Interiors & Decorations

Jewellery & Precious Stones

Watches, Pens & Lighters

Fashion

Coins & Stamps

Comics & Animation

Classic Cars, Motorcycles & Automobilia

Wine, Whisky & Spirits

Asian & Tribal Art

Trading Cards

Toys & Models

Archaeology & Natural History

Sports

Music, Movies & Cameras

Books & Historical Memorabilia

The finest objects brought to you by {name}

Paul Wullems

This is 1 (taste) or 6 different tapestries: (Taste, Touch, Smell, Sound, Sight, À Mon Seul Désir)
The six tapestries made in the course of the story hang in the Musée National du Moyen Age (aka Cluny Museum) in Paris.
Among other things, the tapestries represent the five senses. Each tapestry is usually referred to by the sense it depicts (Taste, Touch, Smell, Sound, Sight), with the sixth tapestry – which either introduces or concludes the series – known as À Mon Seul Désir (To My One Desire) for the words woven into it.
The tapestries can be interpreted several ways – as a virgin seducing a unicorn, as a woman renouncing the physical world of the senses for the spiritual world, as the Virgin Mary with Christ. The first is the most popular interpretation, and refers to the old belief that the unicorn is so wild it cannot be tamed, except by a virgin. If she sits in the woods, the unicorn will come and lay its head in her lap.

HISTORY OF THE TAPESTRIES
Little is known about the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. They were made for the Le Viste family (whose coat of arms appears throughout), but it is not certain for which member. The most convincing theory is that they were made for Jean Le Viste, who held the right to display the family coat of arms from 1457 until his death in 1500.
From the style of the ladies’ clothes and the millefleurs background, scholars think the tapestries were made probably around the end of the 15th century, possibly to commemorate Jean Le Viste’s promotion in Court in 1489. An earlier theory that they were made as a wedding present for a Le Viste daughter or wife has been discounted. Form dictated that the groom’s coat of arms would have been displayed in the tapestries alongside the 16[!] Le Viste coats of arms.
The millefleurs in the tapestries were a speciality of weaving workshops in Flanders, particularly Bruges and Brussels; the tapestries were likely made there. The specific weavers and artist who designed them are unknown.
After Jean Le Viste’s death the tapestries would have passed to his eldest daughter, Claude. She died without having children, and her estate would have been divided between her second husband’s heirs and another branch of the Le Viste family. It is believed the tapestries remained with the Le Vistes, passing to a cousin of Claude’s, and then through various bequests to Jeanne de la Roche Aymon. In 1660 she moved to her husband’s chateau at Boussac in central France, and there the tapestries remained.
They were “rediscovered” in poor condition at Boussac in 1841 by Prosper Mérimée, a government inspector of historical monuments, who recommended that the French government buy them. The writer Georges Sand also saw them in the 1840s and began to write about them, mentioning them in her journal as well as in the novel Jeanne (1844). The government purchased them in 1882 and gave them to the Cluny Museum (now the Musée National du Moyen Age) in Paris, where they now hang in a specially designed oval room. They have been restored several times since the 19th century, and were cleaned in 1975 to restore their brilliant colours.

In good condition, Size: 195 cm wide x 130 high

Wall tapestry "The lady and the unicorn" after a 15th century example in Musée de Cluny, Paris, France, mid 20th century

Home Inspiration & Trends

Reserve price

No reserve price

Buy now

Closing date

Sunday

10 April

Saturday

tomorrow

Tuesday

13 April

12 April

Monday

15 April

Wednesday

Budget

From

Location

The Netherlands

Italy

Spain

Belgium

France

Germany

Portugal

Poland

United Kingdom

Türkiye

Austria

Sweden

Hungary

Ukraine

United States

Ireland

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Bulgaria

Latvia

Monaco

Romania

Slovenia

Brand

Joan Rivers

Oscar De La Renta

Other brand

Alessi

Baccarat

Heidi Daus

Monet

Rosenthal

Vivienne Westwood

Herda

Royal Albert

Longwy

Coca-Cola

Giulia Mangani

Kenneth Jay Lane

Camrose & Kross

Moët & Chandon

Sarreguemines

Banci Firenze

Made Murano Glass

KARE Design

S.A. Boulanger

Sarah Coventry

G. H. Mumm

Cloudnola

Object

Table lamp

Side table

Lamp

Wall mirror

Textile

Vase

Chandelier

Cushion

Sculpture

Print

Painting

Armchair

Necklace

Chair

Hanging lamp

Giclée

Frame

Stool

Mirror

Coffee table

Ceiling lamp

Chest of drawers

Floor lamp

Wall lamp

Country of origin

Netherlands

Europe

Asia

India

Myanmar/Burma

Indonesia

Afghanistan

Morocco

Unknown

China

Japan

Switzerland

Material

Wood

Glass

Brass

Metal

Bronze

Cotton

Crystal

Marble

Iron

Porcelain

Leather

Ceramic

Gold-plated

Murano glass

Steel

Mahogany

Gold

Resin

Gilt brass

Walnut

Copper

Rattan

Wrought iron

Gender

Women

Unisex

Condition

Good condition - used with small signs of aging & blemishes

Excellent condition: barely used with minimal signs of wear

Good condition - used with small signs of ageing

As new - unused

Excellent condition

Fair condition -  heavily used & with possibly minor parts missing

Good condition

Excellent condition - barely used with minimal signs of wear

Very good condition - slightly used with small signs of wear

In very good condition

Good

Overall in good condition

Good condition, used with some signs of wear

Fair condition

A (excellent - mint condition)

A- (fine - tiny imperfections)

Excellent

Good condition - used with some signs of wear

Excellent condition, barely used with minimal signs of wear

Fine

Extremely fine

Mint

Overall in good condition with traces of ageing and usage

Needs restoration

Period

2020+

1970-1980

1960-1970

1950-1960

1980-1990

1990-2000

2000-2010

1940-1950

2010-2020

1930-1940

1920-1930

2025

1850-1900

1900-1910

21st century

1910-1920

2024

2022

1800-1850

2023

Late 20th century

1990s

Shōwa period (1926-1989)

Home Inspiration & Trends

This object is no longer available, but there’s still lots to explore

Wall tapestry "The lady and the unicorn" after a 15th century example in Musée de Cluny, Paris, France, mid 20th century

Popular in Home Inspiration & Trends

1466 objects

Related collections

Cookies

Home Inspiration & Trends

This object is no longer available, but there’s still lots to explore

Wall tapestry "The lady and the unicorn" after a 15th century example in Musée de Cluny, Paris, France, mid 20th century

Popular in Home Inspiration & Trends

1466 objects

Related collections