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Arms of the Greder Family of Solothurn, Switzerland

ca. 1691–94
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 549
This armorial tapestry celebrates the Greder family of Solothurn (Switzerland), many of whom served in the French army. It was probably commissioned by François Laurent Greder (1658–1716) between 1691, when he became a brigadier and 1694, when he was made a knight of the Order of Saint Louis. The dramatic use of the swans to flank the armorial is an allusion to the swan feet that form part of the Greder arms.


The tapestry was woven in two pieces which were subsequently sewn together (the seam is visible along the center vertical), probably because the workshop’s loom widths precluded the large dimensions required for the tapestry. The tapestry was likely woven in one of the smaller, less-organized commercial weaving workshops in Paris, such as that of Louis and Jean Baptiste Hinard, or of Gilles Bacor, or in the Lorraine region of France.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Arms of the Greder Family of Solothurn, Switzerland
  • Date: ca. 1691–94
  • Culture: French, possibly Paris or Lorraine
  • Medium: Wool, silk, metal thread (20-22 warps per inch, 8-9 per cm.)
  • Dimensions: H. 107 x W. 114 inches (271.8 x 289.6 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles-Tapestries
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Lucy Work Hewitt, 1935
  • Object Number: 35.40.6
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

More Artwork
Arms of the Greder Family of Solothurn, Switzerland, Wool, silk, metal thread (20-22 warps per inch, 8-9 per cm.), French, possibly Paris or Lorraine
Arms of the Greder Family of Solothurn, Switzerland
French, possibly Paris or Lorraine
ca. 1691–94
Costume Armor in the Classical Style, Hallé French, Helmet: linen, papier-mâché, bole, gold leaf, graphite; tunic: silk, cotton, metal coils and spangles, metallic yarn, French, Paris
Costume Armor in the Classical Style
Helmet includes original paper label of Hallé
ca. 1788–90
The Last Supper, Bernard van Orley Netherlandish, Wool, silk, silver-gilt thread.
The Last Supper
Designed by Bernard van Orley
Probably woven by Pieter de Pannemaker
ca. 1525–28
April from a set of The Months of Lucas, Master of the Months of Lucas Netherlandish, Wool, silk (20-21 warps per inch, 8-9 per cm.), French, Paris
April from a set of The Months of Lucas
Multiple artists/makers
designed ca. 1535, woven 1732–37
Armor of Infante Luis, Prince of Asturias (1707–1724), Jean Drouart French, Steel, gold, brass, silk, cotton, metallic yarn, paper, French, Paris
Armor of Infante Luis, Prince of Asturias (1707–1724)
Armorer Signature probably refers to Jean Drouart
dated 1712

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