Antique tapestry Royal Manufacture of Brussels

Description

“Moses saved from the waters”
Hand-woven tapestries
Period: 18th century
Dimensions: cm 360 x 345

Although somewhat secular and dreamlike in style, this tapestry faithfully illustrates the Finding of Moses by the Pharaoh’s daughter, as recounted in the Old Testament.
Since Egyptian law required first-born male babies to be killed at birth, Moses’s mother saved her new-born son by hiding him in a tar-coated papyrus basket, which she concealed among reeds in the River Nile. The basket was found by the Pharaoh’s daughter, who had gone to the river with her maidservants to bathe. Although she realised that the child was a Jew and therefore destined to die, the princess took pity on him and decided to adopt him.
Depicting an episode from of the Story of Moses, this tapestry comprises eight human figures, woven in about 1735 in Brussels, by the Van der Borcht family, who had an illustrious history of tapestry-making in the city.
Still in excellent condition, it has been woven with outstanding finesse, using wool and silk yarns in a range of vivid colours. The weaving expertly replicates the finest figurative details and the most ardent plays of light and optical effects of the cartoon from which it was created (figures by Jan van Orley – Brussels, 1665-1735; scene and background by Augustin Coppens – Brussels, 1668-1740)