(c) 2016 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

A Messenger from Harpagos Brings Cyrus a Letter Concealed in a Hare

tapestry weaverWorkshop of Jan Moy (active Netherlands, about 1525)

Dateabout 1535-1550

Place MadeBrussels, Brussels, Belgium, Europe

MediumWool warp (6 yarns per cm); wool and silk wefts

Dimensions424.2 x 457.2 cm (167 x 180 in.)

ClassificationsFurnishings

Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Accession numberT19e4

Status

Not on view

Web Commentary The five episodes in this set are based on the ancient Greek writer Herodotus’s account of the life of the founder of the Persian Empire, Cyrus the Great. In this tapestry, we see Cyrus as a young man (at right), receiving a letter hidden inside a rabbit. This secret message launched his empire building, telling him the time was right to unseat his grandfather and claim his kingdom. The background for this drama is a bucolic landscape, with couples strolling and a hunt taking place. All of the figures wear fashionable clothing of the mid-16th century, making connections between political scheming of the past and present. Flanders was the most important center for tapestry manufacture, the costliest of art forms. Because of their size and complexity, tapestries involved large amounts of skilled labor and expensive materials to produce. Often commissioned as a series, tapestries offered storytelling on a grand scale.

Id729152

Last Updated8/9/24

Original NumberT19e4-s

Alt. No. 1 (Siple)001

EmbARK ObjectID12928

Source ID1971