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Source Description
Pictorial tapestries were symbols of wealth and more highly prized than paintings. Small tapestries with Christian imagery were frequently commissioned to embellish the fronts of altars. This example displays the Massacre of the Innocents, the Flight into Egypt, and Christ among the Doctors.<br> <br>Tapestry weave is ideal for creating narrative scenes. The technique can be compared to painting, as each colored weft (horizontal thread) is interlaced with warps (vertical thread) where needed for the pattern. As expensive investments, tapestries have the advantage of being portable and easily stored and displayed.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
122572
label
Altar Frontal: Scenes from the Childhood of Christ
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
122572
contentType
object
title
Altar Frontal: Scenes from the Childhood of Christ
description
Pictorial tapestries were symbols of wealth and more highly prized than paintings. Small tapestries with Christian imagery were frequently commissioned to embellish the fronts of altars. This example displays the Massacre of the Innocents, the Flight into Egypt, and Christ among the Doctors.<br> <br>Tapestry weave is ideal for creating narrative scenes. The technique can be compared to painting, as each colored weft (horizontal thread) is interlaced with warps (vertical thread) where needed for the pattern. As expensive investments, tapestries have the advantage of being portable and easily stored and displayed.
date
c. 1500
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80018936
genreSpecific
Tapestry
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 107.3 x 240 cm (42 1/4 x 94 1/2 in.)
cul
France and South Netherlands, 1500s
accession
1942.826
Source extras
tec
Wool, silk, gold thread; tapestry weave
tombstone
Altar Frontal: Scenes from the Childhood of Christ, c. 1500. France and South Netherlands, 1500s. Wool, silk, gold thread; tapestry weave; overall: 107.3 x 240 cm (42 1/4 x 94 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of John L. Severance, 1942.826
collection
Textiles
formerAccessionNumbers
2573.18
citations
citation
<em>Catalogue of the John L. Severance Collection: Bequest of John L. Severance, 1936.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1942.
page_number
Reproduced: p. [53], Plate XXV, cat. no. 117; Mention: p. 59, cat. no. 117
citation
Milliken, William M., Gertrude Underhill, and Jean Mailey. "Department of Decorative Arts." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 29, no. 9 (November 1942): 137-151.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 148-149
citation
Wadsworth Atheneum, Adelyn Dohme Breeskin, and Charles Crehore Cunningham. 2000 Years of Tapestry Weaving: A Loan Exhibition : Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Dec. 7, 1951 to Jan. 27, 1952 ; the Baltimore Museum of Art, Feb. 27, 1952 to Mar. 25, 1952. Hartford, Conn: Wardsworth Atheneum], 1951.
page_number
p. 37
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 184
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 72
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 72
citation
Asselberghs, Jeen Paul. Les tapisseries flamandes aux États-Unis d'Amérique. Bruxelles: Musées royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, 1974.
page_number
p. 21
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
Weigert, Laura. <em>Weaving Sacred Stories : French Choir Tapestries and the Performance of Clerical Identity.</em> Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2004.
citation
Ensemble conventuel des Jacobins de Toulouse, Musée des tapisseries d’Aix-en-Provence, and Musée de Normandie. <em>Saints de Chœurs : Tapisseries Du Moyen Age et de La Renaissance</em>. Milan: 5 continents, 2004.
citation
Cleland, Elizabeth A. H., Lorraine Karafel, and Glasgow Museums. <em>Tapestries from the Burrell Collection</em>. London: Philip Wilson Publishers, an imprint of I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd, 2017.
creditline
Bequest of John L. Severance
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:19:19.683000
sourceId
122572
dept
Textiles
coll
Textiles
med
Wool, silk, gold thread; tapestry weave
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
ee4bd1c4a1cc4e1b