La Reine Artémise
Tapestry from the Royal Aubusson Manufactory
Tapestry part of the hanging of the Illustrious Women of Antiquity which included six tapestries: Queen Artemisia, Porcia, Lucretia, Roxane, Julia, Cleopatra
Models attributed to Charles Poerson (1609 - 1667)
Woven in wool, silk and precious metal threads
17th century, around 1670-80
Iconography
Artemisia, Queen of Halicarnassus, organised a sumptuous funeral for her beloved husband and built a tomb for him which was one of the seven wonders of the world, hence the word mausoleum. As she was facing great difficulties as regent, her son being still too young to become king, she gave herself courage by drinking a beverage made of a liquor in which her husband's ashes were mixed; it is this scene of posthumous marital love that is represented on the present tapestry.
