Imperial Splendor: Renaissance Tapestries From Vienna July 9, 2010

Royal Renaissance tapestries from one of the premier museums of fine arts and decorative arts in the world, the Kunsthistorisches of Vienna, will be on view in South Carolina's capital city. The richness and artistic quality of the tapestries make the collection one of the most important tapestry collections in the world and one of the most magnificent of its kind. Each of these eight exquisite tapestries, intricately crafted, measures from 11- to 12-feet high and from 12- to 18-feet long. The tapestries came to the Kunsthistorisches Museum from the collections of King Matthias (Holy Roman Emperor 1612-1619) and King Francis I (1708-1765). The exhibition marks the first time these centuries-old tapestries have travelled to the United States.