When we talk about tapestries we can’t help but feel
nostalgic or more precisely, feel historic. Tapestries have been around as far
back as ancient Greece. The actual value of antique tapestries, therefore, is
quite high and we’re not talking about the monetary value alone for that piece
of textile hanging in the living room is an important witness to our history.
People used to hang huge textiles on their walls to protect
them from the cold. But soon these huge pieces of cloth became more than just
that. They became a medium of artistic expressions and the weaving process itself
became a precise science in itself. As demand began to increase, centers of
tapestry making began to emerge in various places, creating specialties and
trademarks. Countries like England, Holland, Italy, and France were identified
as places where unique and quality tapestries were produced. The high and the
wealthy in society went to these places to commission skillful artisans for
huge pieces of art. However, it was in Paris, France where tapestry making was
developed into an art form.
French made tapestries were said to incorporate the use of
gold threads obviously to showcase the social status of the person who
commissioned the piece. It is therefore unfortunate to know that most of these
French made tapestries were destroyed during the French revolution precisely
because of the gold threads. The poor and the hungry harvested what ever value
they can get.
Today, among the oldest surviving tapestries were those made
in England during the 14th and 15th centuries. Based on what experts could
gather from the tapestries themselves, the oldest ones that we know of came
from Barcheston in Warwickshire. Others were from the looms of a Mortlake
factory which was supposed to be been operational in the early 1600s.
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