A Shepherd before a King
probably Oudenaarde
Category
Tapestries
Date
circa 1650 - circa 1670
Materials
Tapestry, wool and silk
Measurements
2.97 m (H); 3.33 m (W)
Place of origin
Oudenaarde
Order this imageCollection
Beningbrough Hall, North Yorkshire
NT 201707
Summary
Tapestry made from wool and silk, c. 1650-1670. The scene depicts a figure enthroned under a canopy, wearing a crown and a turban and a yellow cloak over blue scale armour and greaves. He holds a sceptre in his right hand and gestures with his left. To the left there is a young man in simple dress, holding a shepherd’s crook and a set of pipes, and a young boy wearing a laurel wreath. To the right of the king a woman sits writing in a book, and on the far right is a bearded man and a child. The king seems to be looking at the shepherd and gesturing towards the bearded man. On the right directly behind the seated woman there is an object resembling a table, and in the background a distant landscape with small figures. There is a border on the left hand side in the form of a twisted Solomonic column. Only a narrow strip remains of the upper border, and there is no lower or right hand border.
Full description
The subject of the tapestry was described as ‘Ulysses departing from Ogygia’ when purchased in 1958 and 'Embarkation of Ulysses With the Gift of Aelus' when previously sold in 1910 (see provenance notes), but neither of these titles seem to fit the image. Ulysses (Odysseus) is usually represented as a warrior, whereas the attributes of the man on the left of the tapestry mark him out as a shepherd. The subject may instead come from an Old Testament story. On the basis of style and colouring the tapestry can be attributed to the town of Oudenaarde.
Provenance
One of a pair of tapestries (NT 201707 & NT 1191318) that were purchased by the Ministry of Works from the sale of the contents of Beningbrough in 1958 (lots 859 and 860) and passed to the National Trust along with the house (see Ministry of Works "Schedule of objects given to the National Trust for preservation at Beningbrough Hall'). Two tapestries which seem to match these descriptions (‘The Embarkation of Ulysses With the Gift of Aelus’ & 'Daughter of Alcinous discovering Ulysses’) are listed in the auction catalogue for Holme Lacy; the inherited Scudamore house sold by the 10th Earl of Chesterfield (see lots 507 and 508) in 1910. A report in the Hereford Times (5.2.1910) indicates they were bought for 100 gns & 95 gns by Lady Nunburnholme (1853-1932), the mother of Lady Enid Chesterfield (the 10th Earl's wife).
Makers and roles
probably Oudenaarde, workshop