Lots 305 to 310 THE STORY OF JULIUS CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA A set of six (part of eight) Brussels ...

Lots 305 to 310
THE STORY OF JULIUS CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA

A set of six (part of eight) Brussels historical tapestries, c.1560, all with an unidentified weaver's mark, woven with the history of Caesar. In four-sided floral borders with mythological, and allegorical figures; the upper borders with a central mask in a cartouche supported by seated children and the corners with prison scenes, that on the left depicting Roman Charity (Cimon and Pero) and the other, a similar scene, perhaps, representing the deeds of 'noble women'; the left side borders with a salamander, a female figure with a shield (perhaps Fortitude), Diana and Endymion resting from the chase, and a bearded sage with a kneeling woman; the right with an ostrich, a, female figure holding a golden chain (Temperance or Prudence), Paris, Venus and Cupid, and a woman carrying a bearded warrior; the lower borders with David and Bathsheba.

A Flemish historical tapestry,
The Story of Julius Caesar (1),
probably 16th, century, depicting the Enthronement of Caesar and Cleopatra,
11ft 2in high x 8ft x 6in wide (339 x 259)

Provenance: By repute, the Pallavicino Family, by descent to Marchese Serra, Palazzo Verde, Genoa;
from whom purchased by J Pierpont Morgan, and gifted to Walter Hayes Burns;
Christie's North Mymms Park, September 1979, lot 508.