After almost 120 years on view in the East Room of the Morgan’s historic library, Triumph of Avarice, the monumental tapestry that hangs above the fireplace, was removed on August 5 and 6, 2025, and transported to the Textile Conservation Laboratory of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, where it will undergo essential conservation work to help preserve the tapestry for years to come.
Purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan, Triumph of Avarice has hung in the East Room ever since the library's completion in 1906. The 12 by 24-foot tapestry has had some conservation work done in 1984, also by St. John the Divine’s Textile Conservation Laboratory. Since then, it has been periodically surface cleaned and small damaged areas have been repaired in situ, but it is now in need of a full restoration. The tapestry will be cleaned using both wet and dry methods, and broken and stressed areas of the wool, silk, and metallic threads will be repaired and stabilized. It will receive a new backing system as well as a new hanging system. The tapestry will be replaced with a replica until the original returns in late 2026/early 2027.
Triumph of Avarice is the only surviving tapestry of a series of seven depicting the Seven Deadly Sins. The series was designed by Pieter Coecke van Aelst (1502–1550) and woven in the Brussels workshop of Willem de Pannemaker (ca. 1510-1581). The set was purchased by Henry VIII in the mid-1530s, and the weaving likely was commissioned by him from cartoons that may have been designed by Coecke for a speculative venture funded by merchants in Antwerp.
