This fragment is one of three in the Museum's collection that comes from two or more tapestries depicting scenes from the Trojan War. In the lower left portion of the tapestry, mounted Greek warriors are driven back to their tents by the terrifying figure of the Sagittary, a centaur (part man and part horse) whose powerful figure dominates the center of the scene and who fights on the side of the Trojans. Medieval accounts of the war introduced the idea of a truce after the fifth battle, during which Hector visited Achilles in his camp. It is this truce scene that occupies the lower right portion of the tapestry. A large banderole at the top containing quatrains in French and a small banderole at the bottom left with distichs in Latin describe the events depicted. In addition, the names of the participants in the battle, such as Achilles, are inscribed on the clothing and armor of some of the figures.
In 1488 the English king, Henry VII, bought a set of eleven Trojan War tapestries from Jean Grenier, one of Pasquier Grenier's sons. It is likely that the Museum's hangings were also produced by the Grenier family.
#864. The Battle with the Sagittary and the Conference at Achilles' Tent (from Scenes from the Story of the Trojan War)
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Title:The Battle with the Sagittary and the Conference at Achilles' Tent (from Scenes from the Story of the Trojan War)
Artist:Probably produced through Jean or Pasquier Grenier of Tournai
Date:ca. 1470–90
Geography:Made in Tournai, South Netherlands
Culture:South Netherlandish
Medium:Wool warp, wool wefts with a few silk wefts
Dimensions:Overall: 172 × 156 in. (436.9 × 396.2 cm)
Classification:Textiles-Tapestries
Credit Line:Fletcher Fund, 1952
Accession Number:52.69
Inscription: (across top; in French): ACHILLES VINT IMPETUESEMÉT / EN BATAILLANT AVEC [BATAILLE OU TAU UNG JOYANT] / QUI COBATINT MLT VERTUEUIMET [VERTUEUSEMENT] / FORT TERRIBLE NOME [HUPON LE GRANT] / LE SAGITAIRE ORRIBLE É ESPANTANT / POLIXENAR TUA EN CEST EFFORT / DIOMEDES VERTUEUX É PUISSANT / LE SAGITAIRE OCCIT ET MIST A MORT
(across bottom, left half; in Latin): INTERVINT HUIONIENI ACHILLES / TRADIT MORTI DIOMEDES MILES (across bottom, right half; in Latin): SAGITTARIUS FORTITER CERTAVIT / ET LATUS HOSTES PROSRAVIT
(on warrior in upper left): ACHILLES (on sleeve of man to the right of him): AESO (on arm of next warrior to right): ATHENOC (on right arm of man struck by Achilles' spear): HUPON LE GRAND (on helmet of man just below him): ENEAS (on chest of man to the right of tent): DYOMEDES (on arm of man behind sagittary): HECTOR (on head of man hidden by tent at right): NP (on back of horseman at lower left): THELAMOALA (on belt of horseman to his left): IS (on bridle and harness of Thelemon's horse): R H F/R (on bridle and harness of falling warrior's horse at left of tent scene): POMPENAR/N (on bottom of mantle of left figure in front of tent): ACHILLES (on robe of central figure in front of tent): AGAMENO (on thigh of figure at right in front of tent): HECTOR
[ Raoul Heilbronner, Paris (sold 1921)]; his sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris (June 22-23, 1921, no. 240); [ Demotte Inc., Paris and New York]; P. W. French & Co., New York (by 1928)]; Raimundo Ruíz Ruíz, Spain (sold 1952)
Providence, RI. Rhode Island School of Design. "Exhibition of Gothic Tapestries," March 1930, no. 7.
Brooklyn. Brooklyn Museum. "The Gallery of Medieval Art," 1935, no. 223.
Galeries nationales du Grand Palais. "Masterpieces of Tapestry from the 14th to the 16th century," October 27, 1973–January 7, 1974.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Tapestry from the 14th to the 16th century," February 8–April 21, 1974.
Athens, Greece. National Pinakothiki Alexander Soutzos Museum. "Treasures from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: Memories and Revivals and Revivals of the Classical Spirit," January 1, 1979–December 31, 1979.
Marillier, H. C. "The Tapestries of the Painted Chamber: The 'Great History of Troy'." The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 46, no. 262 (January 1925). pp. 36–37.
Seventh Loan Exhibition: French Gothic Art of the Thirteenth to Fifteenth Century. Detroit: The Detroit Institute of Arts, 1928. no. 98, ill.
Frankfurter, Alfred M. "Gothic Trojan War Tapestries." The International Studio 92 (1929). p. 36, 40.
Migeon, Gaston. Les Arts du Tissu. Manuels d'histoire de l'art. Revised ed. Paris: Henri Laurens, 1929. p. 238.
Banks, M. A. "The Tapestry Exhibition." Bulletin of the Rhode Island School of Design 18 (1930). pp. 14–15.
Exhibition of Gothic Tapestries. Providence, R.I.: Rhode Island School of Design, 1930. no. 7.
"French & Company Loan Tapestries to Pennsylvania." ARTnews vol. 29 (1931). p. 17.
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Taylor, Francis Henry. "The Art of the Middle Ages." The Arts 17 (1931). p. 483, ill. p. 483.
Code, Grant, ed. The Gallery of Medieval Art. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Brooklyn Museum, 1935. no. 223, pp. 84–85.
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Rorimer, James J., and William Holmes Forsyth. "The Medieval Galleries." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 12, no. 6 (February 1954). p. 135.
Forsyth, William Holmes. "The Trojan War in Medieval Tapestries." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 14, no. 3 (November 1955). pp. 76–84.
Scherer, Margaret R. The Legends of Troy in Art and Literature. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1963. p. 241.
Asselberghs, J. P. "Les tapisseries flamandes de la cathédrale de Zamora." PhD diss., Université Catholique de Louvain, 1964. pp. 58–60, 64, 75–76, 124.
Weigert, Roger-Armand. La tapisserie et le tapis en France. Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 1964. p. 39.
Asselberghs, J. P. "Les tapisseries tournaisiennes de la guerre de Troie." Revue Belge d'Archeologie et d'Histoire de l'Art 39 (1970). pp. 94–98, 109–11, 173–5, fig. 11b, 12, 13.
Coffinet, Julien. Métamorphoses de la tapisserie. Paris: Bibliothèque des arts, 1977. pp. 59–60.
Treasures from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York : Memories and Revivals of the Classical Spirit / Thesauroi apo to Mētropolitiko Mouseio Technēs tēs Neas Hyorkēs. Athens: National Pinakothiki, Alexander Soutzos Museum, 1979. no. 5, p. 64.
Salet, Francis. "Chronique." Bulletin Monumental 145 (1987). pp. 175–76.
Cavallo, Adolfo S. Medieval Tapestries in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993. no. 13a, pp. 14–15, 49, 58, 67, 229–49.
Norris, Michael. Medieval Art: A Resource for Educators. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. no. 33, pp. 130–33.
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