The two XV century Gothic tapestries in the Charles Jairus Martin Memorial
Collection are masterpieces of the weaver’s art. They rank among the most
beautiful and characteristic examples of the Golden Age of tapestries.
The earlier of the two, The Falconers, was woven, presumably in the
ateliers of Arras, about 1450. It is similar in style to the famous
Hardwicke Hall hunting tapestries, owned by the Duke of Devonshire. These
tapestries have been justly called “the finest of the XV century in
England.” They formerly ornamented the walls of a great room in Hardwicke
Hall, Devonshire, but were removed from there in the XVI century and cut
to adapt them to walls pierced with windows in a new location. Taking
into consideration the similarity in size, subject, costume, and style of
representation, it is not at all impossible that The Falconers may have
belonged originally to this celebrated set. Our tapestry, which comes
from the Cathedral of Gerona in Spain, was evidently part of a still
larger tapestry (tapestries at this time were often woven of great
length), and may have been separated from the other pieces of the set at
the time of their removal from Hardwicke Hall.
[Detail: Falcons Attacking a Heron; Hunter with Lure]