[1][2] All of the tapestries are connected by a common border design containing Portuguese patterns a pair of phoenixes at the top, a lion and griffin at the bottom, and a triton and serpent on each side.
The four corners of each tapestry are adourned by the same coat of arms, identified as an erroneous depiction of the family crest of Francisco Mascarenhas, the first governor of Macau.
It is believed, if the identification proves correct, that Mascarenhas commissioned the tapestries to emphasize the legitimacy of the Portuguese presence in Asia represented by Macau after an unsuccessful Dutch attempt to take the city.
This suggests that the painted portions may have been the work of Chinese artists who had studied Western painting under the Jesuits in Japan, such as Ni Yicheng (倪一誠; christened as Jacobe Niva) and You Wenhui (游文輝; christened as Emmanuel Pereira), students of Giovanni Niccolò.
[1][7] The Abduction of Helen The Prophecy of Calchas Ajax and Ulysses Disputing Aeneas and Anchises The Sacrifice of Polyxena The Death of Polydorus The Vengeance of Hecuba