Title

The Holy Family with Saint Anne. Tapestry from Cathedral of Burgos

Generic classification

Object

Date

Century

Cultural context / style

Dimensions

Material

Technique

Iconography / Theme

Provenance

Current location

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Inscriptions / Marks

S. ANNA O BEATA INFANTIA PER  QVAM NOSTRI  GENERIS EST VITA REPARATA IOSEP  S

Object history

Burgos Cathedral preserves an extraordinary collection of Flemish tapestries, as a result of bequests received from various bishops who were at the head of the diocese, but also thanks to various donations and acquisitions throughout its history. They are undoubtedly one of the great treasures of the main temple. In the inventory of the cathedral's tapestries made in 1901, the cathedral had sixty-one, which appeared framed in twelve series, in addition to several loose panels (Campo San José and Matesanz del Barrio, 2018).

Among the documentation reviewed for Burgos Cathedral, there is a reference that perhaps allows us to understand the context in which the sale of this tapestry must have taken place: it was in the ordinary council meeting of 18 December 1919, where notice was given of the visit of the dealer Leon Levi and ‘an English gentleman’ interested in buying a carpet and some tapestries from the cathedral: ‘Mr. Fabriquero reported the new visit of Mr Leon Levi and an English gentleman who were very interested in buying the damask carpet that was discussed in another Cabildo and one of the tapestries, offering fifty thousand pesetas for the former as a basis, one million pesetas for one of the Gothic tapestries as a basis, and five hundred thousand pesetas for one of the History of Mark Antony tapestries: Each of the chapter members stated their unanimous agreement with the sale and it was agreed that the President and Secretary would meet with the Prelate to inform him of the offers made and the opinion of the Chapter Members’ (Martínez Ruiz, 2008, p. 77-78). We know that Lionel Harris made use of an extensive network of agents throughout Spain, who facilitated his access to ecclesiastical collections in each province; one of them was Leon Levi, who is mentioned on several occasions in Harris's documentation (Martínez Ruiz, 2015, Martínez Ruiz, 2018).

However, this specific decision is dated to the end of 1919, and according to the references in Arthur Lehman's collection, this tapestry of the Holy Family with Saint Anne would have been in that collection around 1916 (Claus, 1965, p. 96-97), that is to say, earlier. On the other hand, we know that as early as January 1916 Levi was in talks with Burgos Cathedral to offer ecclesiastical ornaments for sale, as recorded in the council meeting of 20 January 1916 (Martínez Ruiz, 2008, p. 77). The agent usually offered new fabrics and images for sale in exchange for old pieces from the temples. Therefore, between 1916 and 1919 we have documented Leon Levi in Burgos Cathedral, on one of whose visits he is accompanied by an ‘English gentleman’, presumably Lionel Harris, founder of the firm The Spanish Art Gallery, London, who from other sources we know provided him with works of art from various temples and cathedrals.

What is certain is that from the firm The Spanish Art Gallery this cloth passed to the New York antique house French & Co., from there to the collection of Adele and Arthur Lehman, and from there to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Locations

• ca. 1916

  cathedral

  Burgos Cathedral, Burgos (Spain)

• Unknown date

  dealer/antiquarian

  French & Company, New York (United States) *

• Unknown date

  private collection

  Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Lehman Collection, New York (United States) *

• 1965 - present

  museum

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (United States)