Cleveland Museum of Art
The Mystical Grapes
- Date
- c. 1500
- Medium
- Wool, silk, silver thread; tapestry weave
- Culture
- Flanders, possibly Bruges
- Department
- Textiles
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
This tapestry illustrates the symbolic relationship between wine and Christ’s blood that forms a central belief of the Catholic faith. Flanked by the Virgin Mary and Joseph, the Christ child squeezes grapes into a chalice, symbolizing the gift of his blood for the redemption of humankind. With its small scale, luxurious metallic threads, and extraordinary detail, the tapestry was intended to aid in private devotion. Locking eyes with the infant Christ, the fruit of the Virgin’s womb (represented by the pomegranate in the glass), the user would contemplate Christ’s fate. Tapestries were among the most expensive material goods in the medieval and early modern periods. Nevertheless, they were ubiquitous among the upper echelons of society who used them to decorate and warm their drafty living spaces.
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