6.03.2013

A Mug Addition for a Mug Addiction - Unicorn Tapestry


I recently visited The Cloisters where they have a Search for the Unicorn Exhibit. Anyone who knows me knows I love unicorns and I've always loved the Unicorn in Captivity tapestry - I have a print of it hanging in my apartment. I'd never been to see it in real life, however, and I must say it was very impressive. I'd never thought about how big it actually is and it was so neat to be able to see the silver gilded thread woven through it. I wish I could have it, but they refuse to sell it to me (maybe because I could only offer about $10 - they refuse to haggle like they do in Chinatown). I did, however, buy a mug depicting the unicorn from the tapestry, which I'm absolutely in love with, so the day was still a success!

Also, for the record, I got to see a narwhal horn up close at the same exhibit. Apparently, during the Middle Ages when hunts for unicorns were popular, they didn't know what a narwhal was, so if their horns washed up on shore, then everyone would assume it had belonged to a unicorn. Anyone who knows me knows that not only do I love unicorns, but I also love whales, and narwhals are the unicorns of the sea so...this exhibit was very exciting for me.

A real narwhal horn!
The Unicorn in Captivity tapestry

2 comments:

  1. Lovely mug! I dig this tapestry as well. I think I picked up the poster of it the first time I went to the Cloisters, lo, so many years ago...God knows what happened to the poster, though. :-)
    Some Dark Romantic

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