Andromache and Priam Urging Hector Not to Go to War (from Scenes from the Story of the Trojan War)
ca. 1470–90
Medium
Wool warp, wool wefts with a few silk wefts.
Dimensions
Overall: 190 x 104in. (482.6 x 264.2cm)
Classification
Textiles-Tapestries
Culture
South Netherlandish
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Fletcher Fund, 1939
Accession Number
39.74
Tags
Art Historical Context
This stunning South Netherlandish tapestry woven by Pasquier Grenier Tournai around 1470–90, a poignant moment from Homer's *Iliad*: Androm, Hector's devoted wife, and Priam, the aged king of Troy, desperately urging the hero not to venture into battle. Part of a larger series illustrating the Trojan War, it vividly brings to life the human drama amid epic conflict—families torn by fate, with horses, warriors, and emotional pleas rendered in intricate detail. At nearly 16 feet tall and 9 feet wide, its monumental scale would have dominated medieval halls, serving as both decoration and moral s...