Lot n° 19
Estimation :
8000 - 12000
EUR
Tapestry of Audenarde (Flanders), from... - Lot 19 - FEE - Stanislas Machoïr
Tapestry of Audenarde (Flanders), from the middle of the 16th century. Technical characteristics : Silk and wool. Some oxidation and natural wear. Restorations of maintenance. Dimensions : Height : 275cm ; Width : 238cm. Episode of the life of Wenceslas I° (907-929), Duke of Bohemia, patron saint of the Czech Republic. Wenceslas I°, Duke of Bohemia, blessing the mugwort at the time of its harvest. A rich and very beautiful border with sumptuous exotic birds, putti, flowers and other coloured fruits. This tapestry is probably part of a suite of 12 panels having for subject the 12 months of the year and the remedies of medicine which one finds in nature against the epidemics. Wenceslas I was the son of Prince Vratislav I of Bohemia and his wife Drahomira. After a very religious childhood, especially under the influence of his grandmother Ludmilla of Psov, he was sent to the school of St. Peter's Church in Budeč where Latin was taught. After his father's accidental death in 921, his mother Drahomira took power and took a dim view of young Wenceslas' religious affiliation. The latter had to take refuge with his grandmother, who was strangled shortly afterwards by Varegues on the orders of her daughter-in-law Drahomira. Chaos reigned in the Duchy of Bohemia and Duke Arnulf of Bavaria took advantage of this to invade the country in the spring of 922. Wenceslas acceded to the throne two years later. Henry I the Bearded One threatened to invade Bohemia, but Wenceslas offered to sign a non-aggression pact and bought this peace for 129 oxen and 500 silver talents per year, which was quite unusual at the time: Wenceslas preferred peace to war. Many of the ruler's companions, including his own brother Boleslav, were unhappy with this procedure. Wenceslas transformed Czech society in the religious and institutional spheres: he modified the judicial system by reducing the use of capital punishment or torture. He also undertook the construction of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. Boleslav, eager for power and aided by several lords, conspired against his own brother by luring him to the patron saint's day at the church of Saints Como and Damian in the town of Stará Boleslav, not far from Prague. Unarmed, Wenceslas was attacked by his brother and other conspirators and died in front of the church door. Three years later, the repentant Boleslav I of Bohemia had his brother's remains transported to St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. The Church celebrates him as a martyr on September 28.
St. Vitus, or St. Guido, depending on the country, a native of Sicily, bore witness to his faith in Christ as a martyr around 303 in Rome under the Emperor Diocletian. Relics were taken by Benedictine monks to Saint Denis in France at the beginning of the 9th century and then in 836 to the monastery of New Corbia, Corwey in Westphalia, again by Benedictine monks. Some parts of the relics of St. Vitus were transferred to Prague, at the request of the Bohemian duke, St. Wenceslas, in the 10th century. The cult of St. Vitus was widespread in northern France and Belgium. In the 14th century, during a serious epidemic, he was invoked and this is how we speak of "the dance of Saint Guy" from which he cured the sick who asked for his intercession. The mugwort can be found in Europe in uncultivated areas up to an altitude of 1600 m. The mugwort grows in clumps on the edges of forest paths, in ruins or along streams. It has a certain resemblance to wormwood. This perennial plant measures from 0,50 to 1,50 m in height, its cut out leaves are dark green above and whitish below. They have a velvety aspect. Its flowers, which appear from July to October, are pale yellow. Mugwort has a very unpleasant smell. It is usually harvested in June. On farms, it is still used in bunches hung in the stables to keep flies away from the animals. Mugwort was used by the great surgeon Ambroise Paré, and a variety of mugwort is currently used in the Far East for a medicine called moxibustion. Mugwort is used externally and internally. Mugwort is made up of resin, tannin, essential oil and in the leaves, one finds vitamin A1, B1, B2, C. It was much used to relieve the epileptics and the people reached of the dance of Saint-Guy.
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