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Source Description
This tapestry illustrates the symbolic relationship between wine and Christ’s blood that forms a central belief of the Catholic faith. Flanked by the Virgin Mary and Joseph, the Christ child squeezes grapes into a chalice, symbolizing the gift of his blood for the redemption of humankind. With its small scale, luxurious metallic threads, and extraordinary detail, the tapestry was intended to aid in private devotion. Locking eyes with the infant Christ, the fruit of the Virgin’s womb (represented by the pomegranate in the glass), the user would contemplate Christ’s fate.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
147579
label
The Mystical Grapes
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
147579
contentType
object
title
The Mystical Grapes
description
This tapestry illustrates the symbolic relationship between wine and Christ’s blood that forms a central belief of the Catholic faith. Flanked by the Virgin Mary and Joseph, the Christ child squeezes grapes into a chalice, symbolizing the gift of his blood for the redemption of humankind. With its small scale, luxurious metallic threads, and extraordinary detail, the tapestry was intended to aid in private devotion. Locking eyes with the infant Christ, the fruit of the Virgin’s womb (represented by the pomegranate in the glass), the user would contemplate Christ’s fate.
date
c. 1500
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79926986
genreSpecific
Tapestry
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 79 x 75.9 cm (31 1/8 x 29 7/8 in.); Framed: 102.2 x 99.7 cm (40 1/4 x 39 1/4 in.)
cul
Flanders, possibly Bruges
accession
1973.77
Source extras
tec
Wool, silk, silver thread; tapestry weave
tombstone
The Mystical Grapes, c. 1500. Flanders, possibly Bruges. Wool, silk, silver thread; tapestry weave; overall: 79 x 75.9 cm (31 1/8 x 29 7/8 in.); framed: 102.2 x 99.7 cm (40 1/4 x 39 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1973.77
collection
Textiles
didYouKnow
Tapestries were among the most expensive material goods in the medieval and early modern periods. Nevertheless, they were ubiquitous among the upper echelons of society who used them to decorate and warm their drafty living spaces.
citations
citation
“The Year in Review for 1973.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 61, no. 2 ( February 1974): 31–78. <br>Published as: <em>The Eucharist</em>
page_number
Reproduced: p. 34; Mentioned: p. 78, no. 165
citation
“Annual Report for 1973.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 61, no. 6 (June 1974): 179–213. <br>Published as: <em>The Eucharist</em>
page_number
Mentioned: p. 192
citation
Wardwell, Anne E. "The Mystical Grapes, a Devotional Tapestry." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 62, no. 1 (1975): 17-23.
page_number
p. 17-23
url
www.jstor.org/stable/25152571.
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 81
citation
Martin Nagy, Rebecca. Textiles in Daily Life in the Middle Ages. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1985.
page_number
p. 28, 30-31, 58
citation
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), and Adolph S. Cavallo. Medieval Tapestries in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993.
page_number
p. 337, fig. 337
citation
Cleland, Elizabeth. "Small-Scale Devotional Tapestries—Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, Part 2: The “Mystic Grapes Group”." <em>Studies in the Decorative Arts</em> 16, no. 2 (2009): 141-64.
page_number
p. 141-64
creditline
John L. Severance Fund
updatedAt
2026-06-18 19:01:02.048000
sourceId
147579
dept
Textiles
coll
Textiles
med
Wool, silk, silver thread; tapestry weave
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
24b3dcd7a8b7026f