Carpet (Astrology)

Maker Savonnerie Manufactory (1627 - 2001)

Additional Title(s)

L'Astrologie

Collections

European Decorative Art Highlights

ClassificationsDECORATIVE ARTS

Date1670-1687

Mediumwool, linen, and bast; with repairs and later inserts in wool, cotton, and linen.

Dimensions200 x 296 in. (508 x 751.8 cm.)

DescriptionThis carpet is decorated at its center with a complex geometrical motif including floral and vegetal elements on a ground of foliated scrolls. At one end of the carpet is an allegorical figure possibly personifying Astrology.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Status

On view

Label TextBought by Henry Huntington from the collection of banker J. Pierpont Morgan, this carpet is from a series of ninety-three originally woven for Louis XIV to line the floor of the Grand Galerie of the Louvre palace. Its design draws upon a complex mixture of emblems to convey the king’s accomplishments in the realms of art and science. On this carpet, astrology is represented by a female figure in classical robes holding an armillary sphere.

Object number15.2