
Category

2010s Central Asian Suzani Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

Antique French Beauvais Tapestry from the Late 17th Century
Located in Dallas, TX
This is a large, horizontal fragment of a late 17th century Beauvais tapestry. Beauvais tapestry manufacture was one of the most well-known tapestry workshops in France. Beauvais was...
Category

Late 17th Century French Louis XIV Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Wool, Silk

Professionally Framed Ottoman Embroidery Fragment, Turkey, 19th C.
Located in Istanbul, TR
First the fragment has been hand backed on a linen fabric, then stretched over a wooden stretcher and finished with a wooden frame. Late 19th C. Turkey. Ready to go on a wall. Frame...
Category

19th Century Turkish Suzani Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

Profesionally Framed Antique Ottoman Hand Towel Fragment, 19th C. Turkey
Located in Istanbul, TR
First the fragment has been hand backed on a linen fabric, then stretched over a wooden stretcher and finished with a wooden frame. Late 19th C. Uzbekistan. Ready to go on a wall.
Category

Mid-19th Century Turkish Suzani Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

Japanese Painting Taisho / Showa Period Scroll by Yazawa Gengetsu Landscape
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
[Authentic work] ◆ Gengetsu Yazawa ◆ Mountain and Lake Off Day ◆ box ◆ Landscape ◆ Nagano Prefecture ◆ Handwritten ◆ Paperback ◆ Hanging scroll ◆ Gengetsu Yazawa Art yearbook appr...
Category

1930s Taisho Vintage Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

French Aubusson Tapestry 19th - Champetre Scene - L 1m90 X H 1m55 - N° 1417
Located in Paris, FR
A stone's throw from the Eiffel Tower We are a family business specializing in the purchase, sale and expertise of old, modern and contemporary tapestries, rugs, kilims and textiles....
Category

1860s French Aubusson Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Wool, Silk

Professionally Framed Silk and Cotton Ikat Fragment, Uzbekistan, Early 20th C.
Located in Istanbul, TR
First the fragment has been hand backed on a linen fabric, then stretched over a wooden stretcher and finished with a wooden frame. Early 20th C. Uzbekistan. Ready to go on a wall. ...
Category

Early 20th Century Uzbek Folk Art Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

Professionally Framed Antique Suzani Fragment , Tajikstan, Central Asia
Located in Istanbul, TR
The suzani fragment on the frame is from a 19th C. Suzani. It is hand backed on linen and streched over a strecher and finish with a wooden frame. Ready to go on any wall. The item ...
Category

19th Century Tajikistani Suzani Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

Antique Rare Ceremonial Shoulder Cloth (Kain Nyulam), South Sumatra
Located in Point Richmond, CA
Antique Rare Ceremonial Shoulder Cloth (Kain Nyulam), South Sumatra This fully embellished and intricately embroidered shoulder cloth (kain nyulam) is a rare and unique example of t...
Category

Early 20th Century Indonesian Tribal Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Cotton, Silk, Sequins

Large Asian Oil on Silk Paintings by Chelsea House, Floral, Bird, Botanical S/2
Located in Kennesaw, GA
I love the vibrant colors! This is a set of large scale oil paintings hand done on silk by Chelsea House. They are Asian inspired with their birds on branches surrounded by fruit and...
Category

Late 20th Century American Chinese Export Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk, Giltwood, Paint

Early 20th Century Chinese Silk Embroidery ( 16 6" x 22 - 503 x 670 )
Located in New York, NY
Early 20th Century Chinese Silk Embroidery ( 16'6" x 22' - 503 x 670 )
Category

Early 1900s Chinese Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

7.4x9.4 Ft Silk Embroidery Bed Cover, Burgundy Red Throw, Vintage Uzbek Blanket
Located in Spring Valley, NY
Suzani, a Central Asian term for a specific type of needlework, is also the broader name for the hugely popular decorative pieces of textile that feature this needlework in vivid col...
Category

Late 20th Century Uzbek Suzani Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Cotton, Silk

Chinoiserie Murals Hand Painted Wallpapers on Silk Panel, 4 Panels
Located in Wuxi, 32
If you love the look of De Gournay wallpaper but not the price, this is for you. The colorways in this sections present our latest colorways, which can be applied to any designs an...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

Medieval Petit Point Tapestry Around 1980 - 1m37hx1m00l - N° 1146
Located in Paris, FR
A stone's throw from the Eiffel Tower We are a family business specializing in the purchase, sale and expertise of old, modern and contemporary tapestries, rugs, kilims and textiles....
Category

1980s French Aubusson Vintage Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Wool, Silk

Framed Antique Ottoman Emboidery, L 19th C. Turkey
Located in Istanbul, TR
First the fragment has been hand backed on a linen fabric, then stretched over a wooden stretcher and finished with a wooden frame. Late 19th C. Turkey Ready to go on a wall. Framed...
Category

Late 19th Century Turkish Folk Art Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Silk

Tapestry Fragment, Flanders 17th Century – The Assumption Of Mary - No. 1565
Located in Paris, FR
Tapestry Fragment, Flanders 17th Century – The Assumption Of Mary - No. 1565 Artist: Manufacture Des Flandres 17 ème Siècle Period: 17th century Condition: Perfect condition Material...
Category

17th Century French French Provincial Antique Silk Wall Decorations

Materials

Wool, Silk

Tapestry Royal Manufacture of Aubusson, Louis XVI period 1738 at the Gobelins
Located in Madrid, ES
Tapestry from the Royal Manufacture of Aubusson, Louis XVI period , made in 1738 at the Gobelins One panel from a series of Gobelins tapestries depicting the History of Esther, illustrating Esther seated and attended by handmaidens, one washing her feet in golden basin, another fastening a bracelet, another offering a mirror, all observed by Mordecai, woven in the workshop of Michele Audran after a design by J. F. de Troy. The Toilet of Esther c.1778-85.Royal Collection Trust-Queens Audience Chamber Windsor Castle The Sketches for the Esther Cycle by Jean-François de Troy (1736) “and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mor’decai, ..., took for his own daughter.” (Est. 2:7) A supple and undulating genius, both a flattering portraitist and a prolix history painter, as well as a brilliant genre painter, in a gallant or worldly vein, Jean-François de Troy (Paris, 1679 – Rome, 1752), solicited, although he had passed the threshold of old age, a new royal commission up to his ambitions. To obtain it, he submitted – successfully - for the approval of the Bâtiments du roi (administration), seven modelli painted in 1736 with his usual alacrity. Inspired by one of the most novelistic texts of the Old Testament, the Book of Esther, these sketches in a rapid and virtuoso manner were transformed by the artist, between 1737 and 1740 into large cartoons intended to serve as models for the weavers of the Gobelins factory. Showing undeniable ease and skill in the composition in perfect harmony with the sensitivities of the times, the tapestry set met with great success. The Story of Esther perfectly corresponded to the plan of the Bâtiments du roi to renew the repertoire of tapestry models used for the weavers of the royal factories while it also conformed to the tastes of Louis XV’s subjects for a fantastical Orient, the set for a dramatic tale in which splendour, love and death were combined. Indeed, no tapestry set was woven in France during the 18th century as often as that of Esther. The series of modelli painted by de Troy during the year 1736 looks to the history of French painting and decoration under Louis XV as much as it does the history of the Gobelins. It probably counts among the most important rococo pictorial groups to have remained in private hands. First the Biblical source illustrated by De Troy which constitutes the base of one of the richest iconographical traditions of Western art will be considered. Then the circumstances and specific character of French civilisation during the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV which contributed to making the theme of Esther a relevant subject, both attractive to contemporaries and remarkably in line with the sensitivities of the time will be elucidated. An examination of the exceptional series of sketches united here, the cartoons and the tapestries that they anticipate as well as a study of their reception will close this essay. The Book of Esther: A scriptural source at the source of rich iconography. The origin of the Esther tapestry set by Jean-François de Troy – origin and creation of a masterpiece According to the evidence of one of the artist’s early biographers, the chevalier de Valory, author of a posthumous elegy of the master, read at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture on 6 February 1762, it was apparently due to early16 rivalry with François Lemoyne (1688-1737), his younger colleague who had precisely just been appointed First Painter to the King in 1736, that had encouraged François de Troy to seek a commission allowing him to show off his ease and his promptitude at the expense of a rival who was notoriously laborious: “M. De Troy, retaining some resentment of the kind of disadvantage which he believed to have suffered compared with his emulator looked to regain some territory by making use of the facility his rival did not possess. Lemoyne was excessively long in the creation of his works,and M. De Troy of a rare celerity: consequently, with this particular talent, the latter offered to the court to make paintings appropriate to be executed at the Gobelins Factory; and it is to this circumstance that we owe the beautiful series of the Story of Esther, which would be sufficient alone to give him a great reputation.”17 Beyond the suspicion inspired by the topos, which still constitutes, more or less, a tale of rivalries between artists in ancient literature, there is probably some truth in what Valory reports although A.-J. Dezalier d’Argenville (who indicates rather spitefully that de Troy did not hesitate to “cut prices” to impose himself, benefitting from the productivity assured by the unlikely rapidity of his brush)18 proves to be more evasive: “As he looked to busy himself, he had offered to make the paintings that serve as models for the King’s tapestries cheaply: which did not please his colleagues. He was given a choice of two tapestry series to be made and he took the Story of Esther and that of Jason”.19 Whether or not the choice was actually left to de Troy (which would appear rather casual on the royal administration’s part all the same), it seems likely that the artist, whose contemporaries extol his “fire”, as the faculty of invention was then called, must have ardently aspired to the possibility of using on a very large scale the “creative genius” with which Dezallier d’Argenville credits him. The decoration of the private apartments, the fashion for which Louis XV had promoted at Versailles and Fontainebleau, offered little opportunity to excel in this area. Other than painting for altarpieces, only tapestries could allow comparison with Lemoyne who had been granted – unfortunately for him – a major decoration: the enormous ceiling of the Hercules Room at Versailles. Favoured by the recent improvement in France’s financial situation, the revival of patronage offered de Troy a commission fitting for him, in a field in which, however, he had hardly any experience. Anxious to renew the repertoire of models available to the Gobelins factory, the Duc d’Antin, surintendant des Bâtiments du roi from 1708 to 1736 followed by his successor, Philibert Orry comte de Vignory, gave him the task of producing seven large cartoons inspired by the Book of Esther corresponding to the brilliant sketches or modelli which de Troy had produced in one go, or almost (very few preparatory drawings can in fact be linked to the Esther cycle and all seem to be at the execution stage of the cartoons).20 Subjected to the approval of the Administration des Bâtiments according to the procedure in use for projects being planned for the Gobelins, sketches made rapidly during 1736 were approved and the project launched immediately. Thereupon came the news of François Lemoyne’s death, who, ground down by work and a victim of his private torment, committed suicide on 4 June 1737. Against all expectations, de Troy did not replace his rival in the position of First Painter (which remained vacant until the appointment of Charles Coypel in January 1747), which would perhaps have made him too obviously the beneficiary of the drama. The awarding of the position of Director of the French Academy in Rome came to console him while he had already produced (or he was in the process of finishing), in Paris, three of the seven cartoons of the cycle (The Fainting of Esther finished in 1737 and the Toilet and Coronation of Esther, both finished in 1738). De Troy, we can see, did not follow the order of the narrative but began with the subjects which apparently offered the least difficulty because he had already depicted them, or because they fall into a strong pictorial tradition (such is the case especially for the Fainting of Esther). He had hardly settled at the Palazzo Mancini in August 1738, when his first task which awaited the new director of the French Academy naturally consisted of honouring the royal commission and finishing without delay the final cartoons of the Story of Esther after the sketches he must have taken with him. As prompt as ever, de Troy discharged himself of the execution of the four remaining cartoons in only two years, by beginning with the largest format which allowed him to strike the imagination and to impose himself as soon as he arrived on the Roman stage: the Triumph of Mor’decai which was finished in 1739 (like Esther’s Banquet). The following year, the Mor’decai's Disdain and The Sentencing of Haman were brought to an end in the same Neo-Venetian style, obviously tributary to Veronese with its choice of “open” monumental architecture which is characteristic of the entire cycle.21 The series, it should be noted, was almost augmented with some additional scenes in the mid 1740s. Indeed, the first tapestry set finished at the Gobelins in 1744 proved to be unsuitable for the arrangement of the Dauphine’s apartments at Versailles for which it had been intended to decorate the walls the following year (cf infra). Informed of this, de Troy, considering that the story of Esther offered “several good subjects,” immediately offered to illustrate one or new subject among those “which could appear to be the most interesting”. The directeur des Bâtiments Orry, who managed the State’s accounts, obviously judged it less costly to have one of the tapestries widened to fill in the end of the Dauphine’s bedroom,22 which has probably deprived us of very original compositions, because de Troy had already illustrated the most famous themes, those that benefitted from a strongly established iconographical tradition and from which it was not easy to deviate The Tapestry Set of the Story of Esther Placed on the tapestry looms of the Gobelins at the end of the 1730s in Michel Audran’s workshop, the cycle created by de Troy aroused true infatuation. The few hundred tapestries made between 1738 and 1797 – all in high-warp tapestry and woven in wool and silk except for four in low-warp made in Neilson’s workshop – show the impressive success of a tapestry set that was without any doubt the most frequently woven of the 18th century in France. 29 Only three cartoons had been delivered by de Troy in 1738 when the first tapestry set was begun by Audran under the expert eye of Jean-Baptiste Oudry to whom the Directeur général des bâtiments, Philibert Orry had assigned the (weekly) supervision of the weaving. During the summer of 1738, the piece of the Fainting of Esther, which Oudry judged to be admirable, was finished. During the winter of 1742, Oudry informed Orry that about two ells of the Triumph of Mor’decai had been made “with no faults”,that the Coronation of Esther was finished and that the Esther at her Toilet “a very gracious tapestry” was “a little over half” finished. Exhibited at Versailles in 1743, these two last pieces were admired by Louis XV and the Court. On 3 December 1744, the set of seven tapestries was finally delivered to the Garde Meuble. It was intended, the honour was not slight, to decorate the apartments of the Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain whose marriage to the young Dauphin Louis-Ferdinand had been fixed for the following year (it took place on 23 February 1745). Apparently it was thought that the theme of Esther the biblical heroine and wife of a foreign sovereign was appropriate for the apartments of the Spanish Dauphine. As early as the month of March, the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel informed de Troy that her grand cabinet was decorated with the “Esther tapestry set” specifying however that “for lack of two small or one large piece, we have not been able to decorate the end of the room”. This difficulty led immediately to the Banquet episode being woven a second time in two parts (they were delivered to the Garde-Meuble on 30 December 1746) to garnish the panels on each side of the bed of the Dauphine who would hardly enjoy them (she died on 22 July 1746 and the decoration was installed for the new Dauphine Maria Josepha of Saxony). The appearance of the set’s remarkable border, which imitated a richly sculpted wooden frame, should be mentioned. Conceived in 1738 by the ornamentalist Pierre Josse-Perrot and used in the later weavings until 1768, it tended to reinforce the resolutely painterly appearance of the tapestry set which, in this regard, pushed the art of tapestry as far as its ultimate mimetic possibilities. With the exception of Mor’decai's Disdain which had been removed earlier, the “editio princeps” of the story of Esther (from then on in nine pieces) remained at Versailles until the Revolution. Of the eight surviving tapestries, four are at the chateau of Compiègne and four belong today to the Mobilier National. No less than seven tapestry sets reputed to be complete (one of them in fact only had six tapestries) would be produced officially at the Gobelins up to 1772. Literature: 1- The Œuvres mêlées of an emulator of Racine, the Abbé Augustin NADAL thus include an Esther. Divertissement spiritual which is exactly contemporary with Jean François de Troy’s cycle since it was performed in 1735 and published in Paris three years later. 2-Le Siècle de Louis XIV, 1751, 1785 ed., p. 96-97 for French ed. 3- Lemoyne and de Troy had been obliged to share the First Prize in the competition organised in 1727 between the most prominent history painters of the Académie Royale. 4- Mémoires…, pub. L. DUSSIEUX et al., 1854, II, p.265. 5-The fact that de Troy, at the risk of falling out with his colleagues, did not hesitate to make use of prices in order to convince the new directeur des Bâtiments Philibert Orry, is confirmed by Mariette who adds tersely “it caused much shouting” (pub. 1851-1860, II, p. 103). 6- Abrégé de la vie des plus fameux peintres…, ed. 1762, IV, p. 368-369 20 Early comments on the painter are inclined to present him as a kind of “pure painter”, doing without the medium of drawing, a few intermediary studies between the Esther sketches and the large cartoons at the Louvre nevertheless show that de Troy used red chalk (see in the catalogue, the notice for the Meal of Esther and Ahasuerus under the entry drawing) to change one or other figure. 7-C. GASTINEL-COURAL (cat. exp. PARIS, 1985, p. 9-13) as well as the article by J. VITTET, exh. cat. LA ROCHE-GUYON, 2001, p. 51-55. 8-The Hermitage in St. Petersburg conserves five tapestries of these two royal gifts whose provenance still awaits elucidation (as far as we are aware). In 1766, the Grand Marshal of Russia, Count Razumovski (or Razamowski), acquired the Fainting and the Banquet extracted from the sixth weaving (J. VITTET, 2001, p. 53). 9- Lettres écrites de Suisse, d’Italie…,quoted by J. VITTET, op. cit., p. 54. 10-The tapestry set remained in the hands of a branch of the Hapsburg-Lorraine family until 1933 (ibid. P. 54). 11-Quoted by Chr. LERIBAULT, 2002, p. 97, note 269. 12-Y. CANTAREL-BESSON, 1992, p. 241. Catalogue The Esther at her Toilet Oil on canvas, 57 x 51 cm Provenance: Painted in 1736 at the same time as the six other modelli of the Story of Esther intended to be presented, for approval, to the direction des Bâtiments du Roi; perhaps identifiable among a lot of sketches by Jean-François de Troy in the post mortem inventory of the amateur, historian and critic Claude-Henri Watelet (1718-1786) drawn up on 13 January 1786 and following days (A.N. T 978, n° 30) then in the sale of the property of the deceased, Paris, 12 June 1786, n° 33; Paris, François Marcille Collection (who owned a series of six sketches from which the Triumph of Mor’decai was missing, see infra); Paris, Marcille Sale, Hôtel Drouot, 12-13 January 1857, n° 36; Asnières, Mme de Chavanne de Palmassy ( ?) collection; Paris, Galerie Cailleux; Paris, Humbert de Wendel collection (acquired from the Galerie Cailleux in 1928); by inheritance in the same family; Paris, Sotheby’s, 23 June 2011, n° 61. In order not to add unnecessarily to the technical commentary on each work, the catalogue raisonné by Chr. Leribault which contains a substantial bibliography on the series should be referred to. The other bibliographical references only concern the publications and exhibitions to have appeared and been presented more recently. Bibliography and Exhibitions: Chr. LERIBAULT, 2002, n° P. 247 (repr.); E. LIMARDO DATURI, 2004, p. 28; Exh. cat. NANTES, 2011, p. 138, n° 34, referred to in note 1; Sotheby’s catalogue, Tableaux anciens et du XIXe siècle, 23 June 2011, n° 61 (repr.). Related Works: Tapestry cartoon: The cartoon (oil on canvas, 329 x 320 cm), the third made by the artist in Paris after the sketches had been approved by the direction des Bâtiments, is in the Louvre (Inv. 8315). It previously bore the painter’s signature and the date 1738 (inscriptions which are found on the tapestries). The royal administration paid 1600 livres for it on 21 June 1738 and it was exhibited at the Salon in the year of its creation. Summary Biography 1679 (27 January): Baptism in Paris (Parish of St. Nicolas du Chardonnet) of Jean-François de Troy, son of the painter François de Troy and Jeanne Cotelle, sister of the painter Jean II Cotelle. 1696-1698: Studies (apparently rather turbulent) at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture. 1698-1708: First trip to Italy. Is obliged to leave Rome in January 1711 after a tempestuous affair (a duel?), de Troy extends the traditional Roman experience as a pensionnaire at the Académie de France by also visiting Tuscany where he stays for a long time, Venice (his art in face has a strongly Venetian character) and Genoa. 1708: De Troy (whose father had been elected Director of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture on 7 July) is agréé and immediately received at the Académie with Apollo and Diana Piercing with their Arrows the Children of Niobe (Montpellier, Musée Fabre) on 28 July. 1710: First royal commission, paid for on 10 May (a sketch representing “the Promotion of the Order of the Holy Spirit” for the tapestry series of the History of the King). 1716: Jean-François de Troy is elected Assistant Professor at the Academy. 1720: He is appointed Professor. 1723: The artist creates the double portrait of Louis XV...
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Antique Japanese Recycled Zanshiori Jacket
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Antique Japanese Recycled Zanshiori Jacket Zanshi-ori cloth is woven from leftover cotton and silk threads, either from commercial kimono production or from home-produced recycled y...
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