From 7 May to 11 July 2015, Gallery Moshe Tabibnia presents Woven Tales: Tapestries and Embroideries from the Gothic Period to the Renaissance,an outstanding exhibition showcasing, for the first time for Milanese and international audiences, some of the rarest and oldest tapestries and embroideries produced between the 15th and the 18th century in the most prominent textile centres in Germany, France, Belgium, and Italy.
This journey into the history of textile art, spanning over three centuries, was inspired by the recent release of the book Textile Art Masterpieces : Tapestries and Embroideries in the Zaleski Collection, edited by Moshe Tabibnia and Elisabetta Mero, with essays by Nello Forti Grazzini, Chiara Buss, and Gian Luca Bovenzi.
Nearly forty textile artefacts from the Zaleski Collection will be juxtaposed with pieces from the Collection of Gallery Moshe Tabibnia from the same historical period, i n the rooms in via Brera. This captivating exhibition will take the visitor down a path to a world of sovereigns and courts, and to a time when textile art played a major role in the aesthetics of ceremony, as well as in daily life.
The newly published volume and the related exhibition offer a unique chance to discover some of the most sought-after types of European textiles, some examples of which are preserved in great international museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Musée de Cluny in Paris, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Burrell Collection in Glasgow.
This far-reaching exhibition casts a light on the findings of extensive research and study carried out on some of the earliest examples of European tapestries and embroideries, which can be regarded as masterpieces of textile art, for the high standard of their designs and outstanding quality in execution.
Gallery Moshe Tabibnia is located in the heart of Milan, within walking distance from the Pinacoteca di Brera and Palazzo Reale, which is hosting two concurrent exhibitions, ‘Il Principe dei sogni – Giuseppe negli arazzi medicei di Pontormo e Bronzino’ and ‘Arte Lombarda dai Visconti agli Sforza’, over the same time frame as ‘Woven Tales: Tapestries and Embroideries from the Gothic Period to the Renaissance’.
The exhibition at Gallery Moshe Tabibnia is structured thematically, chronologically, and geographically, unfolding into six sections. The first five sections, offer insights into the thematic areas explored within the volume dedicated to the Zaleski Collection, showcasing 15th-century Gothic tapestries from Switzerland and Germany; Franco-Flemish tapestries woven between the 15th and the 17th centuries; Millefleurs, Verdure and Feuille de Choux tapestries; narrative and allegorical tapestries dating between the 16th and the 17th centuries; and sacred and profane embroideries executed between the 16th and the 19th centuries. The last section pays homage to the theme of the Expo 2015, and features textile artifacts which, by way of their subjects and/or original functions, connect to the theme of nourishment in history and culture, and to the use of food as a sacred symbol.
