Object details
Object number
T22s3
Creator(s)
Andreas Mattens
(active 1535 - 1550)
Title
Spring
Date
about 1535-1550
Medium
Wool warp (7 yarns per cm); wool and silk wefts
Description
Animals
Dimensions
409 x 223.5 cm (161 x 88 in.)
Signatures, inscriptions, and markings
Inscribed (lower right, outer guard): Brussels mark
Inscribed (lower right, outer guard): mark of Andreas Mattens (?)
Provenance
Probably created as one of a series of tapestries depicting seasons or months.
Formerly in the Barberini collection, Rome.
Purchased by Sarah Cushing Ffoulke (Sarah Adeline Cushing, 1852-1926), Washington, DC from the Principessa Barberini, Rome in 1899.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from Sarah Cushing Ffoulke for $7,500 on 17 April 1906, through her husband the tapestry collector and scholar Charles Mather Ffoulke (1841-1909).
Due to the high cost of import duties, this tapestry remained in Europe until 1908 in the care of Mrs. Thomas Lincoln Chadbourne (Emily R. Crane, 1871-1964). Its arrival to Boston was delayed further by a customs dispute (for more information, see Carter, pp. 231-32).
Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.
Bibliography
Morris Carter. Isabella Stewart Gardner and Fenway Court (Boston, 1925; Reprint, Boston, 1972), pp. 215, 230, 241. (as "The Museum Piece...Boy in Tree and other Springtime Illustrations")
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 192. (influence of Bernard van Orley; Flemish (Brussels), middle of the 16th century; the mark as probably that of Andreas Mattens)
Corinna Lindon Smith. Interesting People (Norman, Oklahoma, 1962), pp. 164, 167.
Adolph S. Cavallo. Textiles: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1986), pp. 56-57, no. 10. (as woven by Andreas Mattens (?); Flemish, Brussels, 1535-1550)
Gallery
Second Floor Stairhall And Stairway
Rights and reproductions
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