Handgonners from spanish tapestry

fernando · 31st March 2011, 08:48 PM

If you read the (French) labels in the link, you will notice that these tapestries were woven to illustrate Portuguese King Dom Afonso V landing, siege and take over of North African cities of Arzila and Tangiers in 1471.
It was he who ordered these four huge tapestries (each 4x11 meters) from the Flemish workshops of Tournai, where they were wooven in wool and silk. Having probably arrived in Portugal already by the realm of King Dom João II (1481 ...), a few decades after they were made, in 1532, they surprisingly appeared in Spain, in the estate inventory of the Dukes do Infantado.
How they ended up in Spain, is a mistery for which, until today, historians have found no answer. What is known is that they were inherited by the said Dukes, who later offered them to the Colegiada of Pastrana (Gualadajara) where they still are, in the local Parish church.
During the Portuguese Ditactorship, Prime Minister Salazar tried to recuperate them, withou success. As an alternative, in 1930, it was arranged for a set of copies to be made, being exhibited until today in the Palace of the Dukes de Bragança, in the city of Guimarães.

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31st March 2011, 08:48 PM	#8
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Spanish ... not really If you read the (French) labels in the link, you will notice that these tapestries were woven to illustrate Portuguese King Dom Afonso V landing, siege and take over of North African cities of Arzila and Tangiers in 1471. It was he who ordered these four huge tapestries (each 4x11 meters) from the Flemish workshops of Tournai, where they were wooven in wool and silk. Having probably arrived in Portugal already by the realm of King Dom João II (1481 ...), a few decades after they were made, in 1532, they surprisingly appeared in Spain, in the estate inventory of the Dukes do Infantado. How they ended up in Spain, is a mistery for which, until today, historians have found no answer. What is known is that they were inherited by the said Dukes, who later offered them to the Colegiada of Pastrana (Gualadajara) where they still are, in the local Parish church. During the Portuguese Ditactorship, Prime Minister Salazar tried to recuperate them, withou success. As an alternative, in 1930, it was arranged for a set of copies to be made, being exhibited until today in the Palace of the Dukes de Bragança, in the city of Guimarães. . Attached Images