The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Set of Ovid's Metamorphoses

Set of Ovid's Metamorphoses

1704–31
(France, Paris, est. 1662)
France, 18th century
tapestry weave
Average: 327.7 x 322.6 cm (129 x 127 in.)
Gift of Mrs. Matthias Plum 1956.325
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

During the French Revolution, Gobelins tapestries were sometimes disassembled to harvest the gold threads.

Description

Each tapestry illustrates a scene from Metamorphoses, written by the ancient Roman poet Ovid. The poem is comprised of fifteen books and contains more than 250 myths. These tapestries were produced in Paris by the royal Gobelins Manufactory during the 1700s. Gobelins was founded in 1662 for the purpose of furnishing French royal homes with the highest quality textiles. Gold and silver thread and silk were woven together to create luxurious tapestries like these.
  • ?–1956
    Mrs. Matthias Plum (Bertha Andrews Rainey Plum) [1909-1976], New York, NY, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1956–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Malloy, Katherine R. “Three Eighteenth-Century Gobelins Tapestries.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 44, no. 2 (1957): 24–27. Reproduced: P. 24; Mentioned: P. 24-27 www.jstor.org
    Standen, Edith A. “Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’: A Gobelins Tapestry Series.” Metropolitan Museum Journal 23 (1988): 149–191. Mentioned: P. 159, 162-163, 167, 171-173, 188; Reproduced: P. 164, 166, 172 www.jstor.org
  • {{cite web|title=Set of Ovid's Metamorphoses|url=false|author=Gobelins Manufactory|year=1704–31|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1956.325