Cleveland Museum of Art

Millefleurs Tapestry with Medici Coat of Arms

Date

1520s

Medium

tapestry weave: wool and silk

Culture

Netherlands, Hainault, early 16th century

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Many identifiable flowering plants provide the French name, millefleur, for this pattern, which became fashionable around 1450. Each plant may have symbolized either religion, courtship, or morals. However, many millefleur tapestries, made for about 100 years, were probably not symbolic. Large quantities were woven only with flowers; some also incorporated birds and animals or, in this case, coats of arms. Here, the original coat of arms has been replaced by that of the Medicis, a prominent family in Renaissance Florence.

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