The scenes illustrate the biblical account of King Ahasuerus and Queen Vashti as told in the Book of Esther. Ahasuerus commanded Vashti to show her beauty to those gathered at a feast. She refused and was banished. Although this story was rarely depicted, that of Esther, Vashti's successor, was a particularly popular subject in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century embroideries. Intended for a bed, this valance was most likely part of a set showing scenes from the story of Esther. The contrasting examples of a willful and a virtuous wife lead one to conjecture that the set was a wedding gift.