The Death of Polydorus
embroidered panel (tapestry) in the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon
The Death of Polydorus is one of a set of seven tapestries known as The Story of Troy showing a scene from the Iliad by Homer, here the death of Priam's son Polydorus in book VI, link 290 and book XXIV, line 49. It was produced between 1623 and 1626 and is now in the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon, as is The Vengeance of Hecuba, also from the set (an interior scene whose Chinese motifs are less prominent).
They are technically embroidery rather than being in a tapestry weave, but the images of the faces and flesh parts of the figures are appliqué painted silk satin pieces, reflecting a Chinese technique often used for Buddhist banners. The painting may have been done by Western artists, possibly in Europe. It measures 3.7 by 4.9 metres.
It was commissioned from a Chinese manufacturer, presumably in or near Macao, during the last years of the Ming dynasty by Francisco Mascarenhas, Portuguese governor of the Portuguese Macao from 1623 to 1626, since the medallions bear a female serpent and there is a lion a shield in each corner, the Mascarenhas family arms.
The unusual style at first glance resembles a European tapestry of the period, and elements of the composition are drawn from European prints. The landscape, water and sky use Chinese motifs and conventions. The piece uses cotton, wool, silk, and gold thread.
“The Death of Polydorus” enters the record as embroidered panel (tapestry) in the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Death, Polydorus and embroidered can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“The Death of Polydorus” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Death, Polydorus and embroidered provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q17355339. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1623 and 1626.
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This entry incorporates text from “The Death of Polydorus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.