John, Lord Dynham was a naval commander under five kings and treasurer of England from 1486 to 1501. The inscription around the garter is the motto of the Order of the Garter, to which Lord Dynham was appointed in 1487. The tapestry was probably woven to commemorate this event. The supporters in the form of stags -- or harts -- refer to Lord Dynham's family seat, Hartland. The repeated device of the topcastle of a warship with javelins leaning against the railing and swallow-tailed pennants flying above refers to Lord Dynham's distinguished naval career.
#72. Armorial Bearings and Badges of John, Lord Dynham
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Artwork Details
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Title:Tapestry with Armorial Bearings and Badges of John, Lord Dynham
Date:ca. 1488–1501
Culture:South Netherlandish
Medium:Wool warp; wool wefts with a few silk wefts
Dimensions:152 x 145 in. (386.1 x 368.3 cm)
Classification:Textiles-Tapestries
Credit Line:The Cloisters Collection, 1960
Object Number:60.127.1
Inscription: (on bucklers around coats of arms): HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE
Marking: Arms of Lord Dynham
Appleby Castle, Appleby-in-Westmorland (in 1876- at least 1914 ; [ Spanish Art Gallery Ltd., London (before 1929)] ; Mr. and Mrs. Myron C. Taylor, New York (by 1929–sold 1960) ; [their sale, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York (November 11-12, 1960, no. 1019) ]
Galeries nationales du Grand Palais. "Masterpieces of Tapestry from the 14th to the 16th century," October 27, 1973–January 7, 1974.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Tapestry from the 14th to the 16th century," February 8–April 21, 1974.
Longstaffe, William Hylton Dyer. "Tapestry in the Appleby Castle." Archaeologia Aeliana, n.s., 7 (1876). pp. 205–209.
Thomson, William George. Tapestry weaving in England from the earliest times to the end of the XVIIIth century. London: B. T. Batsford, Ltd., 1914. p. 25.
Needle and Bobbin Club. "Club Notes." The Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club 13 (1929). pp. 50–52, pl. III.
Thomson, William George. A History of Tapestry: From the Earliest Times until the Present Day. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1930. p. 160.
Park-Bernet, New York. "Advertisement of the Parke-Bernet Galleries." Art News vol. 59 (December 1960). p. 24.
"'Additions to the Collections,' Ninety-First Annual Report of the Trustees for the Fiscal Year 1960-1961." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 20, no. 2 (October 1961). p. 68.
"Chronache: New York." Emporium 136 (1962). p. 122, illus p. 124.
Forsyth, William H., and Margaret B. Freeman. "'Report of the Departments,' Ninety-Second Annual Report of the Trustees for the Fiscal Year 1961-1962." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 21, no. 2 (October 1962). p. 80.
Young, Bonnie. "John Dynham and His Tapestry." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 20, no. 10 (June 1962). pp. 308–316, fig. 1–3, 5, 7.
Rorimer, James J. The Cloisters: The Building and the Collection of Medieval Art in Fort Tryon Park. 3rd revised ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1963. p. 183.
Souchal, Geneviève, ed. Chefs-d'œuvre de la tapisserie du XIVe au XVIe siècle. Paris: Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, 1973. no. 45, pp. 124–26.
Souchal, Geneviève, ed. Masterpieces of Tapestry from the Fourteenth to the Sixteenth Century. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1974. no. 48, pp. 121–23.
Coffinet, Julien. Métamorphoses de la tapisserie. Paris: Bibliothèque des arts, 1977. p. 65.
Nickel, Helmut. "Some Remarks on the Armorial Tapestry of John Dynham at The Cloisters." Metropolitan Museum Journal 19/20 (1984-1985). pp. 25–29, fig. 1, 2.
Nickel, Helmut. "Heraldry." In Dictionary of the Middle Ages, edited by Joseph R. Strayer. Vol. 6. New York: Scribner, 1985. p. 173.
Cavallo, Adolfo S. Medieval Tapestries in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993. no. 16, pp. 15, 272–77.
Victoria and Albert Museum and Peta Motture. Gothic : Art for England 1400–1547, edited by Richard Marks, and Paul Williamson. London, 2003.
Barnet, Peter, and Nancy Y. Wu. The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture. New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. no. 101, pp. 139–40, 198.
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. 146–47.
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