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Tapestry: Saint Paul Requesting Plautilla's Veil (possibly from a series of hangings illustrating the Life of Saint Paul)
Late 15th or early 16th century
Object Place: France or the Franco-Flemish Territories
Medium/Technique
Tapestry weave (wool warp; wool wefts)
Dimensions
121 x 173 cm (47 5/8 x 68 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of William de Krafft
Accession Number49.79
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsFashion and Textiles
ClassificationsTextiles
DescriptionThe subject is taken from the account of the life of Saint Paul in The Golden Legend. According to this story, Saint Paul met the Christian woman Plautilla at the Ostai gate as he was being conducted to Nero's executioners. The woman wept and asked him to pray for her, in reply to which Saint Paul said, "Plautilla, my dear daughter, lend me the veil with which thy head is covered. I shall cover my eyes therewith, and then shou shalt take it back."
Provenance1928, Arnold Seligmann, Rey et Cie., Paris [see note 1]. By 1929, Georges Haardt and Co., Inc., Paris and New York (stock no. 1206) [see note 2]; 1937, probably sold by Haardt to William de Krafft (b. 1878 - d. 1963), Heronden Hall, Tenterden, Kent, England and New York [see note 3]; January 28-29, 1949, anonymous (Krafft) sale, Sotheby Parke-Bernet, New York, lot 410, bought in by William de Krafft and given to the MFA. (Accession Date: February 10, 1949)
NOTES:
[1] The gallery lent it to the "Exhibition Gothique de la Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins" (June, 1928), cat. no. 39. [2] Georges Haardt consigned the tapestry to Jacques Seligmann and Co. beginning in 1929. Archives of American Art, Jacques Seligmann and Co. Papers, Series 7.18, Miscellaneous Financial Notes and Files, Box 357, folder 3: Statements and Notes, Georges Haardt, 1927-1934. [3] Dealer Germain Seligman wrote to Georges Haardt (May 7, 1937) about the tapestry, then in Haardt's possession, saying that he had known it "for a great many years." Archives of American Art, Jacques Seligmann and Co. Papers, Series I, General Correspondence, Box 44, folder 4: Haardt, Georges. Krafft acquired the tapestry on the New York art market in 1937.
NOTES:
[1] The gallery lent it to the "Exhibition Gothique de la Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins" (June, 1928), cat. no. 39. [2] Georges Haardt consigned the tapestry to Jacques Seligmann and Co. beginning in 1929. Archives of American Art, Jacques Seligmann and Co. Papers, Series 7.18, Miscellaneous Financial Notes and Files, Box 357, folder 3: Statements and Notes, Georges Haardt, 1927-1934. [3] Dealer Germain Seligman wrote to Georges Haardt (May 7, 1937) about the tapestry, then in Haardt's possession, saying that he had known it "for a great many years." Archives of American Art, Jacques Seligmann and Co. Papers, Series I, General Correspondence, Box 44, folder 4: Haardt, Georges. Krafft acquired the tapestry on the New York art market in 1937.