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Jan Moy - King Astyages Places Harpagos in Command of his Army, about 1535-1550

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This is an elaborately detailed horizontal woven wool tapestry, one in a series of six telling the story of the Persian Empire. It is approximately 14 by 15 feet with a double edged border with clusters of fruit and florals in red, cream, and blue. All people depicted in this tapestry are light skinned. The background has tall trees and rolling blue hills. In the center a single, large, thatch-roofed building with a tower appears in the distance. There is a castle with a bridge on which many people holding long spears are gathered. Moving from our left to right there are various men atop horses, a group with long spears and helmets, and two carrying banner flags. On our far right, and what is a continuation of the castle, two distant figures stand atop a battlement. One figure is gesturing to our right. In the foreground are six men. They are all dressed in short tunics in various shades of blue, cream, and red and long stockings with garters at the knee. They have what appears to be belted billowing jackets or capes cinched at the waist. They stand in front of a short balustrade with steps on the right. In the center are two bearded men facing each other. The man on the right is wearing a hat with a long plume and a large bejeweled garland across his shoulders and chest. His wide, red, embroidered cape reveals a large red crown on the outer sleeve, and he is holding a scepter in his left hand. He is taller than the man on our left, who is reaching out with both hands to receive the sword being offered by the man on the right. Two hairless dogs, one with a wide red studded collar, are frolicking at their feet. 

Workshop of Jan Moy (active Netherlands, about 1525)

King Astyages Places Harpagos in Command of his Army, about 1535-1550

Wool warp (5 yarns per cm); wool and silk wefts , 429.3 x 464.8 cm (169 x 183 in.)

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Commentary

This tapestry belongs to a series of five depicting scenes from the life of Cyrus the Great, legendary founder of the Persian empire. Herodotus tells of an attack by Cyrus on a distant land ruled by Queen Tomyris. Cyrus sacrificed a portion of his army to entrap the enemy by leaving them behind feasting on a large banquet. Tomyris’s troops, led by her son Spargapises, attacked Cyrus’s decoy troops, then stopped to consume the remains of the food and wine. Cyrus ambushed them and captured the queen’s son. Although Cyrus freed Spargapises, he immediately took his own life.

In revenge, Tomyris led her troops against Cyrus. After defeating his army, she searched the battlefield for Cyrus’s corpse and exacted her vengeance by dipping the body in blood – giving him his “fill of blood” as she had vowed. Grand gestures and elaborate costumes were frequently employed in tapestry design. The figures are expertly situated in a landscape, which serves as the setting for other elements of the story. In this tapestry, Harpagos is appointed by Cyrus to lead his army.