Allegory of the Unicorn

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Allegory of the Unicorn

DesignerAttributed to Gilles Le Castre Flemish, 1525 - 1549

Manufacturerpossibly woven in the Poissonnier Workshops Belgian

Place of OriginFlanders (probably Tournai)

Dateearly 16th century

Dimensions9 ft., 3 in. x 12 ft., 6 in.

MediumTapestry (wool and silk)

ClassificationTextiles and Fiber

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1947.7

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 16

Collections

Decorative Arts

Exhibition HistoryL'exposition des Anciennes Industries d'art Tournaisiennes, Tournai, 1911.Label TextAgainst a dense millefleurs (“thousand flowers”) background in which birds and animals hide, a young woman riding a camel-like unicorn faces a fierce lion. She is as extraordinary as the fantastic beast she rides: covered in long body hair, she wears a sheer tunic and two jawbones tied together to form a helmet. Her appearance matches European medieval legends about wild men and women living in harmony with nature and ruled by base instincts. The unicorn, too, shares origins in medieval mythology as an elusive, dangerous creature from India or Persia that could only be tamed by a virgin.