A gem among Malta’s many – the precious and priceless Gobelin Tapestries… one of a thousand and one stories.
Malta lover, frequent visitor and international film star Russell Crowe once said that of the many thousands of stories that abound in the Maltese Islands are Malta’s Gobelin Tapestries which are unique, beautiful and priceless.
During the same period a leading economic consultant pronounced that if all else fails in the Maltese economy the Gobelin Tapestries adorning The Grandmasters’ Palace and St John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta would be sufficient to cover the country’s National Debt!
A distinction has to be made between the two sets in different buildings with The Grandmasters’ Palace containing the unique set because its tapestries are a complete set and from the original weaving looms of the Gobelin factory in Paris, whilst the set at the Co-Cathedral Museum are from the Flanders factory which was established later.
Their designs also differ. The Palace set are a collection of highly exotic depictions whilst the Cathedral set glorify the ascendency of the Roman Catholic faith over the Protestant Reformation era.
The set of ten from the Palace has been taken down with extreme care because of their fragility and dispatched to the long-standing Gobelin factory in Belgium while restoration in their hall has been undertaken by Heritage Malta.
The unique set of tapestries with colours that stood the test of time in the Council Hall are considered a gift that Grandmaster Perellos gave to his Palace as he commissioned them and work began on them in 1708 and took two years to complete.
Ironically he ended paying for them twice because on the way to Malta they were stolen in piracy at sea by Ottoman Corsairs and he had to pay them the full amount again for their retrieval!
WHY UNIQUE?
Why are they unique and why do they differ from the tapestries in the Cathedral Museum? Studies have established that yes, they are unique as the one and only real genuine set of ten tapestries in a complete set – and thus, priceless.
There are other sets that seem complete, such as in Russia, as well as the other held by Malta at St John’s, but in reality they have been amalgamated from two or three other sets.
The designs of the unique set feature wild animals and plants that in the seventeenth century were still being discovered by Europeans. More than three hundred years since they were hung for the first time, the tapestries have been removed from the hall to be sent to Belgium for the intervention of restoration. Such an intervention presents a logistical challenge for the guardians of Malta’s heritage, as explained by Pierre Bonello from Heritage Malta.
This is the second time in 300 years in which the set has been taken to Brussels for renovation and is being tended with extra care. Each tapestry weighs about 40kg and the box carrying them is over five metres in length and weighs 150kg.
Because of the priceless value and the historic significance to Malta and Gozo, Heritage Malta Chief Executive said this is the largest and most delicate operation ever undertaken by Heritage Malta. The tapestries should be back by the end of the month and in the meanwhile their exhibition hall is also being renovated.
PALACE HISTORY
The Palace in central Valletta was originally constructed by the Knights of St John when Valletta was built after the Great Siege of 1565 and for almost 250 years served as the Grandmaster’s Palace and housed the Great Council, Malta and Gozo’s administrative nerve centre.
When Britain incorporated Malta (at Malta’s request) into the British Empire, the Palace housed the office of the Westminster appointed Governor General and then became the President of Malta’s central office when Malta became a Republic in 1974.
Since 1922, the main room served as the country’s House of Representatives before for space reasons the House was transferred to replace The Armoury (also in The Palace) and again transferred once more to a new building at Valletta’s entrance.
Albert Fenech
email – salina46af@gmail.com
