A French wool and silk pastoral tapestry, 'la Danse', second half 18th century, to designs by Jacques-Nicolas Julliard (1715-1790) or Jean-Baptiste Huet (1745-1811), possibly Aubusson, woven in polychrome threads, depicting a fete champêtre outside a tavern, with musicians and dancing couples before a wooded background, within a simulated picture frame border, linen backed, circa 210cm high, 448cm wide Provenance: Property from a Private Collection The designs for this animated pastoral feast are usually attributed to French painters Jean-Baptiste Huet and Jacques-Nicolas Julliard, who was a pupil of François Boucher and later appointed lead designer at the Aubusson and Felletin tapestry workshops in 1755. The subject of a village dance shows the influence of Netherlandish scenes on French tapestry manufacture, particularly the oeuvre of Teniers.Though parts of this design have appeared on the market, it is rare for all figural segments to survive in one tapestry. The flexible use of the cartoons designed by Julliard and others at Aubusson is well known, and Pascal-François Bertrand describes how different models were combined to form new suites and scenes. Note for example a tapestry combining the inn and dancing as in the present lot in the collection of the Musee du Louvre, and another example showing both segments with an archery scene to the right, which is in the town hall at Charlieu, France. These examples are illustrated in Pascal-François Bertrand, Aubusson, Tapisseries des Lumières, 2013, pp. 172 and 187 respectively.An Aubusson tapestry containing the left hand section of the same scene was sold at Christie's New York, 17 October 2002, lot 43, and another example later at Christie's London, 31 October 2012, lot 168; a tapestry depicting the central section with the seated and dancing couples later appeared at Drouot, Paris, lot 189. The flute player and hound are an adaptation of the popular 'chien savant' motif by Julliard's mentor François Boucher.