Tapestry Fragment: Aubusson Valance
Author: Unknown
Origin: Aubusson, France (?)
Dating: 17th century
Material: Wool & Silk
Dimensions (cm): 42,5 x 230,5
Inv. no.: PD0030
«Four distinct parts may be distinguished in this textile fragment, believed to have been produced in Aubusson: on the left, there is a young figure, decontextualized from the rest of the fragment’s theme. A seam in the fabric may be observed, which may suggest the reuse of material. The other three parts present works of Hercules (Heracles, in Greece): the capture of the bull, the death of the Hydra and, again, the capture of the bull, in an attempt (?) at symmetry.
Although the legend of Hercules figures in multiple variants, the best known is that of the Theban hero – son of Jupiter and Alcmene. Sought as a child by Juno – Jupiter’s wife – he escaped all attacks and eventually won the sympathy of the goddess who nursed him to make him immortal. As an adult, he went to Mycenae and presented himself to King Eurystheus who, knowing his fame for strength and fearing that he might steal his throne, assigned him twelve labours that he considered impossible to accomplish.
The scenes depicted in this fragment show two of these labours: the capture of the bull (the sixth labor) in the island of Crete, which he tamed and delivered to Eurystheus. The latter, letting it escape, forced Hercules to recapture and kill it. The other labour – the second of the series – was the slaying of the Hydra of Lerna. This Hydra, with multiple heads, lived in a very deep quagmire and destroyed the herds and flocks of the region. Whenever a head was cut off, several others would grow back, unless the wound was burned with fire. Taking his nephew Iolaus as his guide, Hercules had no difficulty in defeating it, cutting off all its heads with a single blow.»
Eduardo Magalhães
“Music in the Palace’s Collections”
«In both scenes depicting the capture of the bull, in each, there is trumpet of animal horn. To the trumpet of bullhorn, the Greeks called kéras, a transposition of the Jewish shofar used in the temple. After being cleaned, these horns were a slight boiled to improve their sound.
In this representation of Hercules’ “labour”, the trumpet in its natural horn configuration, is associated with the bull – a horned animal – that Hercules had to capture and from which the instrument was made. The sonic function of the instrument may be to celebrate Hercules’ success in the mission assigned to him or to announce his victorious arrival.»
Eduardo Magalhães
