The Hunt of the Unicorn Tapestries

Yesterday on a somewhat nice summer day in New York City, my friend Keiko and I uber’ed our way to the tip of Manhattan to go the the MET Cloisters museum. It was our first time for both of us although Keiko has been to the monastery. Located near Fort Tryon Park , on top of a steep hill, the building evokes a sense of medieval European life. As Keiko said, its like we stepped into Medieval France.

I have wanted to go as thanks to a donation by John Rockefeller, it is home to the Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries. I got hooked on the Unicorn tapestries from the Medieval times ever since I visited the Musee Cluny in Paris and saw the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries which was one of the most beautiful set of artwork I’ve ever seen.

The Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries did not disappoint although depicted more violent scenes than the Lady and the Unicorn series. But oh, the workmanship! All done by hand in intricate detail with silk and metallic thread dyed using natural material. The origination is debated and no one quite knows who commissioned it but one thing is for sure – it was done in the 1400s and we are so fortunate it has survived to be seen by millions of people worldwide. Below are some of the photos I took. There are 7 tapestries depicting the hunt.

• Start of the Hunt
• Unicorn at the Fountain
• Unicorn Attacked
• Unicorn Defending her/his self
• Unicorn Captured by the Virgin
• Unicorn Killed and Brought to the Castle
• Unicorn Captured

After thoroughly enjoying the tapestries, we walked around the spectacular garden where medieval herbs, flowers, and vegetables were planted in what was thought the same way it was done during medieval times. It was beautiful and very interesting.

We ended the day in Greenwich Village for a casual Japanese meal at one of our favorite places – Ootoya. What a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

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