Adapted from designs by Michiel Coxie (1499–1592)
Produced at the workshop of Albert Auwercx (1629–1709)
Brussels
Cyrus Defeats Spargapises from The Story of Cyrus
INV-1519
Adapted from designs by Michiel Coxie (1499–1592)
Produced at the workshop of Albert Auwercx (1629–1709)
Brusselsc. 1670
Cyrus Defeats Spargapises from The Story of Cyrus
Adapted from designs by Michiel Coxie (1499–1592) Produced at the workshop of Albert Auwercx (1629–1709) Brussels →weaving - tapestryweaving
Date
c. 1670
Medium
Wool and silk, slit and double interlocking tapestry weave
Warp: Count: 7 warps per cm; wool: S-ply of two Z-spun elements; diameters: 0.7–0.8 mm
Weft: Count: varies from 18 to 30 wefts per cm; wool: S-ply of two Z-spun elements; diameters: 0.45–1.0 mm; silk: pairs of S-ply of two Z-twisted elements; diameters: 0.4–0.55 mm
Dimensions
384.8 × 412.1 cm (151 1/2 × 162 1/4 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Gift of Honoré Palmer
This tapestry is from a late-17th-century series derived from the earlier compositions of the Renaissance painter and designer Michiel Coxie. The Latin inscription in a cartouche in the upper border identified the subject as Cyrus the Great defeating the Scythians. This refers to an episode toward the end of Cyrus's extraordinary career when he attacked the land ruled by Queen Tomyris near the Caspian Sea. As recounted by Greek historians such as Herodotus, the Persian ruler lured the queen's son Spargapises into a trap, defeating him and taking him captive. However, Tomyris was so angered by her son's humiliation and subsequent suicide that she defeated Cyrus in battle and killed him.
Also notable
Works in the same vein
The Diversion of the Euphrates from The Story of Cyrus
Adapted from designs by Michiel Coxie (1499–1592) Woven at the workshop of Gillis Ydens Brussels
Abundantia from The Four Continents and Related Allegories
After a cartoon by Lodewijk van Schoor (died 1702) and Pieter Spierinckx (1635–1711) Woven at the workshop of Albert Auwercx (1629–1709) Brussels
