The Banquet Of Cleopatra By The Manufacture d'Aubusson. XVIIth

Le Banquet de Cléopâtre by the Manufacture d'Aubusson.
Tapestry, wool and silk, Cleopatra and the Pearl, Aubusson, after a drawing attributed to Isaac Moillon, c. 1660-1680.
In the foreground on the right, a banquet takes place at an outdoor table under a canopy.
Cleopatra, to the left of the table, richly dressed in a blue robe, breastplate, and jeweled crown, holds a pearl on a gold goblet on the table. Anthony sits across from her across the table, dressed in armor and a laurel wreath, and holding the golden goblet. “Cleopatra and the Pearl” is one of the most famous events in the life of Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt (69 BC - 30 AD), illustrating her extraordinary wealth and extravagance.
The story is told in the Natural History of Pliny the Elder, Book IX, XXXV, lines 119-22. The tapestry comes from a series of drawings by illustrious women of Antiquity woven in the French center of Aubusson in the middle of the 17th century.
The series consisted of up to nine subjects, the others representing "Dido", "Lucretia", "Valérie", "Roxanne", "Portia" and "Pauline".
The tapestry has already been restored. The dimensions have been reduced slightly. Behind the blanket are attached hooks for hanging the tapestry on a rod.