Fond de fleurs armorié
Flower background with coat of arms
The coat of arms of Höchstetter (Bavaria) and Rehlinger (Bavaria)
Tapestry from the Southern Netherlands or Germany
Woven in wool and silk (warp in wool, weft in wool and silk)
16th century, around 1500
Rare 16th century tapestry, decorated with coats of arms inscribed in wreaths of foliage and placed on a background of flowers (irises, daisies, ranunculus...) and leaves decorated with a fox and a rabbit. The arms were previously identified, some forty years ago, as those of the von Rehlingen (Azure with two silver points) and Hochstetter (Fluted cut Azure and silver) families. The presentation of the coat of arms and the crest are in the Germanic style; the heavily framed plant motifs are also rather characteristic of Germanic tapestries. On the other hand, similar small animals can be found in the Tournai tapestries.
