Battle and Embarkation

A testament to textile production in the Netherlands in the early 16th century, this tapestry depicts a fictional battle scene featuring characters from different eras.

A battle between kings of the ancient Orient—Cambyses of Persia leading the charge and the Assyrian Ninus being pierced—drives a series of mythical and historical figures toward a fleet in the background. Among them, the Ostrogoth king Totila, Iulus, his father Aeneas, and Queen Dido are boarding the ships, despite the warnings of the soothsayer Calchas. A certain Gaius—a Roman jurist—turns his back on the battle and seems to head toward the fleeing figures, under the stoic gaze of an unknown lady. In the background to the left, a ship sinks.

The meticulous attention to the costumes and ships, typical of the 1500s, and the expressiveness of the faces link this work to Dutch production in the early 16th century.