The Tenture des Indes is among the most famous tapestry series of the Baroque period. In an indepth exhibition, scholars dedicate themselves to various fields of study related to this tapestry series, in which an exotic world of imagery unfolds. It was created at the suggestion of Johann Moritz von Nassau- Siegen, governor of the Dutch colony in northeast Brazil (1637–44), who gathered numerous artists and scholars around himself. The sketches made on location served Albert Eckhout as a basis for cartoons, which Johann Moritz gave to the French king in 1679. Based on these cartoons, Louis XIV had the Manufacture Royale des Gobelins weave eight series, comprised of eight wall hangings each, beginning in 1687. And half a century later the weavers manufactured the Nouvelles Indes based on new templates by Alexandre-François Desportes.
This volume analyzes, expands and systematizes the origin and reception history of the two tapestry series. Taking into consideration preliminary drawings as well as tapestries believed to be missing, the essays examine the true-to-life representations of the gloriously colorful flora and fauna in the tapestry series and decrypt the meaning of the foreign objects depicted.