`The Story of Nessus and Deianeira'. A Flemish Mythological Landscape Tapestry, probably Antwerp circa 1680

depicting the centaur Nessus carrying off a captive maiden Deianeira, set in a wooded landscape, within a luxuriant four-sided border woven with trophies and pendants of fruit and foliage upheld by winged children on a chestnut ground, the side borders including parrots and the top and bottom borders with sculptural motifs 




 

Tapestry is lined, and with Velcro across the top for hanging purposes. Some fading in colour in areas, for example the putti in the borders. Horizontal line across bottom of lower border is from previous folding. Some splits generally. Edges of bottom and top selvedge worn and revealing warp threads. Horizontal splits overall, and within the border. See for example splits and repairs to robes of central figure of Deianeira and splits to golden land just to left of her. Dark brown inner border has some splits to top right side. Bottom edge has areas of brown repair. The edges of fruit and grapes left hand border above the putti have repairs. Some areas of reweaving in places.
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According to Classical mythology the centaur Nessus driven from Arcadia by Hercules became a ferryman on the river Evenus. Whilst ferrying Deianeira, the bride of Hercules, across the river Nessus was shot by Hercules with a poisoned arrow. The dying Nessus took his revenge by giving Deianeira a poisoned love charm which eventually caused the death of Hercules (Apollodorus, Bibliotheca).

The Greek mythographer Apollodorus lived in the 1st or 2nd century A.D. His account of the origin of the universe and the adventures of the Greek gods and heroes, called the Bibliotheca was described by his translator James Frazer as 'a history of the world as it was conceived by the Greeks.'