Cluny Tapestry Blue Silk Habotai Scarf

DESIGNER'S NOTES

A blue Fox & Chave silk habotai scarf with elements from the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries housed in the Musée de Cluny in Paris.

La Dame à la licorne or the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries, feature a rich array of additional elements beyond the central figures, enhancing their symbolic depth.

Small animals like rabbits, monkeys, and dogs appear throughout, each carrying layered meanings; rabbits for fertility, monkeys for mischief or worldly temptation, dogs symbolising loyalty and companionship.

The lush background is filled with detailed flowers including daisies, violets, and strawberries, chosen for their associations with purity, modesty, and sensuality. Ivy and oak leaves frame the scenes, representing fidelity and strength.

These motifs enrich the narrative, creating a tapestry that is both a visual feast and a complex allegory of the senses, love, and medieval courtly ideals, blending natural observation with symbolic storytelling.

COLOURS

STYLING

A Fox & Chave habotai silk scarf can be worn with the classic knot style or a pussycat bow. You can even create a shawl effect by knotting two scarves together behind your neck and allowing them to drape over your shoulders. More scarf styling ideas are available in this wonderful How to Tie a Scarf book.