The tapestries of Esther (this articlehas been submitted by Brian & Isabel Warshaw, property ID 77)
The chance visitor to the small French Burgundian town of Luzy will be surprised by what is to be found in the Marie, or Town Hall. During office hours, the key to the Salle de Tapisseries can be requested, and when the room is opened, there is a Council Chamber whose walls are covered with tapestries showing the story of Esther.
Leaving only the door and the windows free, there are eight separate tapestries of differing sizes. As they were commissioned for the very room, when the house belonged to Claude Nault of Champagny, they were worked to fit the pre-existing gilded panels, and to fit round the beams of the plafond à la française ceiling. Consequently, five of these are tall and thin, four of them depicting soldiers, but the fifth shows an upright figure of Queen Esther dressed in fine robes.
The three remaining tapestries consist of one narrow, one large, and one extra-large. This shows two scenes which are divided by an embroidered pillar separating a separate public outside view from an intimate inside one.
In the large tapestry Esther and her handmaidens are seen kneeling to her husband King Ahasuerus (Xerxes), to beg for the life of her uncle Mordecai. Mordecai had offended the Prime Minister Haman by refusing to bow to him, therefore Haman had obtained the King’s permission to execute Mordecai and all the Jews. Until now, Esther had concealed her Jewish origins at her uncle’s insistence.
Risking death by appearing before the King without being invited to do so, Esther nevertheless successfully wins her husband’s pardon for her uncle and the Jews. The tapestry shows Ahasuerus holding out his sceptre to Esther as a token of forgiveness for her presumption.
In gratitude, Esther plans a feast for the King, but the night before the feast he is insomniac, so is read to all night long by his servants, from the chronicles of his life. The narrow tapestry shows Ahasuerus in bed with two men reading to him. A cosy touch to the picture shows a chamber-pot and the King’s slippers peeping out from underneath the bed.
During the reading, Ahasuerus learns of Mordecai’s earlier fidelity in foiling a plot against his life, and the next day he orders Haman to prepare a triumphful ride through the town with heralds and soldiers. Thinking the triumph is for him, Haman obeys, but realises his mistake when Mordecai mounts the white horse and rides in triumph through the streets.
The extra-large tapestry shows this scene complete with herald, soldiers and venerable onlookers. Like the chamber-pot in the preceding scene, the skyline of the buildings in the background reflects the artist’s eighteenth century European outlook; rather than any real knowledge of the ancient East.
The story doesn’t end there however; in the middle of the tapestry a pillar divides the triumphful scene from one of Haman’s downfall. Realising that he is in disgrace, Haman visits Esther to plead for intercession with the King. Unwisely he chooses her bedroom for the interview, and is caught by Ahasuerus as he is kneeling at her bedside; and, as shown in the tapestry, with his arm outstretched across her body. A well-fed pet dog with one paw upraised sits by the bedside, indicating bestial passion held under strict control. Esther is shown as entirely passive, Haman as pleading, and the King striding into the room catching Haman in the act. For his supposed attempt at seduction, Haman is hung on the scaffold he had prepared for Mordecai. This scene is not shown but the four panels of soldiers point to the brutal aspects of the whole story.
It is due to an enlightened and educated Mayor of Luzy in 1866 that the tapestries are still in the room for which they were commissioned. The Parish Council wanted to sell them off once the building had been acquired for the town, but the mayor recognised their historical and cultural worth, and used his casting vote to retain them. Commissioned in the early 1700s, from the prestigious House of Aubusson, the tapestries are worked in wool on a silk background, and although faded, recent renovation has made them a delight to see and a complete surprise to those who had no idea that they were there.
Information box:LUZY
By road:RN81 between Autun and Nevers, Burgundy.
By rail:On the SNCF line between Nevers and Dijon. There are four trains daily in each direction.
Opening hours:
Monday to Thursday 9.00am to noon; 2.00pm to 5.30pm.
Friday 9.00am to noon; 2.00pm to 4.30pm.
Address:Mairie de Luzy, 2 place de la Mairie, 58170 LUZY
Telephone:0033 3 86 30 04 51
Fax:0033 3 86 30 04 51
Email:mairie@mairie-luzy.fr
Website:http://www.mairie-luzy.fr
Hotels/restaurants:
Restaurant du Centre, 26 rue de la République. 0033 3 86 30 01 55
Restaurant du Morvan, 71 avenue du Dr Dollet. 0033 3 86 30 00 66
Copyright statement:The copyright of photo-images belongs to Isabel Warshaw & Matt Moka, January 2003
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