`Fish Market', A Flemish `Teniers' Tapestry, Brussels, workshop of Peter and Jan-Frans van der Borght second half 18th century

woven with central grouping of fisherman and ladies inspecting the catch in the filled baskets on the quayside, with a left facing donkey being laden with baskets in the background, and other fisherman with fish filled baskets to the right, with moored ship and the sea behind, the left side extends round depicting stone steps and obelisk and market stalls with fresh fish and further figures in the shadows of the impressive city wall with stone arches and tower rising above, lacking borders, later selvedges

The tapestry has cotton lining, and Velcro attached across the top for hanging purposes. There is a later blue and beige banded selvedge. Lacking outer border. Fine quality weave overall. Good colours generally, and blues still present in the sky and sea. Still definition to the clouds in sky which is particularly pleasing to see retained. Some repair to figures in background, for example to the faces which had faded. Restoration for example to delicate silk and finely woven areas such as baskets, nets and clothing. Overall in very good professionally restored condition. This is a particularly striking tapestry, of good colour balance and composition. Charming details to figural groups and interesting and accurate architectural features.
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Comparable Tapestries:

H. C. Marillier, Handbook to the Teniers Tapestries, London, 1932, pg. 49, pl.13a, for a weaving of this second version of the `Fish Market', attributed to P and J-F van der Borght, within a frame pattern border, which shows horizontal borders with central group of trophies and a cabochon with extend into the tapestry scene, with distinctive vertical borders centred by hanging lamp motifs and coronets. Several tapestries from this series were woven for the Imperial Collection in Vienna, and a set of three tapestries were recorded as sold from Château de Vigny, 5^th June 1919, Paris, with the same borders and signature of F. van der Borght.

See also A. Cavallo, Tapestries of Europe and Colonial Peru in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1967, Vol. I, pp.159-161, Vol II, pl. 51., for another virtually identical fragmentary tapestry, catalogued as the `Fish Market', Flemish, 1700-1750, depicting the central section of this composition, extending in width to include the small boy underneath the obelisk to the left and the standing figure and half the ship to the far right (approx. 314 x 256cm).

For another weaving of this composition, only slightly wider and higher (approx. 432 x 300cm) than the offered panel, within a narrow scrolling leaf and stem border, see Bonham's, London, 22^nd November 2005, lot 202, with provenance: by repute from Paris in 1920's, to house in Buenos Aires which became the British Embassy. Tapestry removed in 2002/3 when building refurbished.  Guy Delmarcel, Flemish Tapestries, London, 1999, pp352-361, pl.13.15, discusses the Flemish `Teniers' tapestries, and illustrates a small weaving of this subject (approx. 295 x 221cm), depicting the central main grouping, within the same narrow scrolling leaf border, dated post 1750, the selvedge with the Brussels town mark, and signed Leyniers.