Tapestry with the Annunciation, ca. 1410–1430
South Netherlandish
“Seated in a spacious room of the elaborate type first represented in Northern Europe by the illuminator Jean Pucelle, the Virgin Mary looks away from her book on the reading lectern, startled by the sudden entrance of the archangel Gabriel. He holds a scroll with the words “Ave gracia plena” (“Hail [Mary] full of grace”). In the sky, God the Father sends the infant Jesus bearing a cross toward the Virgin, preceded by the dove of the Holy Spirit. They descend in the direction of the Virgin’s ear, as it was believed that her ear (emphasis mine) was the opening through which she conceived. Other imagery in the tapestry, such as the enclosed garden, emphasizes her virginity, and the single white lily placed in an elaborate pottery jar symbolizes her purity.”
