1726 / 1775, Rome

1726 / 1775, Rome

Identifier
88.3.108
Transfer of custody
Victoria and Albert Museum
Acquisition
Gift of Coudert Brothers, 1888
Collection
Material
Technique
Depiction
Dimension
44.5 cm (height)
33 cm (width)
Production time
Production place
Type of object

Description

This small fragment has been cut down from a larger tapestry, probably representing the Annunciation. It is attributed to weavers working in Rome at the San Michele manufactory, which had been founded in 1710 by Pope Clement XI to complement the wool and dyeing workshops at the orphanage of San Michele a Ripa. The tapestry is part of a large group of technically proficient tapestries, many made as diplomatic gifts, modelled after paintings in the Vatican collection. With the exception of a handful of more sophisticated tapestry series (like Gerusalemme Liberata, four pieces of which are also in The Met’s collection), these woven copies comprised the main activity of the San Michele weavers, alongside repair and restoration of older northern European tapestries in the papal collection.