Stage and Picture in the English Renaissance: The Mirror up to Nature, by John H. Astington

Peter J. Smith argues that "many of the tapestries that [Astington] describes were not likely to have been seen by Globe-goers" because such things "were much too valuable to have been on communal display". Cloths with images woven into or painted onto them could be hung on a theatre stage without risk of damage from the spectators. In a recent comprehensive survey of the topic, "'What is the story painted upon the cloth'?: Some Descriptions of Hangings and their use on the Early Modern Stage" (Theatre Notebook 70.1 (2016): 2-31), the early modern theatre historian Mariko Ichikawa finds that indoor and outdoor theatres of Shakespeare's time did use such "pictorial stage curtains" and that they were a significant part of the theatrical experience. Gabriel Egan co-editor, Theatre Notebook

Dear G - thanks for that and of course, painted cloths were not unknown. But Astington is talking in the main about tapestries and these were inordinately expensive and kept at Richmond, Hampton Court, Whitehall, etc. Tapestries of THE TROJAN WAR were bought by Henry VII in 1488 (according to Astington) so they were already valuable antiques by the time Shakespeare starts writing plays. This, to say nothing of their huge scale which would render public display all but impossible.

Source of picture. Please.