The Tapestries - Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Fragments from the Fifth Tapestry: The Unicorn Is Captured by the Maiden Although only two fragments remain from the fifth tapestryX it is obvious from them that the huntsmen no longer try to capture their quarry by force and have resorted to the ruse of the virgin maid. All that is visible of the maiden is a bit of her brocaded sleeve and her hand delicately caressing the unicorn's mane. Her pert lady companion beckonsX apparently to the hunter blowing his hornX to signal that the unicorn may now be taken. It is impossible to reconstruct the scene as a wholeX but its atmosphere was undoubtedly one of quiet and peace. The maiden and the unicorn are within the bortus conclusus, a garden surrounded by a fence. In the Middle Ages such an enclosure was considered a symbol of chastity. In these fragments the rectangular garden is bounded by wooden railings and a hedge of roses plentifully supplied with thorns. One of the trees in the fragments is a holly with bright red berries. Holly was used for Christmas decorationsX as it is todayX and was associated with the Nativity and the yuletide season. There is also an apple tree. It was probably in the center of the garden; its fruit, unlike any other in the tapestriesX is enriched with silver-gilt threadsX indicating a special importance. One writer calls the shade of the apple tree the Holy Spirit that overshadowed Mary at the Annunciation. This interpretation makes it appropriate for the coming of the unicorn to the maidX orX symbolicallyX of Christ to the VirginX to take place under an apple tree. The apple is also rich in erotic symbolism. Since the unicorn beguiled by the maiden represented the lover captivated by his beloved, the apple tree in the Cloisters tapestry may well suggest the sweetness of worldly love. Since the apple was considered the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden and the holly with its sharp leaves a symbol of Christ's PassionX the two together may signify the whole drama of the Fall and Redemption.
Below: Illustrated here is one of a famed series of tapestries, The Lady with the Unicorn, in the Cluny Museum in Paris. The set describes the five senses, and this particular tapestry the sense of sight. A lovely lady holds a mirror before the unicorn who admires himself with obvious satisfaction. The workys composition may approximate that of the nowfragmentary Cloisters tapestry: the position of the lady's hand and arm, her elegantly brocaded dress, and the angle of the unicorn's head and horn are quite similar to corresponding features remaining in the Cloisters fragment. Photograph: Reunion des Musees Nationaux
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The Tapestries - Metropolitan Museum of Art

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