19th c. Tapestry - Provencal

A 19th century golden-brown dream of finery and pursuit, this late 19th-century Provencal tapestry was found in Montpellier and tells a story of aristocratic leisure stitched directly into its fibers. The grand scene, ingeniously composed from two separate tapestries sewn together, depicts a noble hunting party in all its pomp, with elegant men and women in dress of high society, their hounds coursing at the heels of a fleeing stag. Hunting tapestries such as this one were heir to a centuries-long tradition in France, where such textiles not only served as insulation against cold stone walls but also as signs of wealth, prestige, and cultivated taste. Look closely at the center and you will find the quarry itself, a stag in flight, frozen mid-drama, bringing vitality and movement into what might otherwise be still pageantry.