Number 55 shows cavaliers foraging. Soldiers are carrying bundles of hay for their horses and a lamb lies on the ground ready to be carried off.
Number 56 shows the poisoning of a spy. The cavaliers have just given a glass of poisoned wine to a young woman who is about to drink.
The borders simulate wooden frames and carry the arms of Lord Cobham.
The set was designed by Van der Meulen for Lord Cobham, who served under the Duke of Marlborough and had a brilliant military career. It was woven at the Royal Manufactory of Brussels under the direction of Leyniers, whose signature appears in the border of three pieces. In the fourth piece is the signature ACASTRO, Latin for Van der Beurcht.
Cobham inherited Stowe House in 1697, and these tapestries until recently hung in the dining-room there.
The set ranks with the strongest and most effective pieces of the period, rich both in illustrative action and in decoration. The weave is technically perfect.
57 GOBELINS, MIDDLE XVIII CENTURY (1747-1751)
Wool and Silk.
H. 11 ft. 6 in.
W. 8 ft. 3 in.
JULY FROM THE "MONTHS" OF LUCAS: From a series of designs of the Months, used in Brussels since the XVth century and attributed without verification to Lucas Van Leyden. The scene represents a falconing party.