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The Abduction of Cassandra by Ajax from a set of The Horses

Designer Frans Cleyn German
Manufactory Probably woven at Mortlake Tapestry Manufactory British
designed early 1630s, woven ca. 1650–70
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 509
In 1619, an entrepreneurial courtier of King James I used royal backing to establish the Mortlake Tapestry Manufactory- where this tapestry was probably made- luring talented refugee weavers from Flanders. This large-scale and ambitious endeavor predated by decades the comparable French royal initiative, Louis XIV's Manufacture Royale des Gobelins. In 1625, under King Charles I, the German Frans Cleyn was appointed Mortlake's principal designer, creating- amongst others- cartoons for the series of which this tapestry and another in The Met collection (36.149.1) is part. Called "The Horses", it was woven many times between the mid-1630s and the late seventeenth century, when this tapestry was woven and acquired by the Earl of Peterborough, who customized it with the added inclusion of his coat of arms. By then, Mortlake production was considered by many to be stodgy and dated compared to the brighter, edgier designs coming out of competing workshops in London.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Abduction of Cassandra by Ajax from a set of The Horses
  • Designer: Frans Cleyn (German, Rostock 1582–1658 London)
  • Manufactory: Probably woven at Mortlake Tapestry Manufactory (British, 1619–1703)
  • Patron: Henry Mordaunt (Drayton House, Northamptonshire, 1623–1697)
  • Date: designed early 1630s, woven ca. 1650–70
  • Culture: British, probably Mortlake
  • Medium: Wool, silk (16-19 warps per inch, 6-7 per cm.)
  • Dimensions: H. 144 x W. 198 inches (365.8 x 502.9 cm)
  • Classification: Textiles-Tapestries
  • Credit Line: Gift of Christian A. Zabriskie, 1937
  • Object Number: 37.85
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

More Artwork
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The Destruction of the Children of Niobe from a set of "The Horses", Frans Cleyn German, Wool, silk (16-19 warps per inch, 6-7 per cm.), British, probably Mortlake
The Destruction of the Children of Niobe from a set of "The Horses"
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1650–70
The Concert from a set of Tapestries "After the Indian Manner", John Vanderbank Flemish, Wool, silk (19-20 warps per inch, 7-8 per cm.), British, London
The Concert from a set of Tapestries "After the Indian Manner"
Multiple artists/makers
After 1690
The Toilette of the Princess from a set of Tapestries "After the Indian Manner", John Vanderbank Flemish, Wool, silk (19-20 warps per inch, 7-8 per cm.), British, London
The Toilette of the Princess from a set of Tapestries "After the Indian Manner"
Multiple artists/makers
After 1690
Settee (one of a pair), John Mayhew British, Gilded fruitwood; wool and silk (22-24 warps per inch, 9-10 per centimeter), British and French
Settee (one of a pair)
Multiple artists/makers
1769–71
Armchair (one of a set of six), John Mayhew British, Gilded fruitwood; wool and silk (22-24 warps per inch, 9-10 per centimeter), British and French
Armchair (one of a set of six)
Multiple artists/makers
1769–71

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