Tapestry panel depicting 'Tamar confronting Judah'
possibly Ralph Sheldon (1537-1613)
Category
Tapestries
Date
1595
Materials
Wool (tapestry) and linen (backing).
Measurements
1970 x 1550 mm
Place of origin
Warwickshire
Order this imageCollection
Chastleton House, Oxfordshire
NT 2900206
Summary
Tapestry panel, with a central medallion depicting 'Tamar confronting Judah', surrounded by scrollwork incorporating the inscriptions 'Genesis VIII 1595', 'By the man unto whom these things pertayne am I with childe', entwined cipher 'MWI' and 'EI', against a mille-fleurs background, reduced in width and lacking its border, possibly by the Sheldon workshop, Warwickshire, or by Flemish emigré weavers in London, 1595. Thought to be one of a set of four tapestries, all showing scenes from the Old testament story of Judah and Tamar, commissioned by Walter and Eleanor Jones and taken to their new home, Chastleton House, bought in 1602. Other tapestries from this group are now at Aston Hall, Birmingham and in the Burrell Collection, Glasgow. See Hilary L. Turner, 'Tapestries once at Chastleton House and their Influence on the Image of the tapestries Called Sheldon: a Re-assessment', Antiquaries Journal, vol. 88 (2008), pp. 313-43.
Provenance
One of a group of four tapestries depicting episodes from the story of Judah and Tamar, thought to have been commissioned by Walter and Eleanor Jones and taken with them to Chastleton House, which they bought in 1602; thence by descent at Chastleton; the group of four offered for sale at auction at Sotheby's, London, 12 November 1920 (lots 128-31); some of the group reoffered at Sotheby's, London, 7 July 1922 (lots 164 and 165); this tapestry purchased in New York in 1953; restored by De Wit, Mechelen, 1957; thence by descent; purchased by the National Trust at auction at Sotheby's, London, 26 October 2016 ('Collections' sale), lot 1238.
Makers and roles
possibly Ralph Sheldon (1537-1613), workshop owner possibly Flemish, workshop