{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O101184"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O101184/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2017KC9876/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2017KC9876/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2017KC9876","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006AP4976","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006AP1638","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2011FC6907","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2011FC6909","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2011FC6956","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2011FC6955","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017JX4487","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017JX4497","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017JX4508","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017KC9875","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017KC9877","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017KC9903","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017KC9907","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O101184/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O101184","accessionNumber":"6-1867","objectType":"Tapestry","titles":[{"title":"The Labours of the Months","type":"popular title"}],"summaryDescription":"A successful harvest was crucial in the middle ages. Manuscripts and tapestries sometimes illustrated the monthly labours required to make it successful. In this example, only half of the tapestry survives, showing the months of July to December.\r\n\r\nScrolls have the names of the months inscribed in the dialect of Alsace, where the tapestry was made. July shows the cutting and gathering of hay; August, the corn being reaped; September, harrowing and sowing; October, cutting the grapes and making wine; November, slaughtering an ox. In December the peasants enjoy the fruits of their labours with a good meal.  \r\n\r\nThis long, narrow tapestry shows the activities of ordinary folk, not the heroics or exclusive pursuits of the nobility who owned most of the tapestries. Plain and utilitarian rural costume is shown, not the fancy patterned materials or modish styles of the upper classes. The simple tools and equipment give us some idea of the labour-intensive work involved although the charming depiction gives a completely false impression of the lives of rural people.","physicalDescription":"A long narrow tapestry or <i>Rücklaken</i> (dorsal), with green ground and a series of groups of stiffly shaped figures representing the field labours of six months of the year (from July to December), with the names of the months woven on scrolls over each scene in Gothic letters. The names of the months, particularly 'fuilmonet' (September), 'herbstmonet' (October) and 'volrot' (which means <i>full circle</i> / December), are Alsatian dialect and establish the origin of the tapestry. \n\nIn July ('howmonet'), peasants mow and gather the hay. The next group ('ougst' / August) represents a man and woman in wheatfield. In September ('fuilmonet'), a man is harrowing with a horse and another is sowing seed. In October ('herbstmonet'), people are cutting bunches of grapes, carrying them and making wine. In November ('vitermonet'), two men are slaughtering an ox; and in December ('volrot'), a man and a woman are shown feasting at a table, as a symbol of the peasants enjoying the fruits of their labours. \n\nBetween each group is a single fruit tree. \n\nTapestries of similar form were often used to decorate the walls above the wooden panelling of a room, but they also appeared on the edges of wooden baldachins over beds, hanging down as frieze decoration.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"linen","id":"x29412"},{"text":"wool","id":"AAT243430"}],"techniques":[{"text":"tapestry","id":"AAT61981"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Tapestry woven woollen wefts on a linen warp. Six warp threads to one centimeter.\r\nLinen warp is a characteristic of the tapestries woven in this region at the time.","categories":[{"text":"Household objects","id":"THES48939"},{"text":"Interiors","id":"THES48933"},{"text":"Clothing","id":"THES48975"},{"text":"Tapestry","id":"THES48887"},{"text":"Textiles","id":"THES48885"},{"text":"Wall coverings","id":"THES48878"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&F","id":"THES48601"},"images":["2017KC9876","2006AP4976","2006AP1638","2011FC6907","2011FC6909","2011FC6956","2011FC6955","2017JX4487","2017JX4497","2017JX4508","2017KC9875","2017KC9877","2017KC9903","2017KC9907"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES325412"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Tapestry","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Upper Rhine","id":"x37802"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""},{"place":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"ca. 1450","earliest":"1445-01-01","latest":"1454-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Purchased from Canon Franz Bock","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Width","value":"2728","unit":"mm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Top edge","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"2722","unit":"mm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Bottom edge","note":""},{"dimension":"Height","value":"390","unit":"mm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"","value":"","unit":"","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Weight","value":"12","unit":"kg","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"Weight including roller","note":"Half of tapestry is missing (January to June)"},{"dimension":"","value":"","unit":"","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"","value":"","unit":"","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"","value":"","unit":"","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":"Batten for display; length 2710mm"}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"howmonet","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"July","transliteration":"","type":"","note":""},{"content":"ougst","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"August","transliteration":"","type":"","note":""},{"content":"fuilmonet","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"September","transliteration":"","type":"","note":""},{"content":"herbstmonet","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"October","transliteration":"","type":"","note":""},{"content":"vitermonet","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"November","transliteration":"","type":"","note":""},{"content":"volrot","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"December volrot means full circle","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"Fuilmonet, herbstmonet and volrot are words in the Alsatian dialect"}],"objectHistory":"Formerly in the possession of the German antiquary Freiherr Joseph Maria Christoph von Lassberg (1770-1855), of Meersburg on Bodensee (Lake Constance)","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Tapestry, woven in wool and linen, Upper Rhine (Strasbourg ?), about 1450; Labours of the Months, July to December","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Jakob Heinrich von Hefner-Alteneck, <i>Trachten, Kunstwerke und Geräthschaften vom frühen Mittelalter bis Ende des achtzehnten Jahrhunderts nach gleichzeitigen Originalen</i>, Vol. V, Frankfurt 1884, p. 16, plate 326 "},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Alan S. Cole,<i> A Descriptive Catalogue of the Collection of Tapestry and Embroidery in the South Kensington Museum</i>, London, 1888, p. 95 "},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"F. Kendrick, <i>Victoria and Albert Museum. Department of Textiles: Catalogue of Tapestries</i>, London, 1924, p. 56 "},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Betty Kurth, <i>Die Deutschen Bilteppiche des Mittelalters</i>, Wien, 1926, pp. 128, 236; plates 127-30"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Heinrich Göbel, <i>Wandteppiche III. Die Germanischen und Slawischen Länder</i>, Berlin, 1933, pt. I, p. 101, plate 78"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"<i>Spätgotik am Oberrhein 1450-1530</i>, Exhibition Catalogue, Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe, 1970, No. 254, p. 285, plates 228-229 "},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"W. G. Thomson, <i>A History of Tapestry from the Earliest Times until the Present Day</i>, Yorkshire 1973 (third edition; first edition 1906), p. 181-182"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"George Wingfield Digby, assisted by Wendy Hefford, <i>Victoria and Albert Museum: The Tapestry Collection, Medieval and Renaissance</i>, London, 1980, pp. 23-24, plates 20A&amp;B and 24A "},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Anna Rapp Buri and Monica Stucky-Schürer, <i>Zahm und wild: Kleiner Katalog zur Austellung Basler und Strassburger Bildteppiche des 15. Jahrhunderts</i>, 1990, pp. 326-330"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Monica Stucky-Schürer, La tapisserie strasbourgeoise des Douze Mois: découverte d’un nouveau fragment, in: <i>Monuments et Mémoires de la Fondation Eugène Piot, </i>Vol. 102, 2024, pp. 51-92\n\nIn this article, Dr Monica Stucky-Schürer focuses on the Labours of the Months tapestry (with the scenes starting with February and ending with June) that sold at the auction held in Rennes (France) on 14 November 2022. It was the Lot 198 of the sale entitled <i>Marine (sur le thème de la), armes, militaria, souvenirs historiques, livres anciens et modernes, argenterie, tableaux anciens et du xixe, arts d’asie, céramiques, objets d'art et d'ameublement, meubles anciens et de style, tapis, poupées, tapisseries, </i>held by the auctioneer Rennes Enchères Bretagne. \n\nThis tapestry, now in a private collection in Paris, had also been in the possession of Baron Joseph Maria Christoph von Lassberg of Meersburg (1770-1855) at the same time as the V&amp;A's tapestry no. 6-1867. However, its whereabouts had been unknown for decades - all until it was consigned for sale in late 2022. \n\nThe first scholar to associate the two tapestries more closely, albeit cautiously, was Betty Kurth in 1926. In the book that she co-authored with Anna Rapp Buri (1990), Dr Stucky-Schürer repeated the same theory, but with more certainty.  In this article, the author maintains her previously published opinion that the two tapestries had originally belonged together, i.e. that the piece sold in Rennes had originally been ‘the front part’ of the V&amp;A's tapestry (no. 6-1867). \n\r\nOn page 55, in the footnote no. 17, where the reappearance of the tapestry in the 14 November 2022 sale is referenced, Dr Stucky-Schürer  incorrectly states that ‘Though well-informed, the responsible staff at the V&amp;A did not show interest [in acquiring the tapestry], because since 1867, in a textile department as important as that of the V&amp;A, the emphasis is on fashion and costume. In addition, the presentation of the collection will be fundamentally changed as part of the V&amp;A project East Storehouse and V&amp;A East Museum.’ \n\n[<i>Bien qu’informés, les responsables du V&amp;A ne se sont pas montrés intéressés, car depuis 1867, dans un département des textiles aussi important que celui du V&amp;A, l’accent est mis sur la mode et le costume. De plus, la présentation de la collection sera fondamentalement modifiée dans le cadre du projet des V&amp;A East Storehouse et V&amp;A East Museum.</i>]\n\nDetailed examination of both tapestries and their thorough comparative analysis still remain to be done."}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"harvest","id":"x35210"},{"text":"peasant","id":"AAT230852"},{"text":"hay","id":"x36319"},{"text":"corn","id":"AAT11903"},{"text":"grapes","id":"x30300"},{"text":"wine making","id":"AAT189477"},{"text":"ox","id":"x30395"},{"text":"eating","id":"x37655"},{"text":"table","id":"x31811"},{"text":"implements","id":"AAT24841"},{"text":"plough","id":"AAT233317"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["6-1867"],"accessionNumberNum":"6","accessionNumberPrefix":"","accessionYear":1867,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":["2019LT9816","2019LV1557"],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-15","recordCreationDate":"2004-07-02","availableToBook":true}}