"The Gardens" Folding Screen

This decorative screen was featured in the pavilion of the Manufacture Nationale de Beauvais, a state-run tapestry factory in Paris, founded in 1664. State-run factories, including Sèvres porcelain manufactory, had extensive displays at the fair, demonstrating that they remained relevant and up-to-date with the latest tastes. The gardening motif, which reflects Vera’s interest in horticulture, may represent the four seasons, which have been depicted in artwork since antiquity with a remarkable degree of consistency. The trophy has its origins in ancient Greece, where armies would display arrangements of the weapons of their defeated enemies fixed to trees or posts. These displays were later adapted as decorative ornaments, and the symbols of military spoil were replaced by peaceful signs of abundance, as seen on these screens, where fruits, flowers, vines, and vegetables are artistically arranged around gardening implements, such as rakes and shovels, scythes and pitchforks, ladders and pinwheels (used to drive away birds).