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In 1620 the brothers Aert (1593-1650) and Pieter (d. 1652) Spiering took over the workshop of their father, François, in Delft. That very year the Swedish royal household, the most prestigious client of the Spiering workshop, ordered forty-six tapestry weavings, including four caparisons. The Flemish emigrant David Vinckboons supplied the designs.
Gustaf II Adolf of Sweden needed these items for the celebration of his marriage to Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg. The tapestries, surely from stock, arrived in time. But the four caparisons, comprising twelve pieces, which had to be woven with special designs, arrived late, they were completed in 1621. Aert Spiering - who was the weaver in the partnership - put his initials on one of the caparisons.
The caparisons were intended to deck out horses in processions and tournament festivities. From the four sets of caparisons two sets - one on a red ground, the other on a blue - are still preserved in Sweden. The picture shows the blue set which includes a shabrack or saddlecloth (255 x 115 cm), a shoulder cloth (132 x 137 cm), and a neck cloth (146 x 150 cm).
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