Flora and Zephyrus (from Set of Ovid's Metamorphoses)

1704–1731

Flora and Zephyrus (from Set of Ovid's Metamorphoses), 1704–1731. Gobelins Manufactory (France, Paris, est. 1662). Tapestry weave; overall: 324.5 x 295 cm (127 3/4 x 116 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Matthias Plum 1956.325.2 In an abundant garden of trees and flowers, the goddess Flora sits beneath a vase of luscious flowers as her husband, the west wind Zephyrus, carried by a white cloud, reaches out to crown her with a floral chaplet. In this tapestry, Zephyrus’s wings resemble those of a butterfly or moth rather than a bird. The ravishing landscape echoes Flora and Zephyrus as springtime divinities. The parrot in the foreground is a colorful intermediary between the viewer and the gods represented in this tapestry. During the French Revolution, Gobelins tapestries were sometimes disassembled to harvest the gold threads.