148 - An exceptional, large, and finely woven wool and silk tapestry from the Royal Manufactory of Mortlake (England), second half of the 17th century, circa 1650–1670. Title: Children’s Bacchanal with a Goat, or The Triumph of Bacchus as a Child. Design by the painter Francis Cleyn (Clein), official draftsman of the Royal Manufactory of Mortlake appointed by King Charles I of England (1638), inspired by an Italian model (Jules Romain, a pupil of Raphael, 1530) and Flemish compositions. Part of the “Children’s Games” series (six to eight different panels: The Triumph of Bacchus as a Child, The Children’s Dance [the round dance], The Grape Harvest [or Fruit Picking], The Wine Press, and Water Games). The scene depicts a joyful procession of children, little imps surrounding the child Bacchus—crowned with vine branches—seated astride the back of a large goat with curved horns. On the right, two young boys wearing laurel wreaths are visible in profile, one playing cymbals and the other a trumpet, near a drunken figure lying on the ground beside two overturned golden Renaissance-style ewers symbolizing the wine flowing freely during Bacchus’s triumph (all these attributes—the goat, the cymbals, the thyrsus, the wine cup, and the wine jars are a superb example of English Baroque). In the background, rendered in Baroque perspective, is a large fortified mansion or castle surrounded by lush forest vegetation. Bead-and-reel border featuring pearls and small scrolls (with alternating gadroons, pearls, and ovals). The center of the border: decorated with rows of large, stylized, curled golden acanthus leaves surrounded by small bouquets of white flowers and red fruits on a midnight blue background. Four spandrels with gilded shells, creating the effect of picture frame moldings. Dimensions: 283 cm high x 531 cm wide (restorations, fresh colors, oxidation, and natural wear).

An exceptional, large, and finely woven wool and silk tapestry from the Royal Manufactory of Mortlake (England), second half of the 17th century, circa 1650–1670. Title: Children’s Bacchanal with a Goat, or The Triumph of Bacchus as a Child. Design by the painter Francis Cleyn (Clein), official draftsman of the Royal Manufactory of Mortlake appointed by King Charles I of England (1638), inspired by an Italian model (Jules Romain, a pupil of Raphael, 1530) and Flemish compositions. Part of the “Children’s Games” series (six to eight different panels: The Triumph of Bacchus as a Child, The Children’s Dance [the round dance], The Grape Harvest [or Fruit Picking], The Wine Press, and Water Games). The scene depicts a joyful procession of children, little imps surrounding the child Bacchus—crowned with vine branches—seated astride the back of a large goat with curved horns. On the right, two young boys wearing laurel wreaths are visible in profile, one playing cymbals and the other a trumpet, near a drunken figure lying on the ground beside two overturned golden Renaissance-style ewers symbolizing the wine flowing freely during Bacchus’s triumph (all these attributes—the goat, the cymbals, the thyrsus, the wine cup, and the wine jars are a superb example of English Baroque). In the background, rendered in Baroque perspective, is a large fortified mansion or castle surrounded by lush forest vegetation. Bead-and-reel border featuring pearls and small scrolls (with alternating gadroons, pearls, and ovals). The center of the border: decorated with rows of large, stylized, curled golden acanthus leaves surrounded by small bouquets of white flowers and red fruits on a midnight blue background. Four spandrels with gilded shells, creating the effect of picture frame moldings. Dimensions: 283 cm high x 531 cm wide (restorations, fresh colors, oxidation, and natural wear). Note: Mortlake, founded in 1619 during the reign of James I of England at the initiative of Sir Francis Crane I as a large workshop serving the royal court with Flemish weavers from Brussels, Antwerp, and the Southern Netherlands. Sources: 1) Cotehele House, Cornwall 2) National Trust 3) Holyrood Palace (Edinburgh, Scotland) 4) Boughton, Northamptonshire 5) Getty Collection