[Sidenote:
_Wool and Silk._
No. 26:
H. 12 _ft._
W. 15 _ft._
No. 27:
H. 12 _ft._
W. 16 _ft._
]
TWO SCENES FROM THE LIFE OF CYRUS: _In the first_ (_No._ 26) _Cyrus
captures Astyages_, _his grandfather_. _Soldiers stand about, and in the
background the army is assembled._
_In the second_ (_No._ 27) _Thomyris has the head of Cyrus offered as a
human sacrifice_. _An attendant is placing the head in a gold basin and
soldiers standing about draw back in horror. In the background a battle
wages._
[Sidenote: Illustrated:
_Hauser y Menet, Los Tapices de la Corona de España_, vol. 2, pls. 119,
121.]
These two pieces, showing the moment of greatest triumph and the ultimate
defeat of Cyrus, the great world conqueror, are from a famous set that has
been woven several times. One of these sets, belonging to the royal family
of France, was used in the funeral service of Francis II. Another group
from the series is in the Royal Spanish Collection. The only set known
with a weaver's signature bears the mark of Nicolas Leyniers, and it is
entirely probable that all of the examples, including these two, are from
those looms.
[Sidenote: Lent by _Mr. & Mrs. Daniel C. Jackling_.]
They are very fine examples of a type of design perfected in the first
half of the XVIth century in Brussels. The fullness of details in the
background serves to keep the textile rich and interesting and to throw
into sharp silhouette the dominant figures. The intricate and decorative
borders that are used on these pieces well illustrate one of the most
important contributions of the Renaissance to tapestry design.
[Sidenote: 28]