The Offering of the Boar's Head from The Story of Meleager and Atalanta
1673/86
Medium
Wool and silk; slit, dovetailed, and double interlocking tapestry weave Warp: Count: 9 warps per cm; wool: S-ply of three Z-spun elements; diameters: 0.6–0.8 mm Weft: Count: varies from 32 to 36 wefts per cm; wool: S-ply of two Z-spun elements; diameters: 0.3–0.9 mm; silk: pairs of S-ply of two Z-twisted elements; diameters: 0.2–0.6 mm
Dimensions
355 × 344.8 cm (139 3/4 × 135 3/4 in.)
Classification
weaving - tapestry
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
40724
Rights
Public Domain
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...