• Facets (new session)
• Description
• Metadata
• Settings
  • owl:sameAs
  • Inference Rule: asEquivalentb3sb3sifpfacetshttp://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#ldpoplwebskos-transvirtrdf-labelvirtrdf-urlNone
    

Wool and silk tapestry. In the centre the winged figure of Fame, holding two trumpets, stands beneath a domed canopy of blue and gold. She wears a tunic of green and yellow over an underskirt of pink. She stands on a marble plinth from which a masculine head projects; and rampant lions flank the structure. To either side, linked to the central feature by swags of fruit and flowers, acanthus scrolls and strapwork, and by the marble slab on which they all stand, are inverted arches supported by male half-figures. At the centre of each arch is a feminine mask, with strapwork below from a blue and white porcelain vase with gold mounts, and above, supporting perched birds and a cupid holding bow and arrow, flanked by more porcelain vases with elaborate flower arrangements. Spaces are filled with birds and butterflies in flight. the five smallest birds, which are in only two postures, and two butterflies are applied, with warp threads pulled through to the back of the tapestry. The ground of the tapestry is yellow-buff, as is the ground of the narrow border which has a blue-green and yellow leaf-meander and small pink and green flowers. The design is adapted from a more grotesque version of the late 17th century made, from its borders and historical associations, in the workshop of John Vanderbank. The even wider Fame at Burghley House shows the same figures, fruit and flowers and much additional acanthus foliage and extra floral swags covering most of the ground and leaving less room for birds, but with snakes, a rabbit and a nesting bird incorporated in the scrolling structure. The prettier rococo version may have been produced as the workshop rival to the Joshua Morris 'Arabesque'.