Cleopatra and Antony Enjoying Supper from The Story of Caesar and Cleopatra
c. 1680
Medium
Wool and silk, slit and double interlocking tapestry weave Warp: Count: 9 warps per cm; wool: S-ply of four Z-spun elements; diameters: 0.8–1.1 mm Weft: Count: varies from 18 to 46 wefts per cm; wool: S-ply of two Z-spun elements; diameters: 0.3–0.8 mm; silk: pairs of S-ply of two Z-twisted elements; diameters: 0.6–1.0 mm
Dimensions
321.9 × 362 cm (126 3/4 × 142 5/8 in.)
Classification
weaving - tapestry
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
49664
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
To impress Antony, Cleopatra promised to organize the most lavish supper he had ever attended. The meal itself was ordinary, but at its end, Cleopatra dissolved a pearl in a cup of vinegar and drank it. This event was not recorded by Plutarch; it derives from Pliny’s Natural History (1st century A.D.).