The Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries

Paris's Musee National du Moyen-Age Thermes de Cluny is home to a series of tapestries known collectively as The Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries. This beautiful collection consists of six tapestries that were woven of wool and silk in the workshops of Flanders around c1500.

It is believed the tapestries were commissioned by Jean La Viste, a noble man in the court of King Charles VII, as the Lion and the Unicorn depicted in the standard, is representative of the family crest.

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Some interpretations see the tapestries as representing virginity, based on an ancient myth that only a pure virgin could tame the unicorn. Others interpretation sees the lady putting the necklace into the chest as a denial of the passions aroused in the other tapestries. Yet another version sees this tapestry as representing a sixth sense of understanding or empathy. The latter explanation is taken from the sermons of Jean Gerson, a lecturer at the University of Paris around 1420.

For many years the tapestries lay undiscovered until in 1844 Prosper Merimee, a writer, dramatist and historian came across them in Boussac Castle. With the help of the novelist Georgina Sands, Merimee brought the tapestries to public attention. They were badly damaged by damp, and the castle rats had eaten away at them, but in 1853 the tapestries were purchased by the Musee De Cluny and restored to their former glory.

Each of The Unicorn Tapestries depict a different image of a lady and her unicorn and are said to represent the five senses, smell, taste, touch, hearing. The last tapestry in the series is said to represent love and is entitled 'To my own desire'.