A FLEMISH PASTORAL TAPESTRY

This tapestry belongs to a group of tapestries generally known as the Playing Boys. The subject is derived from Italian tapestries woven in the 1540s, based on frescoes by Giulio Romano at the Palazzo del Te in Mantua. The winged children of the frescoes were engraved in Germany in 1529 and it was probably from these engravings, which omitted the wings, that the Brussels weavers drew their inspiration. The theme was much copied and also repeatedly woven at Gobelins, Beauvais, Aubusson, Madrid, Mortlake, Soho and other weaving centres.