Vulcan (with Venus and Cupid)

Artist Lorentz Kleiser (American, 1879 - 1963)

Manufacturer Edgewater Tapestry Looms (c. 1913 - 1933)

Datec. 1925

Mediumwoven

Dimensions35 1/4 x 21 inches (89.5 x 53.3 cm)

Credit LineBequest of Nelda C. Stark, 1999

Object number2008.222.1

ClassificationsTextiles

Description3 figures

Label TextThis tapestry features figures from ancient mythology. The god of love, Cupid, is the small winged boy with an arrow, and the theme appears to be love. The identities of the other figures are not certain. They could be Mars, the god of war, and Venus, the goddess of love. They could also be Hercules, the heroic son of a god, and Omphale, the queen of Lydia who married Hercules. The lions’ heads in the border might refer to Hercules’ slaying a lion. Omphale taught Hercules to spin wool, so she would be an appropriate subject for a tapestry.

ProvenanceNelda C. Stark [1909-1999]; bequeathed December 13, 1999 to the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation; accessioned November 5, 2008 to the Stark Museum of Art

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