Alentours - Oxford Definition

[From the French, ‘surroundings’] denotes a type of border for tapestries, first produced at the Gobelins factory for a set illustrating Don Quixote in 1714. Whereas earlier tapestry surrounds had simulated a picture frame, alentours consisted of trompe l'oeil garlands of flowers, ribbons, birds, etc. which filled the greater part of each composition with a figurative scene, often in a simulated picture-frame, placed in the centre.