162. A FLEMISH TAPESTRY from the 17th century, motif depicting “Christ recounting the parable to his disciples” from the suite The History of the Good Samaritan, 268 x 233 cm.

border with flowers and foliage, tapestry technique in wool and with highlights in silk

PROVENANCE
Björksund Castle, Södermanland, Sweden, probably from the 17th century but (according to literature) from the 1750s and until the 1920s when it is sold by inheritance,
private collection,
Bukowskis auctions, auction No 466, International Spring Auction, April 1989, lot no 1276,
private collection

A series of six wallpapers has previously been found at Björksund Castle in Södermanland, depicting the history of the Good Samaritan. The various scenes were "Christ tells the parable to his disciples", "the traveler is assaulted", "he lies wounded and helpless Israelites pass by", "the Samaritan finds him and he takes him to an inn" and finally "a meal scene".
These wallpapers have previously been called “Turkish wallpapers” and they are supposed to have been in Björksund castle vestibule as early as the 1750s.
In Svenska Slott och Herresäten at the beginning of the 20th century, Södermanland (Stockholm 1908) describing Björksund Castle, there is the woven tapestry depicted on page 134, which depicts the scene when the Samaritan brings the injured man to an inn. The other five wallpapers are mentioned on page 133.
At the Classic auction in the spring of 2021, Stockholm's Auktionsverk sold the woven tapestry from this suite, which depicts "when the man lies wounded and unhelpful Israelites pass by". These two wallpapers have the same border with flowers and foliage as the auction's woven wallpaper, which is the first of the suite, depicting “Christ reciting the parable to his disciples”.

LITERATURE
Swedish Castles and Herresäten at the beginning of the 20th century, Södermanland, Björksund Castle, Stockholm 1908, pages 133-134.
Björksund - a living history, Ralph Edenheim and others, Malmö, 2010, p. 112.