A FLEMISH BIBLICAL TAPESTRY

The weaver's mark on this tapestry is that of Martin II Reymbouts (d. 1619). Reymbouts, who came out of one of the main weavers' families of Brussels, can be traced back as having lost most of his possessions during the sacking of Antwerp in 1576. He ran one of the nine larger studios which were 'privileged' by the council in 1613, being able to produce at least two large sets of tapestries per year. He had a preference for the tapestry designs of the principal period of Brussels' tapestry production in the mid-16th Century, and wove these subjects into the early 17th Century.