Thanks for the input! The figure on the left does, in fact, have a beard. I overlooked it as well, for quite awhile.
Good points about the nakedness as well.
I do know that the Victorians loved to re-interpret things according to their own world view. Fairy tales are a well-known case in point. In our own home we have an 1890s wax figure of Andromeda chained (with tinsel "chains") to a wax rock under a glass dome. Now, if you've read your mythology, you know that Andromeda was placed in this position without any clothing whatsoever, but in our 1890s version she's wearing Victorian "underwear," which covers almost all of the figure from shoulder to ankle. Nevertheless, it's Andromeda chained to a rock, a clearly "modern" attempt to illustrate the ancient myth.
The reason for my "Adam and Eve" theory is that the tapestry is centered on male and female figures and most of the tapestry is taken up with greenery and animal figures, i.e. the Garden of Eden. There does seem to be a touch of the "Green Man" mythology, with the wizard costume and the branches growing from the woman's head. Other than that, I am at a loss to find a different interpretation.
I feel pretty safe about dating this to the mid 19th century. I think it's pretty certain that this comes from western Europe (France, Belgium) but it could come from England, I suppose. I don't recall any American tradition of tapestry making like this example from that time. I'm also certain that the Victorians loved to mould past stories to fit their own times, much like some people do today.
Family history is silent on the subject matter, so no help there.
