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1 of 253523 objects
The Triumph of Hercules c. 1540
Woven silk and wool tapestry with gilt-metal- and silver-wrapped thread | 486.0 x 645.0 cm (whole object) | RCIN 1363
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Brussels tapestry depicting the Triumph of Hercules following his labours. Hercules is shown in the central niche with the various labours in compartments arranged in three tiers, with the figure of Fame and grotesques above.
This tapestry, along with RCIN 1362, derives from a seven-piece set of gold-woven tapestries recorded in Westminster palace in inventories of the 1540s. In the inventories they are known as "Antiques". The design series was conceived for Pope Leo X by Giovanni da Udine in about 1520. The set represents classical gods and attendants in elaborate decorative and grotesque settings. A note of delivery by Jehan Baptiste Gualterotti in the 1542 Westminster inventory records the arrival of Henry VIII's duplicate set in England. The present pair are the earliest extant weaving. (Thomas P. Campbell, 2002.)
Provenance
The Royal inventory of furnishings at Westminster Palace records seven pieces of Antiques which were lined that November, and had been purchased in June 1542 from John Baptist Gualteroti, merchant of Florence.
From 1843-4 the pair was stored at Westminster/Whitehall Palace and hung intermittently for major court events. In the early-mid 18th century, from 1706/32-1770s, six pieces hung permanently in the State Apartments at Somerset House, with The Triumph of Hercules possibly hung in the First Presence Chamber at Hampton Court during William III's reign.
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Creator(s)
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Medium and techniques
Woven silk and wool tapestry with gilt-metal- and silver-wrapped thread
Measurements
486.0 x 645.0 cm (whole object)
Category
Object type(s)
Other number(s)
Laking FR : Laking, G.F., 1905. The Furniture of Windsor Castle, London – Laking FR p92-3Alternative title(s)
The Labours of Hercules
