17th c. Aubusson Tapestry

This tapestry is not just decoration, it’s a relic of French grandeur. Found in Avignon and dating to the 17th century, it originally hung in a château in northern France, woven in the famed Aubusson workshops that were producing some of Europe’s most coveted textiles. Aubusson tapestries were prized across courts and aristocratic households, known for their lush verdure landscapes filled with forests, wildlife, and distant architecture that turned stone walls into windows onto pastoral dreamscapes. This example, with its deep blues (a notoriously difficult dye to preserve) and its scene of birds near a bridge with a château rising in the background, is a testament to that tradition.

For centuries, tapestries were more than just art, they were symbols of wealth, warmth, and status. Hung in drafty castles and townhouses, they insulated rooms while broadcasting taste and prestige. The craftsmanship required months, sometimes years, of patient weaving by skilled artisans, each hand stitch telling a story meant to dazzle visitors and transport the viewer to another world. Few pieces of this age survive with such vibrancy, making this tapestry an extraordinary find. Sylvie imagines it taking pride of place once again, turning any wall into a portal of history, myth, and daydreams.