God the Father Establishing His Covenant with Noah
by PANNEMAKER, Willem de, Wool and silk on woolen warp, 430 x 560 cm
This tapestry was woven after a design by Michiel van Coxcie in Brussels in the workshop of Willem de Pannemaker, a celebrated sixteenth-century masterweaver. It is one of a series of tapestries depicting the story of Noah. The first, eight-piece edition was made shortly after 1548 for King Sigismond II of Poland. The second, ten-piece edition was made for Philip II of Spain between 1563 and 1565. The third weaving - to which the tapestry in the Rijksmuseum belongs - was produced one year later for the illegitimate daughter of Charles V, Margaret of Parma.