8. Decorative Arts (12-20th c.)

The protagonists shown in this tapestry are the Roman general Anthony and the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. Their fleet was defeated in 44 B.C. by Anthony’s rival, Octavian, the later Emperor Augustus. After the lost battle, their famous love ended with Cleopatra’s suicide, which she committed with a venomous snake. In the tapestry, they are sitting together in a boat among the vehemently rowing boatmen. Among the tapestries in the Christian Museum, this one is the most finely woven. It was acquired from the Ipolyi collection.