"Verdure" tapestry from the early 18th century.

"Verdure" tapestry from the early 18th century.
Hand-woven in wool and silk.
Without border.
Several fragile areas, wear and tear due to age, partly faded colours. Some repairs in keeping with age.
Measurements: 232 x 216 cm.
Hunting scene representing the Roman goddess of hunting, Diana, resting in a forest with her companion. Mainly in green, blue and grayish-brown tones, Diana's dress is red. This type of scene is known as verdure or millefleur, a style characterized by the use of a large number of plants or flowers of different sizes. In many occasions these are arranged in the lower zone, and are placed in an ascending way creating a scene of vegetation; many other times they show scenes of realistic character whose protagonist is the landscape. It is a very common style in Europe, which began to develop in the Middle Ages.
Tapestry is relatively fragile and difficult to make, so most historical pieces are intended to be hung vertically on a wall, or sometimes horizontally on a piece of furniture such as a table or a bed. In some periods, smaller pieces, often long and narrow, were made and used as borders for other weavings. Therefore, European tapestries are usually made to be viewed from one side only and often have a plain lining added on the reverse side.