Tapestry: The Striped Horse from The Old Indies Series

Studies made by two Dutch artists during an exploratory expedition to Brazil from 1637 to 1644 were the inspiration for this tapestry. The newly appointed Dutch governor, Prince Johan Maurits of Nassau, led a group of scientists and artists, including Albert Eckhout and Frans Post, to Brazil, where they studied and painted the unusual plant and animal life of this country. Many of the plants, fish, birds, and other animals woven in this hanging can be traced to life studies made by Eckhout and Post in South America. French artists at the Gobelins manufactory, who designed the cartoon to heighten the tapestry's impression of drama and exoticism, probably introduced other animals, such as the Indian rhinoceros and "striped horse" or zebra.