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Tapestry Elephant and Horse Purchased In the spring of 2003, the Hermitage acquired for its collection a rare specimen of Russian tapestry art of the mid-18th century. Made at the Imperial Tapestry Works in St. Petersburg in 1748, Elephant and Horse has been preserved in private collections. A woven frame at the top incloses the letters EP — the monogram of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, while the tapestry edge in the lower right angle bears a woven brand. The tapestry is a modified reproduction of one of the Indian carpets created in the late 17th century at the Royal Tapestry Works in Paris and reproduced many times through the 18th century. The carpets were inspired by cartoons executed by the Dutch artist Altbert van der Ekhout, who accompanied prince Mauritz of Nassau on his travels in Brazil. Presented to Louis XIV, the cartoons were first slightly corrected and then remade by F. Deporte, who gave them the title New Indies. Visiting the Royal Tapestry Works in June 1717, Emperor Peter I received in gift eight carpets of the series. It included tapestries depicting aborigines, flowers and animals in exotic landscapes. The tapestries were many times reproduced with slight modifications in St. Petersburg. Documents of 1732-1744 record eighteen works with these scenes made by Russian masters. Some of them were used by architect Rastrelli to decorate the Assembly Hall in Peterhof’s Monplaisir Palace. The tapestry which the documents describe as “Elephant, Horse, Negro, Birds and Melons” was fabricated after the work at Monplaisir had been finished. Archive records say that the tapestry was begun on 28 June, 1742, and finished on 5 July, 1747, i.e. its creation took almost 5 years. At that time the Works employed a group of skilled Russian weavers headed by prentice I. Starkov; 3 to 5 people took part in the creation of one sole tapestry. The huge size of Elephant and Horse (303 cm x 526 cm) means that it cost the Imperial Works about 1,500 rubles, which was an enormous amount. Its quality shows high professional skills of Russian masters. Gorgeous decorative composition, rich colors, exquisite foreground details against generalized landscape background make this creation of the St. Petersburg Tapestry Works one of the best examples of Russian Baroque weaving. Along with wool, a lot of silk was used in its creation. The combination of the matted surface of wool-woven sections with the soft glimmer of silk threads is enchanting. Very few Russian tapestries have survived from the first half of the 18th century. Creations of the St. Petersburg Tapestry Works can hardly be found at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and other major auctions. Many have perished in palace fires, others left Russia as diplomatic gifts. This new acquisition of the State Hermitage Museum is especially remarkable in the year of the 300th anniversary of the city where was founded Russia’s only tapestry works. |
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