About this artwork
In the late Middle Ages, domestic spaces contained relatively little furniture, mostly utilitarian chests, cupboards, and benches. Textiles in the form of cushions, bed hangings, and tapestries provided softening elements of warmth and color. Although Flemish and northern French workshops produced monumental tapestry series for princes and cathedrals throughout Europe, in the cities of Basel and Strasbourg, on the upper reaches of the Rhine, weavers specialized in more modest tapestries. They included many woman artisans. Their tapestries featured witty, secular subjects—lovers pledging their faith (as here), fabulous animals, and wild men—and often had a gently moralizing tone, indebted to early engravings produced in the same region.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Textiles
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Title
- The Lovers
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Place
- Basel (Object made in)
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Date
- Made 1490–1500
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Medium
- Hemp, wool and silk, slit and double interlocking tapestry weave
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Inscriptions
- Inscribed: ich·spil·mit·üch·in·trüwe / des·sol·üch·niemer·rüwen (I dally with you faithfully; I hope you will never regret it)
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Dimensions
- 105.3 × 78.9 cm (41 1/2 × 31 1/8 in.)
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Credit Line
- Gift of Kate S. Buckingham
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Reference Number
- 1922.5378
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/6789/manifest.json
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.