"Verdure" tapestry from the early 18th century.

"Verdure" tapestry from the early 18th century.
Hand-woven in wool and silk.
The back is lined.
In fair condition due to age and use. Some repairs in keeping with age. Colours faded. Fragile areas.
Measurements: 310 x 210 cm.
Landscape tapestry with exotic birds in a lush environment, surrounded by a border with several varieties of flowers and fruits, mainly in green, blue and grayish-brown tones. In the background, faded garden architecture. 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 vegetation scenery; 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.