Tapestry: The Month of December from The Royal Residences Series

This is one of a series of twelve tapestries, which each showed an astrological sign for a month with a French royal palace in the background. The month of December shows the Château of Monceaux (demolished in 1799, during the French Revolution) through the bare trees. On the left, Louis XIV leads a hunting party with horsemen and hounds after a wild boar. In the center of the top border, the astrological sign of Capricorn hangs between garlands of winter fruit and vegetables. In the foreground, two liveried pages drape a rare Near Eastern carpet over the balustrade, while a moorhen, crane, and bustard, birds from the royal menagerie, strut along the front.