An exotic seaport tapestry, from the series ‘Ports de Mer’ (‘Seaports’), Beauvais Manufactory, circa 1695-1757, woven under directorship of Phillipe Behagle, possibly woven by Noel Antoine de Merou, after designs by Jan van den Kerchove and Adrien Campion

Collection of Baroness Mathilde von Rothschild (1832-1924);

From at least 1924, in the collection of Albert Freiherr (1879-1941) and Marion von Goldschmidt-Rothschild (1902-1982) at Villa Grüneburg, Frankfurt am Main;

Sold due to Nazi-persecution at Hugo Helbing, Frankfurt am Main, 11-13 May 1936, lot 463

Where purchased by "Knapp" [presumably the Berlin antique dealer Ferdinand Knapp (1882–1951)];

From 1939 Hermann Göring (1893–1946);

July 1945 recovered by US Allied Forces and transferred to the Munich Central Collecting Point (Munich number 5457);

Until 2024 Free State of Bavaria;

In 2024 restituted to the heirs of Albert Freiherr von Goldschmidt-Rothschild.

Badin, Jules, La Manufacture de Tapisseries, 1909, iv. 25, 54.

Boccara, Dario, Ames de Laine et de Soie, 1988, p.319.

Boccara, Dario, Les Belles heures de la tapisserie, Les Clefs due temps, 1971, p.148.

Thomas Campbell, Tapestry in the Baroque, Threads of Splendour, Metropolitan Museum of Art Exhibition, Yale University Press, 2002, Charissa Bremer-David, Manufacture Royale de Tapisseries de Beauvais, 1664-1715, Catalogue numbers 50-52, pp.407-439, The Ostrich from a set of Birds from the Royal Menagerie, p.413, fig. 187.

Cleland, Elizabeth and Karafel, Lorraine, Tapestries from the Burrell Collection, Glasgow Museums, Philip Wilson Publications, London, 2017, pp.323-326, Cat.no. 73 (inv. 47.45), for comprehensive discussion of the series.

Coural, Jean and Gastinet-Coural, Chantal, Beauvais. Manufacture National de Tapisserie, 1992, p.32.

This distinctive Baroque series was woven several times between 1722 and 1734. It is characterised by the accurate observation of the collection of birds in trees and on the ground and a miscellany of fish and shells. With realistic seascapes and fortified towns. According to Jules Badin (1909), there were two series, one in 1723 of six panels, and a set within a decade which integrated four of the original designs. to the popularity of the series, new cartoons were needed and were undertaken by Simon III du Pape (Le Pape), reproducing the Kerchove and Campion designs. Louis XIV had a menageries which included one for wild animals and one for birds, the precursors of modern zoos, and these will have been an exotic source of inspiration. There are considered to have been several artists involved in the designs. Two border types are known, one with beautiful maritime motifs of shells and coral, and the other with scrolls, flowers, lyres and stylised shells, and variations of the design. The extent of the popularity of the Beauvais manufactory woven series, extended to foreign commissions, with Daniel Cronstrom (1655-1719), a Swedish attaché in Paris, obtaining a set for the Swedish Count Carl Piper, for Bjornstrop Castle, Skane, where they are still located. It is a particular vibrant and 

Comparable recorded tapestries from the series from 1695 - 1737 include:

• For a tapestry with an early version of the lyre border type, see The Ostrich from a set of Birds from the Royal Menagerie, Beauvais manufactory, under the direction of Philippe Behagle, 1684-1705, finely detailed scrolling floral, lyre, vase border (310cm by 310cm) from the Marcel Benoit collection, Maison de Mon-Repos, Lausanne (155.2), illustrated in Campbell, p.413, fig. 187;
• Seaport, with various birds, in sky and on water’s edge, with background harbour and ships, in stylised bracket, shell and floral border, circa 1695-1737, 11ft by 8ft 9in, Burrell Collection, Glasgow (Inv. 47.45), Provenance: Sotheby’s, London, 28 May 1971, lot 15;
• Seaport, including the harbour, pavilion ruin, tower, lobster and some birds and shells, in stylised floral border, 9ft 9in by 12ft 5in, Sotheby’s, New York, 21 October 2020, lot 147, S. Franses, London;
• Seaport, with various birds including a pelican, shells on the water edge, crustacea and figures with herd of animals, within a border with architectural motifs and coat-of-arms of the Courtils family, 9ft 7in by 12ft 7in, Beaussant & Lefèvre, 15 May 2019, lot 141, comparable in Chateau de Bjornstorp, Sweden;
• Seaport, including a palazzo, anchored ships, birds, sea creatures and flying fish (without borders), circa 1722-1734, 8ft 8in by 9ft 4in, Christie’s, London, 16 May 1996, (Badin, iv. 25, 54);
• Seaport, with flamingo and other birds, fish and shells, the background with an estuary with vessels and fortified buildings and lighthouse, in stylised bracket, shell and floral border, circa 1723, 9ft 10in by 6ft 5in, Sotheby’s, Monaco, 21-22 May 1978, lot 102, French & Co, comparable to example in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Copenhagen (Coural, p.32)
• Seaport, including birds amongst shells, with plants and trees, and large vessels near a fortified harbour, including human figures (without borders), circa 1723, 8ft by 12ft 3in, French & Co, (Badin, iv. 54);
• Seaport, with exotic fowl, giant crayfish, other fish and shells on the water edge, a harbour, large town, fortified building with lighthouse, human figures with animal herd, with floral border interspersed with scrolls, brackets and stylised shells, circa 1722-1734, 10ft 2in by 15ft 6in, French & Co, received from Mr Herbert Mayer (October 1967) and returned (April 1968).

The von Goldschmidt-Rothschild provenance

Mathilde von Rothschild (1832–1924) was a prominent member of the influential Rothschild banking family of Frankfurt and a notable philanthropist, socialite, and patron of the arts in 19th and early 20th-century Europe. Born in 1832, in Frankfurt am Main, she was the daughter of Anselm von Rothschild of the Viennese branch and Charlotte von Rothschild of the Naples branch. In 1849, she married Wilhelm Carl von Rothschild, her cousin and a leading figure in the Frankfurt branch of the family bank. Together, they continued the Rothschild tradition of supporting cultural and charitable causes.

Mathilde was deeply involved in philanthropic efforts, particularly in Frankfurt. She supported hospitals, educational initiatives, Jewish charities, and women's welfare organizations. Her interest in the arts also extended to music—she composed songs and supported musicians and artists of her time. With her husband, Mathilde had one daughter, Minna Caroline von Rothschild (1857–1903), who married Maximilian von Goldschmidt (1843–1940) a prominent banker and art collector. Maximilian adopted the surname "von Goldschmidt-Rothschild" following his father-in-law Wilhelm Carl von Rothschild's death in 1901, and was later ennobled by Emperor Wilhelm II in 1903.

The son of Maximilian and Minna, Albert Maximilian von Goldschmidt-Rothschild was born in 1879 and later married in 1922 Marion von Goldschmidt-Rothschild (1902-1982) who was herself the granddaughter of the celebrated banker and art collector Eugen Gutmann (1840–1925). Upon the death of his grandmother in 1924, Albert inherited the splendid Villa Grüneburg outside Frankfurt. However, during the Second World War the estate and its contents were confiscated, and Albert was forced to immigrate to Switzerland with his family, never to return to Germany.

These tapestries were sold as a result of Nazi persecution in May 1936 and purchased at that sale by an individual identified as "Knapp," likely the Berlin antique dealer Ferdinand Knapp (1882–1951). By 1939, the tapestries had entered the collection of Hermann Göring. Following the end of World War II, the tapestries were recovered by the US Allied Forces in 1945 and subsequently transferred to the Munich Central Collecting Point. They were then restituted by the Free State of Bavaria to the heirs of Albert Freiherr von Goldschmidt-Rothschild.