Air and Water Tapestry

A tapestry from the series the Four Elements, produced after cartoons by Ludwig van Schoor in the Pieter van der Heck manufactory represents an allegory of two elements – Air and Water. Air is represented by the figure of a strong, bearded man in the foreground sitting on the coast. Water is presented in the form of a bounteous female figure seated on a vessel spilling water. In the middle ground, on the surface of the sea, Neptune’s group is shown. Juno floats on clouds, surrounded with children’s heads symbolising the four main winds. The border is not complete, having been cut and narrowed on all four sides. This intervention meant that the signature that as a rule is found in the border was lost. A similar tapestry with the same iconographic theme is to be found in a residential palace in Würzburg. It has been in the Museum’s holdings since 1919, and comes from Pribislavec Castle near Čakovec.