This tapestry fragment represents a fabulous lionlike beast with pointed teeth, clawed feet, and a scaly rump. Such beasts, derived from those illustrated in classical texts like the Physiologus and medieval bestiaries, represent vices. Here the figures posed with them seem to have tamed their libidinous cravings. Such tapestries were displayed in homes providing decoration as well as insulation.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Fragment of a Tapestry or Wall Hanging
Date:ca. 1420–30
Geography:Made in Basel, Switzerland
Culture:Upper Rhenish
Medium:Wool and linen
Dimensions:29 5/8 × 34 1/4 in. (75.2 × 87 cm)
Classification:Textiles-Tapestries
Credit Line:The Cloisters Collection, 1990
Object Number:1990.211
Benedictine abbey at Muri, Canton Aargau, Switzerland; Benedictine abbey at Muri, Canton Aargau, Switzerland (until about 1800) ; Peter Vischer-Sarasin, Schloss Wildenstein, near Bubendorf, Switzerland (by 1841/43) ; by descent to Peter Vischer-Passavant, Schloss Wildenstein, near Bubendorf, Switzerland ; by descent to Peter Vischer-Milner-Gibson, Schloss Wildenstein, near Bubendorf, Switzerland (until 1989) ; Christie's, London (July 3, 1990, lot 110b)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Mirror of the Medieval World," March 9–June 1, 1999.
New York. Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture. "Lions, Dragons, and Other Beasts: Aquamanilia of the Middle Ages. Vessels for Church and Table," July 12, 2006–October 15, 2006.
Burckhardt, Rudolf. Gewirkte Bildteppiche des XV. und XVI. Jahrhunderts im Historischen Museum zu Basel. Leipzig: Historisches Museum Basel, 1923. pp. 3, 7–8, fig. 9.
Göbel, Heinrich. Wandteppiche. 3. Teil, Die germanischen und slawischen Länder. Vol. 1. Berlin: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1933. pp. 24, 26.
Wixom, William D. "Curatorial Reports and Departmental Accessions." Annual Report of the Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 121 (Jul. 1, 1990–Jun. 30, 1991). p. 35.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Recent Acquisitions: A Selection, 1990-1991." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 49, no. 2 (Fall 1991). p. 18.
Cavallo, Adolfo S. Medieval Tapestries in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993. no. 55, pp. 15, 625–32, fig. 181.
Wixom, William D., ed. Mirror of the Medieval World. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999. no. 211, pp. 173–74.
Barnet, Peter, and Nancy Y. Wu. The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture. New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. no. 86, pp. 122, 197.
Barnet, Peter, and Pete Dandridge, ed. Lions, Dragons, & Other Beasts: Aquamanilia of the Middle Ages, Vessels for Church and Table. New York: Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, 2006. no. 55, p. 190.
Barnet, Peter, and Nancy Y. Wu. The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture. 75th Anniversary ed. New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012. p. 127.
Senior Research Associate Christine E. Brennan recalls enjoying the Medieval Festival at The Met Cloisters with her family and invites visitors to join the festivities this Sunday, September 18.
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The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world, encompassing the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome to the beginning of the Renaissance.
