Made to fit

This set of hangings at Audley End, Cambridgeshire, date from the second half of the eighteenth century. They are unusual because they consist of three tapestries, three painted linen panels, narrow painted borders and smaller fragments of tapestry and painted linen joined together to form four hangings which are almost 21 m in length. The hangings have a chequered history and they have been altered and added to on several occasions. The tapestries were woven by Paul Saunders’ Soho studio and supplied to Audley End House in 1766. They represent romantic pastoral scenes and classical ruins typical of Saunders’ work (Marillier, 1930). Although there is no evidence that they were installed at this date, the house records show that they were used to decorate the newly built Tapestry Dressing Room in the 1780s. It is thought that the painted linen panels were made and joined to the tapestries at this time. It is assumed that painted linen is the work of Biagio Rebecca (1735–1808) as there are bills from the house archives referring to payments for the work. He was an accomplished painter of the period and painted the linen panels to copy the pastoral scenes of the tapestries in order to give the impression that the room was completely lined with tapestries. ¹