Tapestry with the coat of arms of the Chancellor of the Duke of the Royal City. Spain, second half of the 16th century

Tapestry with the coat of arms of the Chancellor of the Duke of the Royal City. Spain, second half of the 16th century.
Wool and silk.
Bibliography: G. DE TERVARENT, Attributes and symbols in profane art, 1450-1600, Geneva, 1959.
Measurements: 265 x 380 cm.

The eloquent tapestry that is now being auctioned presents in its center the coat of arms of the chancellor of the Duke of the Royal City, descendant of the kings of Aragon. The coat of arms is divided into four compartments, one of them with the head of a bull that sinks its aesthetics in the medieval bestiary, which in turn alludes to the family lineage of the chancellor. It is framed in a set of scrolls with enflorelisados elements and is topped with a helmet, a motif that had its peak in the late Middle Ages. The coat of arms is shown at a large size on a landscape background full of vegetal and animalistic elements: two large trees with twisted trunks, on whose branches an owl or a squirrel perches, frame fortified cities. Other animals decorate the landscape: a hare being chased by its hunter or a unicorn, symbol of purity.