The Banquet of Dido and Aeneas :

17th Century French Royal Aubusson Tapestry.

' The Banquet of Dido and Aeneas ' 

FRANCE
Le banquet donné par Didon en l'honneur d'Enée 
Tapisserie manufacture Royale d'Aubusson dernier quart du XVIIe siècle. Tenture de Didon et Enée d'après des modèles du peintre Isaac Moillon (1614-1673).
Dans la grande salle du palais de Carthage, les convives du festin sont installés. A droite Didon entoure de son bras l'enfant cupidon, à son coté Enée raconte les malheurs de Troie, puis sur la gauche Achate se fait servir à boire. Tapisserie entourée d'une belle bordure à décor de guirlandes de fleurs.
Signée en bas à droite “A fleurs de lys B” signifiant manufacture Royale d'Aubusson.
286 x 375 cm

Bibliographie : Tapisserie décrite par Mme Nicole de Reyniès dans son ouvrage sur Isaac Moillon « un peintre du roi à Aubusson »page 210 avec à la page 211 des reproductions en couleurs de plusieurs Tapisserie avec quelques variantes sur le même thème.
Somogy éditions d'art, musée départemental de la tapisserie Aubusson, juin 2005

FRANCE
The feast given by Dido in favour of Aeneas

Tapestry fabricates Royal of Aubusson the last quarter of the XVIIth century. Curtain of Dido and Aeneas according to models of the painter Isaac Moillon (1614-1673).

In the big room of the palace of Carthage, the guests of banquet are installed. To the right Dido encircles with the arm the child Cupid, in his quoted Aeneas tells the misfortunes of Troy, then on the left Achate make serve for drinking. Tapestry encircled with a nice border with decor of garlands of flowers.

Signed down to the right “ A Fleurs de Lys B ” meaning Royal factory of Aubusson.

286 x 375 cm

Bibliography: Tapestry represented by Mrs Nicole de Reyniès in her work on Isaac Moillon « a painter of the King in Aubusson » page 210 with on the page 211 of the coloured reproductions of several tapestry with some variants on the same topic.

Somogy editions of art, departmental museum of the tapestry Aubusson, June, 2005

17th Century French Royal Aubusson Tapestry

' The Banquet of Dido and Aeneas '

                                                                 ( Le banquet donné par Didon en l'honneur d'Enée ) 

' The Banquet of Dido and Aeneas '

( 'A Fleurs de Lys B' )

“A fleurs de lys B” signifiant manufacture Royale d'Aubusson.

In the Iliad, Aeneas is the leader of the Trojan's Dardanian allies (Trojans — descendants of Dardanus), as well as a third cousin and principal lieutenant of Hector, son of the Trojan king Priam. In the poem, Aeneas' mother Aphrodite frequently comes to his aid on the battlefield; he is a favorite of Apollo. Aphrodite and Apollo rescue Aeneas from combat with Diomedes of Argos, who nearly kills him, and carry him away to Pergamos for healing. Even Poseidon, who normally favors the Greeks, comes to Aeneas' rescue after he falls under the assault of Achilles, noting that Aeneas, though from a junior branch of the royal family, is destined to become king of the Trojan people. Aeneas killed 28 people in the Trojan War.

The story of Dido and Aeneas is one of the world’s most tragic love stories, first described in Virgil’s Aeneid, then Marlowe’s Dido, Queen of Carthage and Henry Purcell and Nahum Tate’s opera Dido and Aeneas. Before Aeneas founded Rome, he was a Trojan soldier. When Troy fell, he left with his followers in seven ships. He was shipwrecked on the shores of Carthage, the great African city ruled by Queen Dido. Dido and Aeneas fell deeply in love, but the gods called Aeneas away to fulfill his destiny in Italy, and Dido was left heartbroken and alone. In her despair, she built a funeral pyre and committed suicide atop it.