No. 56: H. 10 _ft._ 4½ _in._ W. 7 _ft._ 3 _in._ ] THE OPERATIONS OF THE SIEGE OF LILLE: _Number_ 53 _represents the battle of Wynendael Wood._ _Lord Cobham on horseback with his sword drawn is in the midst of his troops._ _Number_ 54 _shows the burning of Lille_. _The burning city is seen in the background. Soldiers in the foreground are getting bundles of wood to feed the flames._ _Number_ 55 _shows cavaliers foraging_. _Soldiers are carrying bundles of hay for their horses and a lamb lies on the ground ready to be carried off._ _Number_ 56 _shows the poisoning of a spy_. _The cavaliers have just given a glass of poisoned wine to a young woman who is about to drink._ _The borders simulate wooden frames and carry the arms of Lord Cobham._ [Sidenote: Formerly in Stowe House.] The set was designed by Van der Meulen for Lord Cobham, who served under the Duke of Marlborough and had a brilliant military career. It was woven at the Royal Manufactory of Brussels under the direction of Leyniers, whose signature appears in the border of three pieces. In the fourth piece is the signature ACASTRO, Latin for Van der Beurcht. Cobham inherited Stowe House in 1697, and these tapestries until recently hung in the dining-room there. [Sidenote: Lent by _Jacques Seligmann & Company_.] The set ranks with the strongest and most effective pieces of the period, rich both in illustrative action and in decoration. The weave is technically perfect. [Sidenote: 57] GOBELINS, MIDDLE XVIII CENTURY (1747-1751) [Sidenote: _Wool and Silk._ H. 11 _ft._ 6 _in._ W. 8 _ft._ 3 _in._ ] JULY FROM THE "MONTHS" OF LUCAS: _From a series of designs of the Months, used in Brussels since the XVth century and attributed without verification to Lucas Van Leyden. The scene represents a falconing party._ [Illustration: _Scene from the History of Cleopatra_ No. 39 ] [Illustration: _Verdure_ No. 41 ] The piece has the last type of border used for the set, the so-called Dresden border, representing a carved and gilded wood frame with corner ornaments surrounded by naturalistic flowers, and with a sign of the Zodiac (Leo) in a cartouche at the top. [Sidenote: Lent by _P. W. French & Company_.] The piece was probably woven in the tenth weaving between 1741 and 1751 on the upright looms in the atelier of Cozette.[29] This is an unusually clear and brilliant example of a famous Gobelins set. [Sidenote: 58] GOBELINS, XVII CENTURY [Sidenote: _Wool and Silk._ H. 9 _ft._ 4 _in._ W. 6 _ft._ 8 _in._ ] DECEMBER FROM THE "MONTHS" OF LUCAS: _A nobleman greets a peasant woman and her child, while a man and woman carrying a baby wait for him. In the background a castle and people skating on the ice. The piece is incomplete._ [Sidenote: Another example in the Vienna Collection, No. 109.]