The Fleming Collection opens Finding the Unicorn: Tapestries Mythical and Modern

The Fleming Collection in London presents Finding the Unicorn: Tapestries Mythical and Modern an exhibition on view from 17 April to 1 June 2013.

Based around the Hunt for the Unicorn tapestry series this exhibition will feature the work of West Dean Tapestry Studio and Historic Scotland’s recently completed refurbishment of James V’s Royal Palace at Stirling Castle.

The Stirling Castle tapestries are new interpretations of originals, made in the Low Countries, where James V is known to have purchased tapestries. The originals are on display in the Cloisters Museum at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, where the weavers spent many hours researching the project. But the design for the final tapestry in the series, The Mystic Hunt of the Unicorn, presented Katharine Swailes with a particularly challenging project as it is based on two surviving fragments from a lost tapestry rather than a complete work. This involved much research and provided a rare opportunity to illustrate what the original medieval tapestry might have looked like. The design will be exhibited at The Fleming Collection for the first time and the tapestry will be completed next year.

Presented by Historic Scotland and West Dean Tapestry Studio at The Fleming Collection. www.flemingcollection.com