A Flemish or French 'Teniers' tapestry, 'The Fish Quay', in the manner of David Teniers the Younger, mid-18th century

A Flemish or French 'Teniers' tapestry, 'The Fish Quay', in the manner of David Teniers the Younger, mid-18th century, woven in wool and silk, depicting fishing boats at sea beside a scene of figures at a market, before an architectural background, within a picture frame border woven with ribbon and fruiting vine, approximately 188.5 x 240.5 cm

The present lot relates closely to the popular rural and market scenes inspired by the paintings of David Teniers the Younger (1610-1690), which included subjects such as the Kermesse and the Harvest. The scenes were woven by workshops across Brussels, Oudenarde, Lille and even London and Madrid. Due to their international manufacture, there is great variety in the interpretation of the scenes. The design of the current tapestry is more akin to earlier versions of the model, as the quay and boats gave way to large colonnades and architectural capriccios in later renditions of the scene. The present lot depicts a reduced version of the known composition, and shows it in reverse, which indicates that it may have been created from a secondary or even printed source. Guy Delmarcel addresses the Teniers tapestries and their widespread popularity in Flemish Tapestry, Tielt, 1999, pp. 352-363.

See Christie's, 4 November 2010, lot 98, for a full-length version of this scene.

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