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The Offering of the Boar's Head, from The Story of Meleager and Atalanta

A work made of wool and silk, slit, dovetailed and double interlocking tapestry weave.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of wool and silk, slit, dovetailed and double interlocking tapestry weave.

Date:

1673/86

Artist:

After a design by Charles Le Brun (1619–1690)
Woven at the workshop of Jan II Leyniers (1630–1686)
Flanders, Brussels

About this artwork

The Story of Meleager and Atalanta is based on the version of the legend that appears in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Meleager was the son of Oeneus, the king of Calydon. One day the goddess Artemis, enraged by Oeneus’s failure to honor her appropriately, sent a wild boar to ravage Calydon’s fields. Meleager organized a hunting party to kill the animal. Atalanta, the daughter of the king of Arcadia, was the only woman in the group. As soon as Meleager laid eyes on her, he fell in love. Atalanta wounded the boar with an arrow and Meleager killed it with a spear. The prince honored the princess for drawing first blood, declaring her queen of the hunt and offering her the boar’s head. Meleager’s uncles were jealous, and tried to steal the trophy. Blinded by love and rage, Meleager killed them. The tapestry shows Meleager returning the boar’s head to Atalanta.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Textiles

Artist

Jan Leyniers

Title

The Offering of the Boar's Head, from The Story of Meleager and Atalanta

Place

Brussels (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1673–1686

Medium

Wool and silk, slit, dovetailed and double interlocking tapestry weave

Dimensions

355 × 344.8 cm (139 3/4 × 135 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mrs. Maurice L. Rothschild

Reference Number

1941.93

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/40724/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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