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The Apostles Creed

ca. 1550–1600
Not on view
Each of the fifteen compartments in this tapestry contains a single scene representing an article of the Apostles’ Creed, a set of declarations of Christian belief dating back to the fourth century. One of few surviving tapestries to depict this subject, this piece is unique for its inclusion of every article in a single hanging, without any accompanying inscriptions. The straightforward, even provincial design of the compositions makes them easily legible, unfolding like a comic strip from top to bottom. The series opens with God creating heaven and earth and ends with an image of everlasting life. Within the context of the church, such tapestries offered visual lessons that would have been used in religious instruction.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Apostles Creed
  • Date: ca. 1550–1600
  • Culture: European
  • Medium: Wool warp, wool wefts
  • Dimensions: 11 ft. 11 1/2 in. × 15 ft. 10 in. (364.5 × 482.6 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles-Tapestries
  • Credit Line: Gift of The Hearst Foundation, 1960
  • Object Number: 60.182
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

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Tapestry with the Annunciation, Wool warp, wool with a few metallic wefts, South Netherlandish
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ca. 1410–20
Courtiers in a Rose Garden: A Lady and Two Gentlemen, Wool warp; wool, silk, metallic weft yarns, South Netherlandish
Courtiers in a Rose Garden: A Lady and Two Gentlemen
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ca. 1440–50
Hunting of Birds with a Hawk and a Bow (from the Hunting Parks Tapestries), Wool and silk thread, South Netherlandish
Hunting of Birds with a Hawk and a Bow (from the Hunting Parks Tapestries)
South Netherlandish
ca. 1515–35
Woodcutters Working at a Deer Park (from the Hunting Parks Tapestries), Wool and silk thread, South Netherlandish
Woodcutters Working at a Deer Park (from the Hunting Parks Tapestries)
South Netherlandish
ca. 1515–35
Hunting for Wild Boar (from the Hunting Parks Tapestries), Wool, and silk thread, South Netherlandish
Hunting for Wild Boar (from the Hunting Parks Tapestries)
South Netherlandish
ca. 1515–35

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