THE GOBELINS TAPESTRIES

GRAND MASTER PERELLOS’ GIOIA

AT GRAND MASTER’S PALACE

VALLETTA

Introduction

One of the most fascinating rooms in the Grand Master’s Palace is the Small Council Chamber, which features a magnificent set of ten tapestries covering all four walls. Characterised by intricate craftsmanship and vibrant woven designs, these highly prized hangings were commissioned by Grand Master Raimondo Perellos y Rocaful in 1708. They were created to adorn the chamber where the sixteen Grand Cross Knights—the highest-ranking officials of the Order of St John—held their meetings.

Today, these hangings are known as the Gobelins Tapestries, as they were produced at the famous Gobelins Manufactory—an establishment that remains in operation to this day in Paris. Incidentally, in Maltese, the tapestries are known as arazzi, a word derived from Arras, the historic city famed for its tapestry production.

The subjects depicted on these colourful tapestries belong to a series known as Les Tentures des Indes (literally meaning “The Hangings of the Indies”). At the time, the term “Indies” referred generally to the regions of South America and the Caribbean. Despite this title, the tapestries feature exotic flora and fauna from both the American and African continents.

Eckhaut’s and Post’s designs – from drawings to tapestries

The depictions of the animals and plants were originally created by Albert van den Eckhout, who specialised in ethnographic and animal illustrations, and Frans Post, an expert in natural landscape painting. Both artists accompanied Prince Johan Maurits (or Moritz) of Nassau-Siegen, of the House of Orange-Nassau, when he travelled to South America in 1636. Maurits went to serve as Governor-General of the northern region of Brazil, which was then under Dutch rule. This territory did not remain under Dutch control for long, however, as the Portuguese successfully wrested it back from them in 1654.

Between 1636 and 1644, these same artists were connected to other expeditions—this time targeting the coast of West Africa. These operations were undertaken on behalf of the Dutch West India Company. In 1637, Johan Maurits even captured the Portuguese fortress of Elmina on the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana). It was during this period of Atlantic trade and exploration that the artists documented African wildlife. At the time, it was common practice for wealthy individuals to commission artists to paint scenes of interest during their travels—much like taking photographs today. Exotic animals and subjects from lesser-known continents were particularly popular, fascinating Europeans who had never seen anything like them before.

Upon returning to the Netherlands, Prince Maurits adorned his palace, the Mauritshuis, with the meticulous drawings and paintings the two artists had created. Years later, in 1679, the Prince gifted a major collection of these artworks to King Louis XIV of France. The King was so impressed by them that he promptly passed them on to the Gobelins Tapestry Manufactory to be used as “cartoons” (the full-scale master designs used by weavers). At the time, the manufactory produced tapestries almost exclusively for royal commissions. Today, the establishment is managed by the French government as a protected national heritage. Weaving continues there using traditional 17th-century techniques, though modern creations often feature designs drawn from contemporary artists.

King Louis XIV commissioned the artist Carl (or Charles) Le Brun—his court painter—to adapt the designs by Eckhout and Post into finished patterns, ready to be transferred to woven textile designs. The first set of tapestries produced from these sketches was made in 1687. By 1730, eight sets based on the floral and fauna themes of Eckhout and Prost had already been woven. Subsequently, in 1735, the designs were slightly modified, and production continued repeatedly until 1794. These later versions became known as Les Nouvelles Indes to distinguish them from the earlier ones, Les Anciennes Indes.

In earlier centuries, tapestries were highly sought after by royal and noble families. Primarily, they served as prestigious decorative items that visibly reflected the high status and wealth of the nobility. However, they also served a practical purpose: when hung on the walls of vast stone palace halls, they acted as vital insulation, helping to shield the rooms against the bitter winter cold.

Grand Master Perellos Commissions the Tapestries

As previously noted, the tapestries commissioned by Grand Master Perellos were begun in 1708 and completed in March 1710. On 2 June of that year, they were packed into four large bales and transported by cart from Paris to Marseille, where they were loaded onto a brigantine bound for Malta. However, a dramatic twist awaited them during the voyage: as the vessel neared Messina, it was attacked and captured by Barbary corsairs. Recognising the immense value of the cargo, the pirates demanded a hefty ransom. Local lore holds that the ship’s captain, after extensive and tense negotiations, agreed to pay the steep price on the spot so that the vessel and its precious cargo could safely resume their journey to Malta(P. Mizzi, Heritage Encyclopedia Vol. II) .

One can easily imagine the curiosity and awe felt by the Knights of the Order of St John when these tapestries were finally unveiled in the Council Chamber. It was not that the Knights had never seen tapestries before—indeed, the very same Grand Master had recently gifted a spectacular Flemish set with a sacred theme, The Triumph of Religion, to the Conventual Church of St John. Instead, the marvel of this new set lay in its subject matter: it depicted an exotic world rendered in a highly imaginative, colourful, and vivid style. They instantly transformed the bare stone walls of the Council Chamber into a lush, theatrical setting, leaving onlookers feeling entirely immersed in a world of fantasy.

What the Ten Tapestries Depict

The tapestries feature various animals in motion, lending the scenes a dynamic, lifelike, and authentic quality. For instance, monkeys are shown swinging from tree branches, a tiger is depicted seizing a wild boar, and another panel shows a panther pouncing on a horse. Human figures also bring the landscapes to life: an Amazonian tribesman hunts birds with a large bow, watched by other members of his tribe; a nobleman appears on horseback with a servant beside him and a llama nearby; and a tribal chief is shown being carried on an elegant litter. Fish swim and reptiles slither through the undergrowth, while an octopus frantically tries to escape a swordfish.

Among the densely woven plants and trees, there is an abundance of tropical flora, including palm trees, banana plants, and lush creepers. Standing out among the exotic fruit is an oversized, prominent pear. This was deliberately included by the artists to represent the subject matter of the coat of arms of Grand Master Perellos, who commissioned the tapestries. Indeed, this clever pear motif appears repeatedly on the smaller window and door tapestries hanging in the same hall.

Each of the ten large tapestry scenes is named according to the principal subject it depicts. The titles are:

The tapestries are made of meticulously woven wool and silk. In their finished state, they cost the Grand Master the princely sum of 120 livres per square ell. At the time, the ell (the French aune) was a standard unit of textile measurement, roughly equivalent to 118 centimetres, though regional variations used for calculation could differ (P. Caruana Galizia, 2008).

Interestingly, the tapestries make no scientific distinction between the flora and fauna of Africa and those of South America, blending them into a single, utopian exotic world. Furthermore, the famous depiction of the rhinoceros in the set was not actually the work of Eckhout and Post; instead, it was copied from a legendary 1515 woodcut by the German master Albrecht Dürer (M. Shaw, 1997).

The cassowary—a flightless bird resembling an ostrich, though shorter, heavier, and predominantly black—is native to neither South America nor Africa. Instead, this bird inhabits countries in Oceania, such as New Guinea and northern Australia, as well as certain Indonesian islands. Its depiction in the tapestry series is based on a drawing created by the French court painter Pieter Boel in 1668. The bird was likely captured on the Banda Islands in Indonesia and brought back to Europe, where it was kept in the royal menagerie at the Palace of Versailles (D. Dandria, 2007).

In addition to the ten large tapestries, the Council Chamber houses six smaller ones. Five of these are positioned above the room’s doorways and large windows, while another hangs above the main entrance. These smaller window and door panels feature the Perellos coat of arms (displaying three pears) alongside the flag of the Order of St John. They also depict captured Ottoman armour, weapons, and enslaved figures, arranged to resemble spoils of war celebrating the Order’s naval triumphs.

Remarkably, when the French occupied Malta under Napoleon, they did not dismantle these valuable tapestries to ship them back to France. By the British period, they were highly prized as masterpieces of immense artistic merit.

Sir Harry Luke—who served as Lieutenant-Governor of Malta between 1937 and 1940, and who both lived and worked within the Palace—affectionately recalled the room in his book Malta: An Account and an Appreciation:

“…we would wander from time to time [into the Chamber], to feast our eyes on its glow of colour and pictorial banquet … the panels represent, in an almost indescribable wealth and riot of detail quite amazing…”

As from the first term of self-government the Council Chamber served as the House of Parliament (1921–1923). During a particularly heated debate a member of parliament  hurled an inkwell at a political opponent. Missing his intended target, the inkwell struck one of the priceless tapestries nearby. Fortunately, the resulting ink stain was meticulously and successfully removed.

Although numerous tapestry sets bearing the same exotic theme were produced by same manufactory, the collection housed in the Grand Master’s Palace is unique. It is the only set in the world that has survived entirely intact as a single, complete collection adorning the exact room for which it was originally designed. The other sets have unfortunately seen their individual tapestry panels separated and dispersed across various countries.

The Gobelins Tapestries were recently sent to the De Wit Royal Manufacturers. Mechelen, Belgium were they remained for two years to be cleaned and repaired. They have now been returned to Malta and set up once again inside the Council Chamber in June 2026 to be admired in all their pristine glory.

Martin Morana

16^th July 2026

http://www.kliemustorja.com

Bibliography

Caruana Galizia Paul, ‘Woven Beauty  – the stunning Les Ancien Indes Tapestries at the Grand Master’s Palace and the magnificent tapestries made St John’s Cathedral get a closer look’, Flair, No 18, November 2008.

Dandria David, ‘The Casowary Conundrum’, The Sunday Times of Malta. July 1, 2007.

Galea Michael, The Palace of the Grandmasters and the Armoury. MJ Publications. 1988.

Luke Harry, Malta  – An Account and an Appreciation. Corgi Books. 1968.

Manduca John, ‘Exotic Tapestries of the Indies’, Treasures of Malta, Summer 1995, Vol 1.

Mizzi Paul, ‘The Gobelins Tapestries’, Heritage Encyclopedia, Vol. II. Midsea Books Ltd, Malta.

Shaw Michael, ‘The Gobelin Tapestries in the Grand Master’s Palace’, Treasures of Malta Christmas 1997, Vol IV.

The Old Indies at the French Court  https://emlc-journal.org/article/view/7216/7819