Tapestries were an important part of Western European interiors from the medieval period and the Hermitage’s collection of Western European tapestries is the largest in Russia, covering five centuries of development. The earliest items are fragments of German wall-hangings of the 15th and early 16th centuries and French tapestries of the same period. A series of tapestries showing The Life of the Virgin Mary is rightly regarded as among the masterpieces of the collection.