A Tudor tapestry that was reluctantly sold to an art dealer in 1924 to help fund the running of a Norfolk estate has been returned to its historic home after it was spotted by a National Trust worker.
The artwork depicts Queen Esther, who features in the Old Testament Book Of Esther, and once adorned the walls of The King’s Room at Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk.It was sold, alongside six others, in 1924 to a French art dealer based in Paris and New York and was taken by ocean liner to New York.
Its location after that had been unknown until last year when “purely by chance” a National Trust curator spotted the tapestry for sale at an art fair in Maastricht in the Netherlands and alerted the property team at Oxburgh.
Research curator and collector Jeremy Warren had noticed the provenance on the exhibition label – ‘Room of the King, Oxburgh Hall, Norfolk’.
The tapestry was purchased and returned to Oxburgh thanks to the help of grant funding from multiple bodies, and a private donation.Oxburgh Hall has been home to the Bedingfeld family for more than 500 years.The seven tapestries were sold at auction in 1924 by Sir Henry Bedingfeld, 8th Baronet.
The National Trust said this was “one of several sales of significant collection items in the early 20th century to pay death duties and to raise funds for the upkeep of the estate”.
“The tapestry is always described as an Oxburgh ‘heirloom’ passed on from Bedingfeld to Bedingfeld through generations so its sale could be described as ‘reluctant’,” a spokesperson for the conservation charity said.
The location of the other six tapestries remains unknown.The National Trust said all seven were sold by the Bedingfeld family at the same time to art dealers Seligmann & Co and all were exported to the United States in 1925.
“There was a lucrative market in European artworks in 1920s America, and companies such as Seligmann were at the forefront,” a National Trust spokesperson said.
“As was common at the time, the tapestries were sold individually to separate art collectors.“Like the Esther tapestry, they have not been seen since the sale in 1924.
“They may still be in private American collections or could have been sold privately to international collectors.”Claire Golbourn, of the National Trust Textile Conservation Studio, was part of the team assembled to authenticate the Esther tapestry and reunite it with Oxburgh.
She said: “The Esther tapestry survives in exceptional condition, with a richness of colour that remains striking for its age.
“While it has benefited from minimal previous conservation and past reweaving, nothing can take away the splendour of this tapestry.“The intricate detail of Esther’s cloak and canopy, together with the remarkably realistic tassels, speaks to the extraordinary craftsmanship and artistry of the piece.
”The tapestry is thought to have been part of the collection at Oxburgh since the Tudor period.Dating from the reign of Henry VII, it is contemporary with the original furnishing of this Tudor courtier’s home.
Pierre Maes, director of The Royal Manufacturers De Wit, where the tapestry was listed for sale, said it was “a true honour and every art dealer’s dream” to “make a significant contribution to a tapestry’s history by returning it to its place of origin”.The tapestry will be on public display at Oxburgh from June 20 until December this year.
