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The Royal Windsor Tapestry Manufactory, 1876-1890

The Tapestry Descriptions

Introduction to The Royal Windsor Tapestry Works

Index to the Tapestries


11. "DR. CAIUS AND RUGBY"

The eighth in a series of eight tapestry panels "The Merry Wives of Windsor", which, with No.1 "Queen Victoria", made a total of nine, gold medal winning, exhibits at The Paris Exhibition of 1878.

Date: 1878
Artist: T. W. Hay
Subject: Act II, Scene III, A field near Windsor. Enter Dr. Caius, the French Physician, and his servant Rugby. Dr. Caius, expects to meet Sir Hugh Evans in a rapier duel, and grasps the hilt of his sword, which he is about to draw. "Take your rapier, Jack; I will tell you how I will kill him", says the bellicose Dr. Caius. "Alas, sir, I cannot fence", replies Rugby, his hands raised as far as possible from the hilt of his sword. The scene is a path by Windsor Forest, with great trees and an undergrowth of woodland flowers and plants. Behind Caius a cock pheasant with its brilliant plumage looks across to a hen pheasant in the centre background.
Cartoon: Not known
Size: 6ft. 4ins. high by 5ft 11ins. plus blued binding (for hanging) making the overall measurements 6ft. 6ins. by 6ft.
Warps: 16 per inch (part 18 per inch)
Colours: Dr. Caius is the dominant figure with his stern expression, crimson hat edged with gold on his dark grey hair. He has a dark beard streaked with grey, a cloak of grey trimmed with brown fur, brown under-tunic trimmed blue, red and gold, buff at the waist and lower edge. His sleeves are crimson, also his stockings with brown garters tied at the knee. His shoes are slit to show his crimson stockings and blue tops. The stage directions of his "scarlet gown, furred well", appear to have been overlooked. Rugby is dressed as a servant, with light red tunic and sleeves, blue grey hat with brown leather earpieces folded upwards, brown scalloped edge collar, white cuffs and a leather belt with a brown sword sheath. His stockings show blue at his knees, also at his ankles he has light colour greaves tied below the knee and above his ankles.He has a worried expression. Behind him are tall deep red flowers (not identified), and behind Caius large wild roses, and wood violets by his feet, also wood anemones; red campion is in the centre foreground. Light green willow saplings are in the background, where the sky shows misty blue haze.
Border: The top border is (left to right) a long spray of grapes, a square of five petal pink flowers, in the centre panel are cherries on the bough, then a spray of small four petal white flowers and a spray of apples, a square of cowslips, the central title "Dr. Caius and Rugby" in deep reddish purple on a wide ribbon with a blue background, then a square of red four petal flowers and red plums on the bough bottom right.
Marks: T. W. Hay (left, by Dr. Caius's feet, in black), and on the right, by Rugby's foot, the Windsor mark of a stylised crown above _l l_ Windsor Tapestry 1878 N 8. H. Henry, M. Brignolas (in deep reddish purple).
Sale prices: Not known
Exhibited: Windsor Guildhall, 1878.
Ownership: Commissioned by Gillow & Co., of Oxford Street, London. Bought complete with the entire decor of the Prince of Wales' dining room in the British Pavilion at the Paris Exhibition 1878 by Sir Albert Sassoon for the dining room of his mansion at 25 Kensington Gore.
References: Furniture Gazette, 26 January and 7 September, 1878
WE, 7 December, 1878
The Windsor Express, 9 November, 1878, reported: "OLD WINDSOR TAPESTRY WINS GOLD MEDAL... the award has given tremendous satisfaction to Her Majesty who has now commanded that all the tapestries at the Palace of Holyrood shall be sent to Old Windsor for renovation. Many... are in a bad state of repair, some even falling to pieces."
Art Journal, 1879, p.64
WT


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