The Unicorn Tapestries are among the most popular attractions at The Cloisters, which houses part of the Metropolitan Museum's splendid collection from medieval Europe. Little is known about their early history, though the seven hangings are thought to have been designed in Paris and woven in Brussels (then part of the Netherlands) between 1495–1505, and might have originally come from several sets. They are among the most beautiful and complex works of art to survive from the Middle Ages.

Traditionally known as The Hunt of the Unicorn, these tapestries were woven in wool, metallic threads, and silk, and include the depiction of 101 species of plants, of which over 85 have been identified. The vibrant colors still evident today were produced with three dye plants: weld (yellow), madder (red), and woad (blue).

The earliest document listing the seven tapestries is a 1680 inventory that details the possessions in the Paris residence of François VI de La Rochefoucauld. The tapestries were subsequently moved to the family's château in Verteuil, from which they were looted during the French Revolution. It was not until the 1850s that the tapestries were returned to the family. Descriptions of the tapestries since then mention only six large hangings; the seventh hanging, much destroyed during its disappearance, was reduced to two small fragments.

In 1922 the six large tapestries were sent for exhibition in New York where they were seen and purchased by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. They remained in his apartment until 1937, when Mr. Rockefeller presented them to The Cloisters. The two fragments were purchased separately, from Count Gabriel de La Rochefoucauld of Paris, in time to join the other six hangings for the opening of The Cloisters in 1938.

View a video of David Rockefeller recalling his father's quest for the Unicorn Tapestries, or return to The Unicorn Tapestries main page.