1953.101: Presentation of the Keys to a City

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1953.101

People

François Ton, Flemish (1576 - 1633)
Previously attributed to Unidentified Artist

Title

Presentation of the Keys to a City

Other Titles

Former Title: Giving the Keys of Jerusalem to Titus

Classification

Textile Arts

Work Type

tapestry

Date

1615-1622

Places

Creation Place: Europe, Belgium, Brussels

Culture

Flemish

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/215040

Physical Descriptions

Dimensions

350.5 x 393.7 cm (138 x 155 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Duc d'Avaray, Paris; his collection sale, American Art Association, January 22-23, 1915; private collection, California; Parke-Bernet, New York, January 28-29, 1949, lot 237. Label on the back records that it was lent by: George von L. Meyer, Alice Meyer Coffin, Julia Meyer Brombilla.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Mrs. Philip Coffin, Madame Julia Brambilla, Mrs. E. Calbert Cheston and Mr. Charles A. Meyer

Accession Year

1953

Object Number

1953.101

Division

European and American Art

Contact

am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

This tapestry was woven and possibly designed by Francois Tons whose weaver's mark consisting of an F, S, T and a 4 appears on the selvage. This is one of the four known works that survive from Tons' Brussels period. The tapestry shows a surrender scene. On the left side, a victorious army general, holding a baton and wearing a laurel crown, is seated on a throne placed on a platform. He is surrounded by Roman soldiers holding spears. His opponent kneels in front of him and offers him a set of keys. This suggests that the kneeling army general is giving up the keys of his city in defeat. The background offers a view of a battlefield set in a landscape. Documents show that Tons produced several series dedicated to stories from ancient history, including a history of Scipio and a history of Troy. The original borders consist of flower arrangements and female virtues.

Publication History

• Jean-Paul Asselberghs, Les tapisseries flamandes aux états-unis d'amérique, Musées royaux d'Art et d'Histoire (Brussels, 1974), p. 16
• Guy Delmarcel and Margarita Garcia Calvo, "Un tapissier bruxellois actif en Espagne: François Tons", Bulletin des Musées Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, Bruxelles (1985), Tome 56, Fascicule 2, pp. 89-121, esp. p. 102, fig. 1
• Alan Darr, Woven Splendor: Five Centuries of European Tapestries in the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, 1996), pp. 48-49, cat. #11

Verification Level