Background: Until the late 1950's, the tapestries hung in the luxurious Washington, DC, home of Andrew W. Mellon, the famous American banker businessman who established the Mellon National Bank and who served as Secretary of the Treasury under presidents Harding, Coolidge and Hoover. Mr. Mellon was also the founder of the National Gallery of Art and spent the last years of his life planning its construction. (The National Gallery, located in Washington, DC, is now part of the Smithsonian Institution.) Although Mr. Mellon died in 1937, his estate retained ownership of his home and furnishings until the late 1950's, when an estate sale was held. At that time, the tapestries passed into the hands of a private Orientalia collector, Mr. B. James Fritz, of York, Pennsylvania, who in 1993 consigned the pieces for sale by Weschler's, the prominent Washington, DC, auction house. For unknown reasons, the tapestries were pulled from Weschler's auction before sale, and they were eventually purchased in 1995 by the current owners who live in Potomac,Maryland. While it is uncertain how the tapestries came into the possession of Mr. Mellon, it could very well have been through the extensive collection efforts of Lord Joseph Duveen, head of the international art brokerage firm Duveen Brothers. Lord Duveen was influential in forming several outstanding art collections in the U.S., including those of Messrs. Frick, Bache, Widener, Morgan, Altman, Kress and Mellon. In 1936, Lord Duveen leased an apartment at 1785 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, DC, on a floor below an apartment owned by Mr. Mellon. Lord Duveen leased this apartment specifically to display a 42-item Western art collection for Mr. Mellon's benefit. Mellon subsequently bought the entire collection from Duveen for $21 million dollars and donated it to the nation, thus forming the basis for the new National Gallery of Art. It is probable that, in his international art collection efforts, Lord Duveen acquired the tapestries and offered them to Mr. Mellon. H: 129inches/327.66cm X2 W: 64inches/162cm X2

General in good condition