Tapestry from the “Seaport” series

Beauvais Factory

Series produced 1693 - 1737

  • Titles Tapestry from the "Seaport" series (Descriptive)
  • Medium wool and silk
  • Dimensions 125 × 151 in. (317.5 × 383.5 cm)
  • Credit Line Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Henry M. Marx, 1959.109
  • Work Type tapestry
  • Classification Furnishings and Equipment

See More of the Collection

Oval basalt plaque with Hercules and the Erymanthean Boar
Oil lamp of black basalt resting on a small square plinth, plain round foot and stem, the lower body fluted, the upper body plain and with three extended openings for three wicks in the form of leafy brackets, the interior with three funnels to feed the wicks through, small beading around the lip, the wooden cover a replacement.
Half figure of a bearded man reading a folio.
Tall, delicate, oviform vase of solid light blue jasperware with applied white jasper relief resting on a square plinth decorated with a band of stylized anthemion motifs, the body of the vase rests on a round foot with a row of overlapping, stylized acanthus leaf motifs and slender stem from which emanate long, stylized acanthus leaves, the main body of the vase is decorated with two portrait medallions, on one side that of Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), Lord Protector of England, after the portrait by Samuel Cooper (an identical unsigned wax portrait is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London) and on the other of William I, of Orange (1533-1584) wearing skull cap and ruff after the portrait by Michiel Mierevelt. Each of the portraits is framed above by rope festoons of leaves and berries that extend around the body of the vase and is supported by flowing ribbons and small escutcheons; the handles are in the form of two serpent heads that hold an egg in their mouths, below each handle is a mask of a winged Medusa against a scaly ground. The domed cover has a band of oak leaves and acorns intertwined with a ribbon around its lower edge, the finial is in the form of a seated, draped, sleeping cherub on a rocky ground with a quiver and two love birds.