BRUGES, CIRCA 1500, SOME LATER RESTORATION AND REWEAVING

The millefleurs design in tapestries evolved in circa 1450-1460, with one of the first fully developed examples to survive being the Armorial Tapestry of Philip the Good of Burgundy, woven in Brussels in circa 1466 and now on display in the Bernisches Historisches Museum. A debate still continues today to determine the place or places of production of these sublime tapestries with millefleurs grounds: Arras, Tournai or Bruges. However, opinions align to acknowledge the poetic beauty that emanates from the work of these weavers where the figures seem to float in a sea of flowers. This lush and verdant type of tapestry remained popular until the middle of the 16th century. Compare the series of seven tapestries in the Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, also with millefleurs background (37.80.1-6).