Monday, October 26, 2015

The Value of Antique Tapestries (part 1 of 2)


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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