Chateau and Garden Tapestry
weaver
Raphael de la Planche
(active Paris, 1633 - 1661)
manufacturer
Marc de Comans
(Lubeck, Germany, died after 1643, England)
Date1625-1650
Place MadeParis, Ile-de-France, France, Europe
MediumWool warp (9 yarns per cm); wool and silk wefts
Dimensions467.4 x 381 cm (184 x 150 in.)
ClassificationsFurnishings
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberT18e35
eMuseum ID731204
Alt. No. 1 (Siple)023
Alt. No. 2 (Cavallo)14d
EmbARK ObjectID12993
Original NumberT18e35-s
TMS Source ID2029
Last Updated8/9/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThis tapestry depicts a humorous feature of Italian seventeenth century gardens: hidden levers—in this case set off by the figure in the left foreground—that produce jets of water to surprise unsuspecting strollers, like the woman at right with her hand raised in surprise. The Surprise is one of a set of four garden tapestries bought by Isabella Gardner in 1903. This set was once part of the Barberini collection, one of the great Roman collections of the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
BibliographyNotesCharles M. Ffoulke et al. The Ffoulke Collection of Tapestries (New York, 1913), pp. 26-27, 104-07, no. 3. (as woven by Raphael de la Planche, Paris, middle of the 17th century)
Morris Carter. Isabella Stewart Gardner and Fenway Court (Boston, 1925; Reprint, Boston, 1972), p. 215, ill.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), pp. 136-37. (as probably workshop of Raphael de la Planche; Paris, 17th century)
Betty Chamberlain. “Tapestry Room” in Alfred M. Frankfurter (ed). The Gardner Collection (New York, 1946), p. 35.
Jean-Paul Asselberghs. Les tapisseries flamandes aux Etats-Unis d'Amérique (Brussels, 1974), p. 13. (discusses museum nos. T18s5-s and T18w1-s)
Lisa O. Ehret. "Chateau and Garden Tapestries at Fenway Court." Fenway Court (1977), pp. 24-33, fig. 3. (as workshop of Raphael de la Planche; Paris, about fifty years after museum nos. T18s5-s and T18w1-s)
Adolph S. Cavollo. "An Introduction to the Textile Collection at Fenway Court." Fenway Court (1981), p. 8.
Adolph S. Cavallo. Textiles: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1986), pp. 70-78, no. 14d. (as French, 1625-1650; as possibly workshop of Raphael de la Planche or alternatively Philippe de Maecht)
Jennifer R. Gross et al. Threads of Dissent. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 1999), pp. 12-13. (discusses museum no. T18s5-s)
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), p. 112. (discusses museum no. T18w1-s)
Pascal-François Bertrand. Les tapisseries des Barberini et la décoration d'intérieur dans la Rome baroque (Turnhout, Belgium, 2005), pp. 91, 93, 96. (as workshop undetermined, 2nd quarter of the 17th century)
Morris Carter. Isabella Stewart Gardner and Fenway Court (Boston, 1925; Reprint, Boston, 1972), p. 215, ill.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), pp. 136-37. (as probably workshop of Raphael de la Planche; Paris, 17th century)
Betty Chamberlain. “Tapestry Room” in Alfred M. Frankfurter (ed). The Gardner Collection (New York, 1946), p. 35.
Jean-Paul Asselberghs. Les tapisseries flamandes aux Etats-Unis d'Amérique (Brussels, 1974), p. 13. (discusses museum nos. T18s5-s and T18w1-s)
Lisa O. Ehret. "Chateau and Garden Tapestries at Fenway Court." Fenway Court (1977), pp. 24-33, fig. 3. (as workshop of Raphael de la Planche; Paris, about fifty years after museum nos. T18s5-s and T18w1-s)
Adolph S. Cavollo. "An Introduction to the Textile Collection at Fenway Court." Fenway Court (1981), p. 8.
Adolph S. Cavallo. Textiles: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1986), pp. 70-78, no. 14d. (as French, 1625-1650; as possibly workshop of Raphael de la Planche or alternatively Philippe de Maecht)
Jennifer R. Gross et al. Threads of Dissent. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 1999), pp. 12-13. (discusses museum no. T18s5-s)
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), p. 112. (discusses museum no. T18w1-s)
Pascal-François Bertrand. Les tapisseries des Barberini et la décoration d'intérieur dans la Rome baroque (Turnhout, Belgium, 2005), pp. 91, 93, 96. (as workshop undetermined, 2nd quarter of the 17th century)
MarksNotesInscribed (lower left, outer guard): Paris mark
Inscribed (lower right, outer guard): mark of an unidentified weaver (traditionally ascribed to the workshop of Raphael de la Planche, Paris, active 1633-1661; this mark could also be read as a variant of one of several marks used by the Flemish weaver, Philipp de Maecht, Paris and England, active 1605-1652)
Inscribed (lower right, outer guard): mark of an unidentified weaver (traditionally ascribed to the workshop of Raphael de la Planche, Paris, active 1633-1661; this mark could also be read as a variant of one of several marks used by the Flemish weaver, Philipp de Maecht, Paris and England, active 1605-1652)
ProvenanceNotesThe two Flemish tapestries (museum nos. T18s5-s and T18w1-s) are said to have been purchased by Cardinal Antonio Barberini (1607-1671) from the Geubels workshop (active 1585-1629), Brussels. The two French tapestries (museum nos. T18e35-s and T18e5-s) were later commissioned by Antonio Barberini of a Parisian workshop to compliment the Flemish tapestries. Antonio Barberini bequeathed his tapestries (many installed in his Paris residence) to the Barberini family, Rome in 1671.
Possibly the series refered to as "Fountains, Gardens, and Figures" included in the 1685 inventory of Palazzo Barberini alla Quattro Fontane, Rome made following the death of Prince Maffeo Barberini (1631-1685). (for the inventory, see Bertrand, p. 91; Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Archivo Barberini, Indice II, MS 2451, fols. 9-21)
Remained with the Barberini family until the late nineteenth century.
Purchased by the tapestry collector and scholar Charles Mather Ffoulke (1841-1909), Washington, DC from the Principessa Barberini, Rome in 1889.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from Charles Mather Ffoulke, Washington for $18,500 (for the set of four tapestries) on 16 November 1903.
Possibly the series refered to as "Fountains, Gardens, and Figures" included in the 1685 inventory of Palazzo Barberini alla Quattro Fontane, Rome made following the death of Prince Maffeo Barberini (1631-1685). (for the inventory, see Bertrand, p. 91; Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Archivo Barberini, Indice II, MS 2451, fols. 9-21)
Remained with the Barberini family until the late nineteenth century.
Purchased by the tapestry collector and scholar Charles Mather Ffoulke (1841-1909), Washington, DC from the Principessa Barberini, Rome in 1889.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from Charles Mather Ffoulke, Washington for $18,500 (for the set of four tapestries) on 16 November 1903.
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