Several of these sets, known today as The War of Troy or The Story of the Trojan War tapestries, were made. Their design and production was funded by the entrepreneur and merchant Pasquier Grenier and his son Jean from Tournai. They invested huge amounts of money into the project. It is possible that Francis II, Duke of Brittany commissioned the first set from Grenier in the 1460s.
The set was an immediate success and became an object of desire for the some of the most powerful men in Europe. In 1472, the city of Bruges presented a set to Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. Duke of Urbino, Federico da Montefeltro, acquired one for himself in 1476, and Henry VII, King of England, followed suit in 1488. Two further sets were woven for Ferdinand I of Aragon, King of Naples, and Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary and Croatia.
Of the 66 tapestries that are believed to have existed, 17 surviving pieces remain, many as mere fragments. The most important group are the four tapestries, almost all complete, in the Cathedral of Zamora in Spain. These are probably from the series that belonged to Ferdinand I of Aragon. Apart from one fragment in private ownership in France, all other pieces are kept in public collections in New York, Boston, Worcester (Massachusetts), Montreal, Glasgow and London.
The tapestry in the V&A collection was intended to occupy the 9th position within the original sequence of 11. The tapestry represents three episodes in the story of the Trojan War.
The 1st scene: the arrival of Queen Penthesilea and the Amazons
After Achilles killed Hector in the 10th battle of the Trojan War, which is shown in the 7th tapestry of the set, Penthesilea, the fearless and ferocious queen of the Amazons, decides to avenge his death and join the Trojan forces against the Greeks. This scene depicts the moment of the arrival of the queen and her army to Troy. Penthesilea kneels before Priam, the king of Trojans, in front of the city walls.
The 2nd scene: the 21st battle of the Trojan Wars
The Trojans led by Penthesilea are pouring out of the city gates and hurl themselves on the Greeks. It's a gruesome depiction – a tangle of men and women brandish swords and pikes with blood streaming from wounded bodies.
The 3rd scene: the arming of Pyrrhus
The 3rd scene in the tapestry is the arming of Pyrrhus, or Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, who was destined to lead the Greeks to victory after his father was killed by Paris.
Explore the War of Troy tapestry
Zoom in and explore the tapestry in super-high definition. Click on the pins to reveal more information about the people depicted, fashion, iconography, and other gruesome details. Best viewed in full screen.
The War of Troy set are the only medieval tapestries for which the original designs, albeit incomplete, still exist. Nine of the designs are held at the Louvre in Paris, while the 10th is at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. Comparing the finished tapestries with their original designs is fascinating. The final quarter of the tapestry, where the 22nd battle was depicted, is missing, but owing to the original design, now at the Louvre, we know what the scene looked like. Why and when this part of the tapestry was lost remains unknown. The drawings also show slight differences in composition: the architecture of the city in the background has been modified, some of the figures of Trojan warriors have different gestures, and Ajax the Great is represented in armour in the drawing while in the tapestry he wears a richly ornamented robe over his chain mail.
The War of Troy tapestry has been in the V&A's textile collection since 1887. Formerly it was at the Castle of Bayard in France and later it was bought by a painter in Lyons named Richard, who bequeathed it to the French archaeologist and writer Achille Jubinal. He in turn bequeathed it to the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, on condition that it be hung on the grand staircase. The authorities broke this condition by demolishing the staircase, and the tapestry reverted to Jubinal's heirs. When the opportunity arose for the South Kensington Museum (as the V&A was then named) to buy it, the acquisition was strongly recommended by the prominent designer William Morris and artist Edward Burne-Jones. After seeing it, Burne-Jones wrote to the museum exclaiming, "I came away with a state of enthusiasm such as I have never felt". The tapestry was sold to the museum by Jubinal's heirs for a then-hefty sum of £1,200.
Following over 4,000 hours of conservation work, the tapestry was installed in the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries at V&A South Kensington in 2009, where it can still be viewed today.
