Millefleurs Tapestry with Medici Coat of Arms
Unknown Artist
1520s
Medium
tapestry weave: wool and silk
Dimensions
274.2 × 639.7 cm
Classification
Tapestry
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Bequest of John L. Severance
Accession Number
1942.824
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Many identifiable flowering plants provide the French name, millefleur, for this pattern, which became fashionable around 1450. Each plant may have symbolized either religion, courtship, or morals. However, many millefleur tapestries, made for about 100 years, were probably not symbolic. Large quantities were woven only with flowers; some also incorporated birds and animals or, in this case, coats of arms. Here, the original coat of arms has been replaced by that of the Medicis, a prominent fami...