Tapestry: Psyche at the Basketmakers

André Charlemagne Charron; Beauvais Manufactory

possibly 1756–1757 but probably 1767–1771

Silk and wool

J. Paul Getty Museum

A pastoral scene depicts figures in a lush landscape with a sheep and baskets. A coat of arms with a crown is displayed at the top. A bearded man, the god Pan, assists a disheveled Psyche down an earthen path in a wooded vale. They approach two seated women--the goddess Ceres, her right arm outstretched, and her daughter Proserpine. The two goddesses are surrounded by sheaves of wheat and wicker baskets. In the lower left corner, a nanny goat, one of Pan's attributes, seems to look toward its master. At the top of the tapestry, set into the expansive sky, is a gilt cartouche bearing the royal coat of arms of France and the Kingdom of Navarre (a region of southwest Europe). Badin, Jules. La manufacture de tapisseries de Beauvais depuis ses origines jusqu'à nos jo