Heraldic Tapestry With The Coat Of Arms Of Juan De Toledo Y Meneses, Brussels, Brabant, 17th Century

Heraldic tapestry, known as the Repostero, bearing the coat of arms of Juan de Toledo y Meneses.

This wool-and-silk tapestry features, at its center, the coat of arms of Juan de Toledo y Meneses, from which nine banners extend; the whole is surmounted by a crown adorned with acanthus leaves, the crest of which is itself surmounted by an angel holding a cross in his right hand, all set within a rich border decorated with lictor’s fasces.
The lower border bears the initials “BB” for Brussels Brabant.

Dimensions: 330x291.

Brussels, early 17th century.

History:

Don Juan de Toledo y Meneses was made a knight of the Order of Alcántara in 1606 and held various positions in the judicial and governmental administration. He served notably in Flanders, but was also mayor of Salamanca and Ronda, as well as governor of Aranjuez, the city where he died. Several Spanish families commissioned heraldic tapestries of this type, both in Bruges and in Brussels.

Related work:

Our chancery stylistically echoes the same coat of arms as the one on display in the Gothic chapel of the Ricardo Brennand Institute in Brazil (see illustration).

• Tapestry bearing the coat of arms of Nagera, woven in Bruges and housed at the Groeningemuseum.
• Tapestry bearing the coat of arms of the Parreno Calderón family, Prado Museum.
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Bibliography:

• Bruges and Tapestry*, Bruges, 1987, pp. 223–227).