The Unicorn Tapestries
At the Metropolitan Museum of Art

By Adolfo Salvatore Cavallo reviewed by Lauren Emery
$25 softcover, $35 hardcover; Harry N. Abrams, Inc, New York; 1998


Greyhound adopters who are intrigued with the breed's history will appreciate The Unicorn Tapestries primarily from a visual standpoint. This new book produced by New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art documents seven extraordinary tapestries exhibited at the Museum's medieval branch, the Cloisters. Created in the Southern Netherlands between 1495 and 1505 these massive majestic tapestries were woven in brilliant colors of wool and silk with silver and gold threads. They have largely survived the ravages of time, including the French Revolution when they were looted during the Reign of Terror by the populist mobs and disappeared for two generations.

Dogs, primarily greyhounds, appear in six of the seven tapestries, as they are essential to the hunt of the unicorn. One entitled "The Unicorn at Bay" depicts noblemen, hunters, four scent hounds and nine greyhounds one of which is being gored by the unicorn. The book contains 91 illustrations, including 77 color plates. Two full-page color plates show only greyhounds with their wide collars bearing monograms and coats of arms. As a greyhound adopter I was fascinated by the expressiveness of the dogs' faces and the ornate collars. The composition, use of color and detailing in general rank these tapestries on the same level as fine paintings of the era. Although the greyhound heads in these 500-year old masterpieces appear blockier than those of our 20th century couch potatoes they still have distinct greyhound characteristics. A significant amount of the text speculates on the history of the tapestries and their allegorical and symbolic content. It does acknowledge that the unicorn hunt portrayed was the same as a medieval stag or boar hunt where weapons were secondary and the hunt was done "by force of hounds." The hounds were used to chase down the prey and corner it while the deathblow would be delivered by the lord of the hounds.

This 9" by 12" book would be a beautiful addition to a greyhound adopter's art library. To more fully appreciate the scale of these medieval tapestries, which are 15 and a half feet high and have a combined width of 86 and a half feet one can see them displayed at the Cloisters in Upper Manhattan. Due to gallery renovations the tapestries are expected to be in storage until January 5, 1999. For information call the Cloisters at 212 923-3700.

Reprinted with permission from Celebrating Greyhounds: The Magazine, Winter, 1998.
© Lauren Emery