Fragments of a Hanging with Nereid

On a deep red background, the head, right shoulder, and left hand of a dark-haired female figure have survived. She appears in three-quarter profile looking to the right toward her hand, which is extended in front of her at some distance. Her mouth seems to be slightly opened. With her hand she presents a wreath with a large precious stone embedded in the middle of the right side, with two pearls, one on either side of the stone. The figure herself is adorned with jewelry: she wears large pearl earrings that appear to be swinging forward, and a bracelet is visible just below her surviving hand, where her wrist would be. Her black hair turns violet at the end of some curls. The figure’s mantle expands immediately behind her head, resembling a halo. The fluttering end underneath and to the left of her shoulder, however, confirms the identification of this detail as a mantle cloth. Remains of a border appear in two fragments, featuring leaves interspersed with birds and a vessel. Another group of small fragments, positioned below the wreath, preserves what appears to be an eye looking to the left. The skin surrounding the eye is of the same color as the Nereid’s face.

This fragment is closely related in iconography and style to Dumbarton Oaks BZ.1932.1. It is uncertain whether this fragment originally belonged to the same textile, however. Comparing the measurements of their details at first seems to be an easy way to answer this question. However, the deviations are such that they do not allow for a clear conclusion. The heads of the Nereids in the present textile and in BZ.1932.1 are approximately the same size. By contrast, the width of the inner borders differs between the two fragments. On the present textile, what must have been the horizontal border measures 12.5 cm, compared to the vertical and upper horizontal borders on BZ.1932.1, which measure 14.0 and 17.0 cm, respectively. However, one characteristic of tapestries is that corresponding motifs are never identical, so the respective sizes of such details cannot be considered reliable criteria for determining whether fragments actually belong together.

However, there is one detail that suggests that these two sets of fragments come from different hangings: the acanthus leaves in the border of BZ.1934.2 alternate in color, while those in BZ.1932.1 are consistent in color. Yet another iconographic detail, in contrast, is surprisingly identical in both pieces: the appearance and position of the earrings worn by the two Nereids looking right. This could, however, indicate that the same workshop was responsible for both pieces; it does not prove they came from the same textile.

The style of the figures does not supply us with clear evidence for or against both pieces coming from one wall hanging. The faces are virtually identical in their shape and in the design of the facial features. This is also true for the way the curls are arranged on the shoulders, whereas the mass of hair gathered atop the head varies a little. But does this indicate the same hanging or “just” the same workshop?

—Sabine Schrenk, March 2020

Worcester, MA, Worcester Art Museum, Art of the Dark Ages, February 20–March 21, 1937.

Hartford, CT, Wadsworth Atheneum, 2000 Years of Tapestry Weaving, December 7, 1951–January 27, 1952.

Baltimore, MD, The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2000 Years of Tapestry Weaving, February 27–March 25, 1952.