Peasants Merrymaking
Flemish
Category
Tapestries
Date
circa 1710 - circa 1740
Materials
Tapestry, wool, silk, and linen. 7/8 warps per cm
Measurements
226 x 135 cm
Place of origin
Belgium
Order this imageCollection
Polesden Lacey, Surrey
NT 1247022.2
Summary
Peasants Merrymaking, one of a pair of tapestries in the style of David Teniers the Younger, Flemish, probably Brussels, c. 1710-1740. In the centre of the tapestry a group of peasants sit around a long table eating and drinking. To the left a man stands on a barrel playing a bagpipe, and a man and a woman dance. Behind the figures is a rustic building and a wooden fence with trees beyond it, and at the top left corner a red flag with a figure holding a bow, probably an inn sign. In the foreground a small dog runs towards a pile of barrels and crockery. The tapestry has no borders and has clearly been cut from a larger piece.
Full description
‘Peasants Merrymaking’ is one of a pair of tapestries which may originally have been part of the same scene. They belong to a genre known as ‘Teniers’ tapestries, with subjects inspired by the paintings of David Teniers the Younger showing scenes from peasant life. ‘Teniers’ tapestries were very popular in the early eighteenth century and there are a number of examples in the National Trust’s collection, including sets at Blickling (nos. 355704-6, 355774) and Nostell Priory (no. 960144). A third ‘Teniers’ tapestry at Polesden Lacey, no. 1247036, is of slightly coarser quality than the present pair and may be from a different set. (Helen Wyld, 2012)
Provenance
Date of acquisition not recorded, but probably originally at 16 Charles Street, Mayfair, Mrs Greville's London home, and bequeathed by Margaret McEwan, The Hon. Mrs Ronald Greville (1863-1942) with Polesden Lacey, to the National Trust, in memory of her father, William McEwan (1827-1913) in 1942. This item found on the probate inventory record for Charles Street chattels at Polesden Lacey, tapestries, page 24.
Credit line
Polesden Lacey, the Anderson Collection (The National Trust)
Makers and roles
Flemish, workshop probably Brussels , workshop
References
Delmarcel, 1999: Guy Delmarcel, Flemish Tapestry, Tielt 1999 Marillier, 1932: Henry C Marillier, Handbook to the Teniers Tapestries, London 1932