The Lady and the Unicorn Tapestry: "To My Only Desire"

The National Museum of the Middle Ages is one of the places in France which conserves the most magnificent examples of ancient textile artifacts. This remarkable collection reflects the different techniques of fabrication and decoration and large production centres from Antiquity to the end of the Middle Ages. Oriental fabrics from Iran, Egypt or the Byzantine Empire are displayed alongside western creations (Italy, Spain, England). The endowment is so rich that only a part of it can be displayed, due to conservation and space restrictions.

The fabric trade, along with goldsmithing, was one of the main economic activities of the Middle Ages. Byzantine silks were very much in demand during the Carolingian era, as were Italian silks in the 15th century. Prized Oriental fabrics were necessary in the Western world, where only ordinary fabrics were produced until the end of the Romanesque period. Within the church, precious fabrics had many uses: decoration and furnishing as well as liturgical vestments and reliquary protectors.

From the time it opened in 1843, this museum has presented a large number of tapestries, one of these being the beautiful Liberation of Saint Peter. The museum's reputation ofr tapestries grew very quickly and cornfirmed itself with exceptional acquisitions, such as the tapestry of David and Bathsheba, now preserved at the musée national de la Renaissance in Ecouen, St Stephen's Life or The Lady and the Unicorn.