A Woven Elephant Tapestry Tamed by the French Royal Manufacture of Beauvais

Published on 25 February 2022, by Vanessa Schmitz-Grucker

Auction on 08 April 2022 - 14:00 (CEST) - Salle 5 - Hôtel Drouot - 75009

In 1689, the Royal Manufacture of Beauvais created a set of tapestries, called “Grotesques”, featuring six different themes on a yellow background inspired by the work of Louis XIV's ornamental painter, Jean Berain the Elder, including this elephant.

Louis XIV period, late 17th or early 18th century. Tapestry of the Manufacture de... A Woven Elephant Tapestry Tamed by the French Royal Manufacture of Beauvais

Louis XIV period, late 17th or early 18th century. Tapestry of the Manufacture de Beauvais, Grotesques à Fond Tabac (Grotesques with a Tobacco Background), after a cartoon of Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (1634-1699), inspired by Jean Berain (1640-1711) engravings. Woven in wool and silk (wool warp, wool and silk weft), 300 x 450 cm/8.9 x 14.7 ft.
Estimate: €50,000/80,000

The success was such that these tapestries, known as the 'Berain Grotesques', were woven several times until c.1730. The Louvre Museum, the Museum of Tapestries in Aix-en-Provence and the Metropolitan Museum in New York, among other institutions, have acquired these famous Berain Grotesques produced by the Royal Manufacture in Beauvais. The Elephant , here, is one of the six…

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