Birds of Paradise

Manufacture Royale d’Aubusson, c.1748

Tapestry formerly known as “Verdure fine aux Armoiries du Comte de Brühl”. The Comte de Brühl was August III, the King of Poland’s powerful prime minister. He was a dedicated collector and protector of the arts and owned a large gallery of pictures, which was bought by Empress Catherine II of Russia in 1768. His library of 70,000 volumes was one of the biggest private libraries in the Holy Roman Empire. He commissioned a set of tapestries in 1748. Although there are no archives of the order, it is believed that he bought them for his palace in Pförten through the Parisian agent Théodore Toussaint Le Leu. 

Collection Cité Internationale de la Tapisserie, Aubusson

Specifications

Panel Width

Non Woven Paper: 136cm / 54 in Grasscloth: 85cm / 33.46 in Linen & Velvet: 130cm / 51.18 in