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Lot Essay
Nicasius Aerts, (d. 1627) is from a large Brussels weaving dynasty that is documented between 1550 and 1707. He received his privileges in 1613 when only eight other ateliers in Brussels were granted the same. Only a few series have so far been identified as being by him and include The Nine Heroes, The Story of Scipio, The Story of Jacob, The History of Troy and The Story of Ulysses.
After the famous early 16th Century Tournai and Brussels weavings of this subject, it was redesigned in the middle of the 16th Century. King John III of Sweden (1537-1592) purchased a set of thirteen Troy tapestries in 1560 in Antwerp, while the Gonzaga family of Mantua records a set of ten tapestries in an inventory drawn up in 1614 (C. Brown and G. Delmarcel, Tapestries for the Courts of Federico II, Ercole and Ferrante Gonzaga, 1522-63, Seattle, 1966, p. 78.) A further related set of eight tapestries from The History of Troy series woven by Martin Reymbouts (1570-1619) is at Skokloster, Sweden (J. Böttiger, Tapestries à Figures, Stockholm, 1928, pp. 18-26, pl. 12-19.)
Borders depicting the Elements, such as those found on the present lot, but usually not including fire, are first recorded for a set of The Story of Noah woven for Phillip II of Spain (1527-1598) by Willem de Pannemaker (d. 1581) between 1563 and 1567. Many variants exist and it is apparent that several weavers apdopted the ideas but commissioned their own versions. A set of tapestries depicting The Story of Ulysses (circa 1595-1675) in the Royal Spanish Collection have very closely related borders with garlands at the top (see P. Junquera de Vega and C. Diaz Gallegos, Catologo de Tapices del Patrimonio Nacional, Madrid, 1986, vol. II, series 42, pp. 1-5), while another series depicting The Story of the Emperor Octavius in the same collection has a similar elements border (op. cit., vol. 1, series 51, pp. 314-324). Very similar borders, also with garlands and birds to the top, are in the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco on a set of tapestries depicting The Acts of the Apostles by an unidentified early 17th Century weaver (see A. Gray Bennett, Five Centuries of Tapestry, San Francisco, 1992, pp. 170-183.)
After the famous early 16th Century Tournai and Brussels weavings of this subject, it was redesigned in the middle of the 16th Century. King John III of Sweden (1537-1592) purchased a set of thirteen Troy tapestries in 1560 in Antwerp, while the Gonzaga family of Mantua records a set of ten tapestries in an inventory drawn up in 1614 (C. Brown and G. Delmarcel, Tapestries for the Courts of Federico II, Ercole and Ferrante Gonzaga, 1522-63, Seattle, 1966, p. 78.) A further related set of eight tapestries from The History of Troy series woven by Martin Reymbouts (1570-1619) is at Skokloster, Sweden (J. Böttiger, Tapestries à Figures, Stockholm, 1928, pp. 18-26, pl. 12-19.)
Borders depicting the Elements, such as those found on the present lot, but usually not including fire, are first recorded for a set of The Story of Noah woven for Phillip II of Spain (1527-1598) by Willem de Pannemaker (d. 1581) between 1563 and 1567. Many variants exist and it is apparent that several weavers apdopted the ideas but commissioned their own versions. A set of tapestries depicting The Story of Ulysses (circa 1595-1675) in the Royal Spanish Collection have very closely related borders with garlands at the top (see P. Junquera de Vega and C. Diaz Gallegos, Catologo de Tapices del Patrimonio Nacional, Madrid, 1986, vol. II, series 42, pp. 1-5), while another series depicting The Story of the Emperor Octavius in the same collection has a similar elements border (op. cit., vol. 1, series 51, pp. 314-324). Very similar borders, also with garlands and birds to the top, are in the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco on a set of tapestries depicting The Acts of the Apostles by an unidentified early 17th Century weaver (see A. Gray Bennett, Five Centuries of Tapestry, San Francisco, 1992, pp. 170-183.)