Synopsis
Among the most popular attractions at The Cloisters, the Medieval branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is a series of tapestries depicting the hunt of the fabled unicorn. This book provides an illustrated study of each of these seven extraordinary works of art. Created in the Netherlands between 1495 and 1505, they contain images ranging from the vulnerable unicorn and the individual faces of the hunters to the naturalistically-depicted flora and fauna. The tapestries are also of interest due to the mystery which surrounds them. For whom were they made? What symbolic meaning do they have? What stories do they tell? The book addresses these issues, and also draws on ancient and medieval sources to tell the history of the unicorn itself and its significance as a secular and Christian symbol.