Considered a prime example of the Belgian tapestry tradition, this work was believed to have originally been in the collection of Henry VIII at Knole House in England. Later, it was owned by J. Pierpont Morgan and was lent to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York for display in its Armor Room, before it was purchased by John and Johanna Bass in 1965. Early sixteenth-century Brussels tapestries are considered without peer for the excellence of their design and the perfection of their workmanship.
The subject of The Tournament is not the combat itself but the preceding moment when the two approaching knights rein in their beautifully caparisoned horses and exchange salutes before a king, his court, and a crowd of spectators.
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