The Mortlake Tapestry – 1630

In 1515 a set of Tapestries where completed from a set of cartoons by Raphael they hang in the Sistine chapel in Rome. This is a tapestry  made at the Royal Mortlake Tapestry works based on one of his cartoons –

It is a fragment as about 2 feet has been cut off the bottom.

It was given to Church by Bishop Bridgeman in 1643 as the Reredos for the High Alter.

It depicts the death of Sapphire the wife of Annanias, taken from the Acts of the Apostles

They where rich members of the Church Community in Jerusalem, and the Church asked them to sell their possessions to help the poor. They pretended to sell everything including their house, but they where holding a lot back St Peter accused Annanias that he hadn’t given everything and he immediately drops down dead, Saphira dies 3 hours later.

This is teaching about Hypocrisy

There he is in the right hand corner going to the grave

The disciple’s are gathered round and at either end are garlands of fruit and flowers

 

 

 

 

WIGAN PARISH CHURCH

The Antiques Roadshow 2002