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1525~ / 1528~, Brussels

1525~ / 1528~, Brussels

Identifier
19.172.2
Transfer of custody
Victoria and Albert Museum
Acquisition
Bequest of Helen C. Juilliard, 1916
Collection
Material
Technique
Depiction
Production time
Production place
Type of object

Description

Like the Ages of Man tapestries (also on display in this gallery and perhaps designed in the same artist's workshop), the subject of this tapestry explores the cyclical nature of time. Embodying October, peasants sow the fields with seed in a crisp Autumnal landscape. Jupiter, seated on a plough, looks down the scene. A Zodiacal belt encloses this medallion, with Scorpio triumphant. Pairs of women with hourglasses separate the signs, whilst the background shifts from bright daylight through dusk to dark night, thence back through dawn to day. In the upper corners are SUPERNAS, actually a summer wind, and NOTUS, a south wind. In the lower corners are further charmingly-observed scenes of country life.