Antique 17th Century Brussels Foliate Tapestry Pillow

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Description

This antique pillow is made from an authentic 17th-century Brussels tapestry fragment, preserving a section of the highly developed Flemish … Read more This antique pillow is made from an authentic 17th-century Brussels tapestry fragment, preserving a section of the highly developed Flemish tapestry tradition that made Brussels one of Europe’s most important weaving centers. During the 1600s, Brussels workshops produced large decorative tapestries intended for important interiors, where monumental botanical ornament, architectural elements, landscapes, and elaborate borders were translated into woven form by highly skilled craftsmen. This pillow gives a surviving fragment of that historic textile a new decorative function while retaining the scale and character of the original weaving.
The front is dominated by a non-figural botanical and foliate composition. Large organic shapes move across the surface rather than forming a small repeating pattern. A strong area of deep teal and blue-green anchors the left and central portion, containing layered golden botanical forms and broad leaves. From this section, long curving bands sweep diagonally toward the opposite side in shades of camel, tan, beige, and brown, accented by narrow passages of burgundy and muted red. The fragmented nature of the original larger design gives the pillow an almost abstract quality while its scrolling foliage and vegetation remain recognizable.
Its historic palette combines deep teal, blue-green, muted olive, antique gold, ochre, mustard, camel, tobacco brown, taupe, beige, burgundy, muted red, rust, and cream. The contrast between the darker blue-green passages and warmer earth tones creates depth and movement across the elongated composition.
Measuring 16 x 8 inches, the pillow has been constructed to preserve the antique tapestry as the decorative face while presenting it in a format suitable for a contemporary interior. Its unusual proportions emphasize the sweeping direction of the original design. More than a decorative pillow, it preserves a small section of the artistic and weaving heritage for which 17th-century Brussels tapestries are celebrated, making it particularly appealing to collectors of antique textiles as well as interiors that benefit from authentic historic material. See less