Esther Fainting before Ahasuerus
tapestry weaver
Unknown
Date1510-1525
Place MadeBrussels, Brussels, Belgium, Europe
MediumWool warp (6.5 yarns per cm); wool and silk wefts
Dimensions348 x 335.3 cm (137 x 132 in.)
ClassificationsFurnishings
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberT24w3
eMuseum ID721233
Alt. No. 2 (Cavallo)Textiles, Cavallo, 6
Alt. No. 1 (Siple)001
EmbARK ObjectID11964
TMS Source ID1114
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThe tapestry depicts a scene from the Book of Esther (in the Apochrypha), in which Esther, the Jewish queen of Persia, pleads before her husband Ahasuerus for the repeal of his decree ordering the massacre of all Jews in his kingdom. Esther swoons on the arm of one of her handmaidens at the lower right – a reaction to the king’s initial rage at seeing her before the throne, a violation of his rule that no one come to him unbidden. However, God softened his heart, and Ahasuerus holds out his golden scepter to welcome her forward. Ahasuerus had been urged to issue the decree by Haman, a courtier opposed to Esther and her people; he stands to the king’s right beside the throne. In the upper left corner of the tapestry, a messenger brings news of Esther’s success to a gathering of the Jewish people. The repeal of the decree, and thus the salvation of the Jews, is celebrated each year as the festival of Purim.
The tapestry is a virtuoso display of design and weaving. Thirty-three figures are depicted, all wearing different, elaborately detailed outfits. The background varies from rich landscapes to interiors adorned with patterned velvets and brocades. The borders are equally elaborate; the stalks of fruits and flowers are typical of tapestries woven in Brussels at this time.
Source: Richard Lingner, "Esther Fainting before Ahasuerus," in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 115.
The tapestry is a virtuoso display of design and weaving. Thirty-three figures are depicted, all wearing different, elaborately detailed outfits. The background varies from rich landscapes to interiors adorned with patterned velvets and brocades. The borders are equally elaborate; the stalks of fruits and flowers are typical of tapestries woven in Brussels at this time.
Source: Richard Lingner, "Esther Fainting before Ahasuerus," in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 115.
BibliographyNotesCatalogue. Fenway Court. (Boston, 1903), p. 24. (as "French Gothic Tapestry")
Morris Carter. Isabella Stewart Gardner and Fenway Court (Boston, 1925; Reprint, Boston, 1972), p. 169.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 195. (as Flemish (Brussels), early 16th century)
Morris Carter. "Mrs. Gardner & The Treasures of Fenway Court" in Alfred M. Frankfurter (ed.). The Gardner Collection (New York, 1946), p. 58. (as early 16th century)
George L. Stout. Treasures from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1969), pp. 168-69, ill. (as Flemish (Brussels), early 16th century)
Jean-Paul Asselberghs. Les tapisseries flamandes aux Etats-Unis d'Amérique (Brussels, 1974), p. 12. (as "the style typical of Brussels at the begining of the 16th century")
George Wingfield Digby et al. The Tapestry Collection: Medieval and Renaissance: Victoria & Albert Museum (London, 1980), pp. 42-43. (as related to two tapestries in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, museum nos. 338-1866 and 5669-1859; as Flemish, Brussels, 1510-1525)
Adolph S. Cavallo. Textiles: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1986), pp. 38-41, no. 6. (as Flemish, Brussels, 1510-1525)
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), pp. 114-15, ill. (as Flemish (Brussels), about 1510-1525)
Kathy Francis, Tess Fredette, et al. "Tapestries on long-term view at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: a synthesis of treatment options’ in Frances Lennard et al. (eds.). Tapestry Conservation: Principles and Practice (Oxford, 2006), pp. 163-70. (as Flemish, Brussels, 1510-1525)
Diana Seave Greenwald, "Esther: A Biblical Heroine," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 9 March 2021, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/esther-biblical-heroine
Morris Carter. Isabella Stewart Gardner and Fenway Court (Boston, 1925; Reprint, Boston, 1972), p. 169.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 195. (as Flemish (Brussels), early 16th century)
Morris Carter. "Mrs. Gardner & The Treasures of Fenway Court" in Alfred M. Frankfurter (ed.). The Gardner Collection (New York, 1946), p. 58. (as early 16th century)
George L. Stout. Treasures from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1969), pp. 168-69, ill. (as Flemish (Brussels), early 16th century)
Jean-Paul Asselberghs. Les tapisseries flamandes aux Etats-Unis d'Amérique (Brussels, 1974), p. 12. (as "the style typical of Brussels at the begining of the 16th century")
George Wingfield Digby et al. The Tapestry Collection: Medieval and Renaissance: Victoria & Albert Museum (London, 1980), pp. 42-43. (as related to two tapestries in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, museum nos. 338-1866 and 5669-1859; as Flemish, Brussels, 1510-1525)
Adolph S. Cavallo. Textiles: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1986), pp. 38-41, no. 6. (as Flemish, Brussels, 1510-1525)
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), pp. 114-15, ill. (as Flemish (Brussels), about 1510-1525)
Kathy Francis, Tess Fredette, et al. "Tapestries on long-term view at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: a synthesis of treatment options’ in Frances Lennard et al. (eds.). Tapestry Conservation: Principles and Practice (Oxford, 2006), pp. 163-70. (as Flemish, Brussels, 1510-1525)
Diana Seave Greenwald, "Esther: A Biblical Heroine," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 9 March 2021, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/esther-biblical-heroine
ProvenanceNotesPossibly woven from the same set of cartoons as two Esther tapestries now housed at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (museum nos. 338-1866 and 5669-1859), although the Gardner tapestry probably does not come from the same parent series as either of the London tapestries.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from a certain Mademoiselle Rousset, Paris for 11,000 francs after 17 July 1897, through Fernand Robert, her regular agent in Paris.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from a certain Mademoiselle Rousset, Paris for 11,000 francs after 17 July 1897, through Fernand Robert, her regular agent in Paris.
Object/Provenance
