8071 Captive Unicorn

Captive Unicorn
TAP8071-1

The original versions of
this tapestry are among
the most beautiful and
complex works of art
from the late Middle Ages
that survive. Luxuriously
woven in fine wool and silk
with silver and gilded
threads, the tapestries
vividly depict scenes
associated with a hunt for
the elusive, magical
unicorn.

Now in the Metropolitan
Museum in New York. The
unicorn probably
represents the beloved
tamed. He is tethered to a
tree and constrained by a
fence, but the chain is not
secure and the fence is
low enough to leap over.

The unicorn could escape if
he wished. Clearly,
however, his confinement
is a happy one, to which
the ripe, seed-laden
pomegranates in the tree-
a medieval symbol of
fertility and marriage-
testify.

The red stains on his flank
do not appear to be blood,
as there are no visible
wounds like those in the
hunting series; rather,
they represent juice
dripping from bursting
pomegranates above.
Many of the other plants
represented here, such as
wild orchid, bistort, and
thistle, echo this theme of
marriage and procreation:
they were acclaimed in the
Middle Ages as fertility aids
for both men and women.
Even the little frog, nestled
among the violets at the
lower right, was cited by
medieval writers for its
noisy mating

Size

110cm x 85cm

150cm x 110cm