Flora and Zephyrus (from Set of Ovid's  Metamorphoses)

Description

In an abundant garden of trees and flowers, the goddess Flora sits beneath a vase of luscious flowers as her husband, the west wind Zephyrus, carried by a white cloud, reaches out to crown her with a floral chaplet. In this tapestry, Zephyrus’s wings resemble those of a butterfly or moth rather than a bird. The ravishing landscape echoes Flora and Zephyrus as springtime divinities. The parrot in the foreground is a colorful intermediary between the viewer and the gods represented in this tapestry.

Provenance

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 (1956–)

Flora and Zephyrus (from Set of Ovid's Metamorphoses)

Gobelins Manufactory

1704–1731

Accession Number

1956.325.2

Medium

tapestry weave

Dimensions

Overall: 324.5 x 295 cm (127 3/4 x 116 1/8 in.)

Classification

Tapestry

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Mrs. Matthias Plum