Altar of the Three Buddhas
Datecommissioned in 1717
Workshop of
Judocus de Vos
Flemish, Brussels, 1661-1734
Label TextAs global trade increased in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, more Europeans became enthralled with visions of Cathay, as China was popularly known. They interpreted Asian design in pagoda-like garden pavilions, featured phoenixes in their textile patterns, and painted porcelain with Asian-styled flowers.
Chinoiserie, the ornamentation featured in this gallery, is an enchanting decorative motif depicting imaginary and whimsical interpretations of life in Asia. An eighteenth-century European concept, chinoiseries typically present exotic figures clothed in flowing robes and elaborate headdresses, and situated in fantastical landscape settings. Whether these figures represent people of China, India, the Middle East, or Japan is often difficult to determine; they are a mélange of peoples referring not to geographical and cultural boundaries so much as to a concept of Asia.
A blend of factual travel accounts, myth, and fantasy, the scenes in the four tapestries displayed here offer a wealth of iconographic images to study and explore. Look for the scene of a child shaking a piece of coral at a snake to ward off evil or a depiction of a man riding a crocodile, an ancient symbol of fertility.
Chinoiseries are enchanting decorative motifs depicting imaginary interpretations of life in Asia. This rare tapestry is from a suite of chinoiserie tapestries created at the Judocus de Vos workshop in Brussels.
Three Buddhas sit at the center of this tapestry. Below this central group, figures that inhabit several of the island-like scenes worship the Buddhas by burning incense. From overhead, a camel and rider on a magic carpet swoop down with a hanging bouquet of flowers as an offering.
An eighteenth-century style that was a wholly European concept of exoticism, chinoiserie was inspired by Europe's passion for all things Asian. Whether the figures depicted in these scenes represent people of China, India, the Middle East or Japan is often difficult to determine; they are a mélange of Asian and Middle Eastern peoples who represent a general concept of Asia more than geographical boundaries or cultures. Chinoiserie is a blend of factual travel accounts and fantasy.
Three Buddhas sit at the center of this tapestry. Below this central group, figures that inhabit several of the island-like scenes worship the Buddhas by burning incense. From overhead, a camel and rider on a magic carpet swoop down with a hanging bouquet of flowers as an offering.
An eighteenth-century style that was a wholly European concept of exoticism, chinoiserie was inspired by Europe's passion for all things Asian. Whether the figures depicted in these scenes represent people of China, India, the Middle East or Japan is often difficult to determine; they are a mélange of Asian and Middle Eastern peoples who represent a general concept of Asia more than geographical boundaries or cultures. Chinoiserie is a blend of factual travel accounts and fantasy.
Object number2002.38.1
Provenanced' Arenberg inventory (probably 1905); [Christie's, London, 2000]; [Galerie Chevalier, Paris, France, 2000-2002]; purchased by Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2002
Photo CreditCourtesy of the Galerie Chevalier, Paris
Published ReferencesWauters, Alphonse. Les Tapisseries Bruxelloises - Essai Historique sur les tapisseries et les tapissiers de haute et de basse-lice de Bruxelles. Bussels: Imprimerie Ve Julien Baertsoen, 1878; pp. 351, 352.
Wace, Alan. The Marlborough Tapestries at Blenheim Palace and their relation to other Military tapestries of the War of the Spanish Succession. Phaidon: London and New York, 1968.
Delmarcel, Guy. Flemish Tapestry. London: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1999; p. 370.
Brosens, Koenraad, "The Duke of Arenberg's Brussels Chinoiserie Tapestries by Judocus de Vos." Filo Forme vol. 4, no. 9 (Spring 2004): 3.
Seattle Art Museum: Bridging Cultures. London: Scala Publishers Ltd. for the Seattle Art Museum, 2007; pp. 58-59, illus. p. 59.
Brosens, Koenraad. "Flemish Production, 1660-1715." In Tapestry in the Baroque, Threads of Splendor. Campbell, Thomas, ed. New York City: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007; pp. 449, 452, fig. 207.
Brosens, Koenraad. "A Most Precious Posession: The Arenbergs and Tapestry." In Arenberg: Portrait of a Family, Story of a Collection. Turnhout: Brepols, 2018; pp. 228-229, fig. 5.Credit LineGift of the Guendolen Carkeek Plestcheeff Endowment for the Decorative Arts, Anonymous, General Acquisition Fund, Mildred King Dunn, Richard and Betty Hedreen, Decorative Arts Acquisition Fund, Margaret Perthou-Taylor, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Art Acquisition Fund, Ann Bergman and Michael Rorick, Mr. and Mrs. David E. Maryatt
Dimensions105 1/2 x 85 1/16 in. (268 x 216 cm)
MediumWool, silk, metallic threads
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