Page:Textile fabrics; a descriptive catalogue of the collection of church-vestments, dresses, silk stuffs, needle-work and tapestries, forming that section of the Museum (IA textilefabricsde00soutrich).pdf/576



LENT BY HER MAJESTY AND THE BOARD OF WORKS.

Tapestry; ground crimson, diapered with foliage; design, within a broad arch, a white panel, figured with Diana, and about her flowers, birds, and animals, dead and alive. At the right corner, on the lower hem, is inscribed, "Neilson, ex. 1786." French, from the Gobelin factory.

Diana holds by a long blue ribbon a greyhound; below, are other two hounds and two little naked boys, of whom one is about to dart an arrow; the other, to shoot one from a bow at Diana herself, who, with her shadow cast upon a cloud, is holding her favourite dog by its blue string: at her feet lie her own bow and arrows. This piece is graciously lent by Her Majesty, and is a favourable specimen of the Gobelins royal manufactory, over which the Neilsons, father and son, presided, from 1749 till 1788. Most likely this piece was wrought by the elder Neilson, who, as well as his son, worked with the "basse lisse," or low horizontal frame, as distinguished from the "haute lisse," or high vertical one.

Tapestry Wall-hanging; design, a landscape with the figure of a man. French, 17th century.

The landscape is somewhat wild, but nicely rendered. In the foreground, sitting on a stone, we have a youth with both his hands upon a classic-shaped vase, standing between his feet. In the background are