And I should be so lucky. . .The Galerie des Gobelins is exhibiting 400 years of their treasures, including the Artemis tapestries woven for Marie de Medici in 1607. Her husband, Henry IV, commissioned them. As this article by Gunilla Knutsson (at the Nordic www.ranskanuutiset.com) tells us:
For the first time in centuries, these fifteen tapestries hang side by side again. They were dispersed in the mid-1600s with only seven of them left in France. The eight missing pieces of this unique demonstration of French artistry of four hundred years ago were considered lost forever. During the Revolution and other times of crisis tapestries, especially those with gold or silver thread, were routinely destroyed to recuperate the metals.
Suddenly, about a decade ago, they turned up on the antique market in England at a price of 1,825 million Euros. Thanks to the detective work of a French expert the tapestries were identified as belonging to the original Artemis series. And with the generous help of a French financial group, they were finally returned to their homeland.
The tapestries will be shown through September; here's an announcement. The Gobelins workshops are open to the public three days a week.
If anyone wins the lottery and wants to tithe to me, I won't tell.
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