Charitas - or - Caritas means love or charity. Diligitur is the 3rd person passive of the verb meaning to choose or to prefer. Deus is god. Proximus is near. Propter is because of.

One theory of this inscription is that it might be an analogy. A basic English translation may be this: Charity/Love is preferable because it is Charity. God is preferable because he is God.

Ida Jolles, born in 1897, owned these tapestries in Vienna where she founded a needlepoint factory. When the first World War broke out the Nazi's occupied Austria, following the collapse of Habsburg Empire, and took these tapestries from her. Thankfully, after the war Ida was able to find her possessions and get them back, including these pieces. After which they traveled with her to the U.S. where they were hung in her families' estate in New Rochelle, New York up until 2002.