Museum Tapestries - Assignment #4

I have been to a couple museums before as a child on school trips but have not been to one in a while. There was some sort of gathering going on at the museum when I walked in, so there were people, and food and live music. I thought the museum itself was very clean and modern looking. Everything had their special rooms which seemed very organized to walk through.

I thought the tapestries were really incredible to look at. The images almost looked as if they were painted on. There happened to be a tour going on when I walked into the room so I was able to listen to the story of Romulus and Remus and also find out a little bit more about the tapestries. The guide explained that if there were 30 people working on the tapestry at once that it would take around 2 months to complete, which really puts into perspective of how much detail went into all of the tapestries in the exhibit. The eight tapestries went through the story of Romulus and Remus which I have never heard in that much detail. The story actually started with the story of the brothers, Numitor and Amulius, and how Amulius made Numitor's daughter, Rhea Silvia, a priestess so she was unable to marry and have children to take over in Amulius position. Rhea Silvia however met the god Mars and conceived the twin boys, Romulus and Remus. Servants were ordered by Amulius to kill the twins, but they couldn't and sent them down the Tiger River to be found by a she-wolf. The she-wolf nursed the two boys until they were found by a Shepard and his wife. The story continues that both boys were very heroic and protective of their parents. One day Remus was arrested for fighting and was brought to Numitor where he figured out that the two boys were in fact royalty. The two boys fought about who should rule the new city and went on top of two separate mountains waiting for a sign from the gods. Remus received the first sign by the gods of one vulture, and when Remus went to tell Romulus he saw the Romulus received the second sign of 12 vultures. A war broke out between the followers of Romulus and Remus and it ended with Romulus killing Remus and creating the city of Rome. The story ends with Romulus stealing women from the Sebines in order to start up his civilization.

I never heard the full story of Romulus and Remus so it was very interesting to listen to the full story of the brothers. The tapestries were said to be made in the 1500's making them 400-500 years old. The guide explained that they were hung inside of castle walls and that the tapestries were made in Brussels. Two of the tapestries that were hung were copies of the originals.