Italian
Hanging, 1738-1775
Silk, cut velvet with embroidered silk and metallic yarns , 252.7 x 201.6 cm (99 1/2 x 79 3/8 in.)
General admission for children 17 years and under is always free
Large, rectangular, red, cut velvet hanging with a central armorial motif made of embroidered silk and metallic threads. The motif features an eagle with a crown over its head and a coat of arms on its chest. Surrounding the eagle are various weapons and flags. Below the eagle are two identical armorial motifs, also made with silk and metallic threads. The motifs are coats of arms featuring a stone tower with crowns above them. There is a border of florets on the edge of the hanging.
Titian Room
Commentary
This wall hanging of red velvet bears a single armorial motif in the center of its upper half and two smaller and different armorial motifs, mirror-images of each other, in its lower half. Flowering scrolls worked with couched silk and gild yarns form a border on all four sides.
The large shield at the top, set against a composition of military trophies and surmounted by an open crown denoting a rank tentatively identified as that of marquis, is charged with an eagle facing left. A closed crown on its head and a shield encircled by collars of the orders of the Golden Fleece and of San Gennaro is on its breast. The chivalric Order of San Gennaro (St. Januarius, Bishop of Benevento, martyred at Pozzuoli in 305 AD and principal saint of Naples) was instituted by Charles III of Bourbon, King of Naples, in honor of that saint, on July 3, 1738.
Each of the two smaller shields is charged with the figure of a crown erect lion and a tower; each shield is framed with scrollwork and surmounted by the same kind of crown in the main shield.