The original Woodpecker with Verse was designed in 1885 by William Morris and was based on his poem about Picus, the Italian King who was transformed into a woodpecker in Ovids Metamorphoses, Book XIV. This classical work was the one of the most read books in the Middle Ages. This is an antique tapestry replica, woven in France! The wording on the top and bottom reads "I once a king and chief, now am the tree-barks thief, ever twixt trunk and leaf, chasing the prey."