The Fall of Troy
possibly Oudenaarde
Category
Tapestries
Date
circa 1625 - circa 1650
Materials
Tapestry, wool and silk, 4 warps per cm
Measurements
2.27 m (H); 4.10 m (W)
Place of origin
Belgium
Order this imageCollection
Rufford Old Hall, Lancashire
NT 783220
Summary
Tapestry, wool and silk, 4 warps per cm, The Fall of Troy, one of two of the History of Troy, possibly Oudenaarde, c. 1625-1650. In the right foreground is Aeneas, carrying his father Anchises on his back and accompanied by his son Ascanius. The man on horseback on the left may be Achates. A number of other figures flee to the right. In the background is the city of Troy, parts of it burning and the walls falling down. Within the walls is the Trojan Horse, soldiers pouring out from its belly. The tapestry has no borders.
Full description
The tapestry depicts the fall of Troy and the escape of Aeneas and his family, following the account in Virgil’s Aeneid. It is part of the same set as no. 783218, ‘The Sacrifice of Iphigenia’. (Helen Wyld, 2013)
Provenance
On loan to Rufford Old Hall from Major the Hon. John Breckinridge Fermor-Hesketh (1917-1961); by descent to Mrs J.I. Robinson; purchased by the National Trust from the executors of her estate, 2012.
Makers and roles
possibly Oudenaarde, workshop