Comparison: Tapestry & Hand-painted scroll

 

Preparations for war, including the building of a motte-and-bailey (detail), Bayeux Tapestry, c. 1070, embroidered wool on linen, 20 inches high (Bayeux Tapestry Museum)

This piece is a small portion of The Bayeux Tapestry which in total consists of seventy five different scenes that all tell a narrative. This tapestry was made to pay tribute to William the Conqueror who was named that after successfully raiding England and taking the throne from Harold Godwinson in 1066. These scenes tie together to show the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings (1066), all from a Normandy point of view.  The artist of the tapestry still remains unknown as scholars continue to speculate and believe this is the work of Anglo-Saxon embroiderers. "This theory is supported by the stylistic analysis of the depicted scenes, which draw from Anglo-Saxon drawing techniques. Many of the scenes are believed to have been adapted from images in manuscripts illuminated at Canterbury."(K. Tanton, 2015) In this specific piece above, is a scene that portrays the preparations being taken in order to protect the Normans position and also includes different weaponry and shields that were produced during this time for the battle to come. Overall this is tapestry continues to be an insight to the history of the Battle of Hastings and an outstanding piece of artwork. 

Tumult at the palace gate, note the two women (top left) distinguished by flowing hair and aided by an attendent, fleeing the battle as fast as their voluminous robes will allow (detail), Night Attack on the Sanjô Palace, Illustrated Scrolls of the Events of the Heiji Era (Heiji monogatari emaki) Japanese, Kamakura period, second half of the 13th century, 45.9 x 774.5 x 7.6 cm (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

Pictured above is a portion of a narrative known as The Night Attack on the Shanjô Palace which was produced during the second half of the thirteenth century (Kamakura period). This piece is hand painted on a long stretched out scroll known as a emaki which is an East Asian style format.  This scroll is to be laid out and usually has a beginning and an end that can be clearly seen from a distance. The story reveals itself as you view it right-to-left and you pick up the details along the way. It portrays a piece of war displayed by the Heiji Rebellion around 1159-1160 over several disputes with the Emperor. They kidnap him and remove him from his palace while also burning it down and slaughtering several. In the image above is a portion of the scene centered around the tail end of the scroll, which goes to show many warriors and a few women fleeing the palace as well as the left over remains of families and soldiers. This is a very brutal piece of artwork that shows a lot of detail of the event that took place in this palace and usually leaves an emotional impact on those who view it. 

A few similarities between the two artworks are the stories and them both being based on some type of battle or war between two conflicting sides. They are both narrative based pieces meaning they both have scenes that are thrown together to build an overall story of what truly happened over a period of time. Each artwork features the aftermath of the battle with wounded soldiers and horses. They both portray a message of power and strength within the battle scenes especially as one overtook the other. 

https://smarthistory.org/the-bayeux-tapestry/

https://smarthistory.org/night-attack-on-the-sanjo-palace/