Tapestry with the Annunciation (ca.
1410–20), Wool warp, wool with a few metallic wefts, Metropolitan Museum of Art
(New York) ■ Seated
in a spacious room of the elaborate type first represented in Northern Europe
by the illuminator Jean Pucelle, the Virgin Mary looks away from her book on
the reading lectern, startled by the sudden entrance of the archangel Gabriel.
He holds a scroll with the words "Ave gracia plena" ("Hail
[Mary] full of grace"). In the sky, God the Father sends the infant Jesus
bearing a cross toward the Virgin, preceded by the dove of the Holy Spirit.
They descend in the direction of the Virgin's ear, as it was believed that her
ear was the opening through which she conceived. Other imagery in the tapestry,
such as the enclosed garden, emphasizes her virginity, and the single white
lily placed in an elaborate pottery jar symbolizes her purity. Although the
tapestry was probably woven in Arras in the south Lowlands—the leading center
of tapestry production following the decline of Paris during the Hundred Years
War-it was found in Spain. The fame of weavers from this area extended
throughout Europe, and was especially prized by Spaniards, who had established
close diplomatic and commercial ties in the region ■
