Textile Fabrics: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Collection of Church-vestments, Dresses, Silk Stuffs, Needlework and Tapestries, forming that Section of the MuseumRock, Daniel
History
Textile Fabrics: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Collection of Church-vestments, Dresses, Silk Stuffs, Needlework and Tapestries, forming that Section of the Museum
Rock, Daniel
Art objects -- England -- London -- Catalogs; Textile fabrics
Piece of Cut-work, for wall-hanging; ground, square of blue and red,
with the upper border blue, the side one red; design, at top, knights
and ladies talking, and each within a separate arch; in the body of the
piece, the history of some dragon-slayer, figured in two horizontal
rows of compartments, every one of which is contained within an archway
with a head composed of three trefoil arches in a straight line, and
resting on trefoil-brackets, and having, all through, birds and flowers
in the spandrils. French, late 14th century. 7 feet 11 inches by 3 feet
4 inches.
Though now so rough and tattered this almost unique piece of
“cut-work” (which French people would call appliqué, but better
described by the English words), of so large a size, is valuable for
its use in showing how, with cheap materials and a little knowledge of
drawing, a very pleasing, not to say useful, article of decoration may
be made, either for church appliance or household furniture.
Unfortunately the heads of the personages in the upper row are all
cut away, but lower down we plainly see the history meant to be
represented. Upon the first pane, to the left, we have a regal throne,
upon which are sitting, evidently in earnest talk, a king, crowned
and sceptred, and a knight, each belted with a splendid military
girdle falling low down around the hips. Behind the knight stands his
’squire. In the next pane the enthroned king is giving his orders
to the standing knight, toward whom his ’squire is bringing his
sword, his shield, (_argent_ a fess _azure_, surmounted by a demi-ox
_azure_,) and a bascinet mantled and crested with the head of the same
demi-ox or aurochs and its tall horns. After this we behold the knight
with lance and shield, and his ’squire on horseback riding forth
from the castle, at the gate of which stands the king, outstretching
his hand and bidding farewell to the knight, who is turning about
to acknowledge the good-bye. Going first upon the road, the knight,
followed by the ’squire, seems asking the way to the dragon’s lair,
from a gentleman whom they meet. The monster is then found in a wood,
and the knight is tilting his spear into its fire-red maw. The next
pane carrying on the romance is the first to the left in the second
or lower series. Here the knight is unhorsed, and his good grey steed
is lying on the field; but the knight himself, wielding his sword in
both hands, is about to smite the dragon breathing long flames of
fire towards him. Afterwards he catches hold of his fiery tongue, and
is cutting it off. It would look as if the dragon, though wounded to
the loss of its tongue, had not been worsted; for in the following
compartment we behold the same knight all unarmed, but well mounted,
galloping forth from a castle gate with a hound and some sort of bird,
both with strings to them, by his horse’s side, and having found the
dragon again, appears holding an argument with the beast that, for
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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