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The tapestry is from the series The Lady with the Unicorn.
Tapestries form a particularly important branch of French mediaeval art, and among them the famous series of the 'Lady with the Unicorn' is outstanding. It is believed the series, based on French cartoons, was woven in a workshop in the south Netherlands to the commission of a noble Lyons family. The five scenes are allegories of the five senses - the sixth scene presented here, the exact theme of which is the subject of considerable discussion, is completely similar in style. This is perhaps the most beautiful of all: Before a red background strewn with flowers the Lady, standing in an oval-shaped blue field of flowers, reaches into a jewel case held by her handmaid. The unicorn and the lion - figures in each of the tapestries - hold flags mounted on long flagstaffs, imposing a symmetry on the composition.
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