The Unicorn at Bay (detail), ca. 1495–1505
South Netherlandish
Wool warp, wool, silk, silver, and gilt wefts; 12 ft. 1 in. x 13 ft. 2 in. (368 x 401 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Gift of John D. Rockefeller Jr., 1937 (37.80.4)


An elaborate headdress distinguishes the master from the others. These elite men wear a tall, voluminous, and curly textured often-plumed hat over the French felt bonnet with cut-away forehead. The ensemble at times needs a silk scarf knotted at the crown and threaded through the brim to keep it in place. The other men wear simpler, sometimes smaller versions of the bonnet.

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