Some of the finest tapestries woven in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries depicted scenes from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Cathedrals and monasteries commissioned and bought these tapestries for use in public worship, in which specific doctrinal points, and the life of Christ, were illustrated. These might be on monumental scale, but for private worship, smaller hangings were produced, often rich with silk and metal thread, appropriate to their role as devotional pieces.
In this tapestry Christ is seen rising from his tomb, to the consternation of his guards. In the background, using a device common in such tapestries where various scenes from a narrative are included within the same framing borders, his later meeting with Mary Magdalene is also shown.