The Allure of Historical Wall Tapestries

Since antiquity people have used textiles for all range of purposes. From blankets for warmth, to elaborate woven fabrics for commerce, they have been at the very center of human life.
The need for textiles, combined with our desire to enhance the world around us, has given rise to a huge range of fabric based art, everything from basic colored cloth to complex woven textiles. Tapestries and wall hangings have long been one of the most accomplished forms of this art, having a history dating back millennia, and artists from almost all cultures have contributed some form of textile wall art.

Recently tapestries and wall hangings have enjoyed a rise in interest, with many people looking beyond traditional options for wall decor. The tactile nature of tapestries, combined with their rich history, has made them once again a choice for the well-informed home improver.

Traditional tapestry designs
Although there is an increasing amount of contemporary art available as tapestry wall hangings, it is the traditional designs from the past that are the most popular. Since tapestries have enjoyed a long history these can include anything from Gothic wall hangings, to French Baroque and Rococo works from the 17th and 18th centuries, to more recent 19th century William Morris and Pre-Raphaelite art.

The main appeal of these impressive works is their connection with history. The range of designs and themes is vast and include subject matter as diverse as the rise and fall of nations, the importance of art movements at different times, and the prominence of individual artists and groups. Most appealing is that each has its own claim to history. This combination of artistic excellence and history writ large is proving irresistible to many art lovers who yearn for more depth in their home decor choices.

There are many famous tapestries from the past. In particular the Middle Ages took wall tapestries from the domain of practical decor into the realms of art. Boasting famous works like the Bayeux Tapestry and the Lady and the Unicorn series, the Medieval era is seen by many as the golden age of tapestry art. More importantly for the first time we see tapestry wall hangings widely appreciated as works of art, rather than just practical pieces of home furnishing.

A growing popularity
Reproductions of these famous works are proving very popular with modern audiences. Given the historical importance of these works of art some of the current productions available are fastidious copies of the originals. The very best of these capture the drama and virtuosity of historical art, perfectly blending it with modern weaving methods. The end result is often very faithful to the original artists' vision, with all the durability and appeal of modern fabrics.

From the vivid colors of Medieval tapestries, to the exoticism of Eastern schools of weaving, traditional tapestry designs often surprise modern art lovers with their attention to detail, their ability to capture emotion and their exploration of timeless themes such as love and romance.

An enduring allure
Because of this these centuries-old designs are enjoying a renewed prominence and are once again making their way into the homes of taste conscious art lovers. Every tapestry, because of the individuality of the weaving process, is a unique work of art unlike any other. In a world driven by mass production art and home decor enthusiasts are drawn to the uniqueness of wall tapestries as an antidote to the monotony of many other décor options.

Now, despite their ancient origins, many people are again looking towards historical tapestries and wall hangings as an answer to their modern home decor aspirations. With an ever growing range of options for shoppers the choice has never been better.

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Medieval Art: A Different Approach to Home Décor

The Medieval era is the period in European history from the fall of Rome to the Italian Renaissance; from 476AD to 1450AD. During this time Europe went through a series of considerable changes, gradually laying the groundwork for elements of the Renaissance and later periods. During this time Art flourished and came to embrace Christianity.

Medieval art emerged from a blend of Roman art and German art, thrown together during the upheavals of the Middle Ages. Its distinct, gothic look owes much to both its influences, and very quickly developed along distinct lines.

It is this distinct element to it that makes it so striking and, even now, is a serious consideration for anyone looking for something unusual and striking for their home décor and home accent choices.

Medieval Art
During the Middle Ages art often depicted scenes from everyday life, and at times was used to illustrate stories, fables and myths. There are a number of recurring themes seen in work from this time, including mythical beasts, a preoccupation with sense and perception, glorification of battles and the celebration of great dynasties.

Of particular importance was the emergence of religious symbolism; using art as a means to communicate complex metaphysical concepts such as love, redemption and forgiveness. Art rose to the challenge and the sheer breadth of the art produced is one of the main reasons the Gothic style remains an iconic and fundamental pillar of western art.

Now many are looking again at the art of the Middle Ages as an exciting and unusual addition to their home décor options. With many possibilities, from quality prints to wall tapestries, they are being appreciated by more and more people looking for something a little different.

Medieval Prints
A great many famous works from the Middle Ages have been reproduced as prints and posters. Some of the best examples from history are now available, and are a real treasure trove of information as well as a unique piece of wall art.

One of the most popular is Les Vendanges (The Grape Harvest). Woven in the late 15th century it was designed to celebrate the annual wine harvest and it depicts the peasants gathering the grapes for use in wine making. The design includes the distinctive Mille Fleurs decoration typical of Medieval art.

During the Middle Ages art was commissioned by the wealthy and tended to reflect dramatic themes and religious symbolism. More rarely work was commissioned to depict everyday scenes, like Les Vendanges, offering a rare glimpse into life during Medieval times.

Although the original was a wall tapestry high quality prints lose none of the original texture and drama, and make an exceptional addition to any décor scheme.

Medieval Wall Tapestries
Although prints enjoy a privileged position in home décor popular Medieval art is increasingly available as luxury wall tapestries. The woven nature of tapestry art adds depth and texture to these already impressive works and makes a distinct alternative to framed art.

A growing number of Medieval tapestries are now available. A particularly impressive example are wall tapestries inspired by the illustrated Medieval work Les Tres Riches Heures (The book of hours). As the name suggests it was a collection of text for each liturgical hour of the day which often included other supplementary texts such as calendars, prayers, psalms and masses for holy days.

The original manuscript was painted by three brothers, Paul, Hermann and Jean Limbourg from Flanders, believed to have been born between 1370 and 1380. The work was completed between 1412 and 1416. These tapestries depict the illustration from the calendar texts for various months, each related to an event associated with the time of year such as harvesting.

Because wall tapestries are textile based the weave often helps lift the original work making for a quite dramatic piece of décor. The best quality tapestries do an impressive job of not only reproducing the original detail, but add considerably to their charm and people can be quite taken aback at their distinctive nature.

Something for every taste
Nowadays many people are looking to Medieval art to add some charm and history to their home decor. With a vast array of options to choose from, including posters, prints and wall tapestries, there's never been a better time to appreciate these unique works of art.

Copyright © The Tapestry House, all rights reserved.

Expressing Yourself: Wall Tapestries for the Newcomer

More and more people are employing the use of wall tapestries as key components of their vision for contemporary home décor. The market for these dynamic works of art has flourished in the last 20 years, and the types of tapestries available have become as varied and diverse as the people who purchase them. As such, a newcomer interested in purchasing a tapestry for the home may become a bit overwhelmed by the sheer volume of choices available. Understandably, it can be hard to know where to begin when choosing the piece that is right for you.

Ultimately, it all comes down to personal preference. After all, tapestries allow us to express ourselves and define our personalities. They are, in essence, an extension of who we are. So it should be no surprise that any decision regarding what to purchase will likely involve a great deal of heart and soul. Tapestries can essentially speak to us on a deeper level. However, the newcomer might be interested in a few tips for choosing the perfect tapestry.

Choices, Choices, Choices
First, let’s consider some of the options available. Some of the more classic types of tapestries will have a historical twist to them, emulating Medieval, Renaissance, Neo-Classical and Baroque time periods, among many others.

Medieval tapestries in particular have become popular, because they represent a period in time which many consider to be a pivotal point in the development of tapestries for use as decorative art rather than for merely practical furnishing purposes.

Asian tapestries also offer a myriad of rich color schemes that are not only complex, but distinctive as well. What draws many individuals to some of these weavings is not only the incredible amount of detail prevalent in the pieces, but the emotions conveyed in them as well.

Many of the more traditional tapestries tend to focus on timeless, universal themes centered around love, human nature, death and tragedy. Perhaps this is why traditional wall tapestries have such a strong appeal. These artistic endeavors provide us with a connection to the past and a window into the evolution of human nature. We often find that we relate to the characters depicted in these scenes.

On the other hand, tapestries which are more contemporary in nature can give our dwellings a modern edge. These can range from surreal landscapes and abstract scenery to still life illustrations showcasing colorful floral patterns or elegant assemblies of wines, vines or fruits. Other popular delineations may include elements of nature, animals and wildlife, or nautical themes which exhibit various naval and maritime dramatizations at sea.

In addition, many artists – some well known, and some not-so-well-known – are licensing their works for tapestry designs. These include works by Thomas Kinkade, Linda Picken, Lena Liu, Nicky Boehme, Stewart Sherwood and Malenda Trick. A number of famous historical artists have also had their works developed into beautiful tapestries, including Vincent Van Gogh and Leonardo de Vinci. This provides an accessible vehicle for art lovers to make the transition to tapestries when developing decorative themes for the home. Of course, these are merely a few of the genres in which wall tapestries have been developed.

Ultimately, contemporary is whatever you want it to be. The wonderful thing about choosing a piece of art is that you can define what it means to you. And in many cases, tapestries may incorporate any combination of some the elements we have discussed. The key to choosing a great piece for your home is to find something that speaks to you.

An Affordable Investment
Believe it or not, you really do not have to break the bank to own a fine piece of art. While some tapestries sell for thousands of dollars, the market also offers a huge selection of affordable tapestries starting from as little as a few hundred dollars. Compared to what you might end up paying for an original art print, the value of wall tapestries can be immeasurable.

The reasonable cost of acquiring a piece that encapsulates an individual’s identity means that wall tapestries have become much more accessible to the average person over the years. One does not have to spend a fortune to have a quality work of art in the home.

What is the Best Size for You?
Tapestries not only come in many styles, but they also come in many sizes. You may want to take the type of home you have into consideration when choosing a tapestry. First, consider where in your home you would like to see a tapestry placed. If you have a small room with limited wall space, you may want to consider using a smaller tapestry. Otherwise, large wall hangings can create a cramped feeling in the room.

Tapestries can come in sizes as small as 13 by 18 inches. They can also be rather large (27 by 36 inches, which is roughly the size of a standard poster). If you have a large wall in a big room, you will likely do well with larger wall tapestries. Some tapestries also come in sizes which are long and narrow, much like a banner. These types of tapestries are perfect for long hallways. It all depends on the style of living space you intend to decorate. Some tapestries can make your living space feel larger than it actually is, while others can have the opposite effect.

Other Factors to Think About
Choosing the perfect tapestry for your home also means taking into consideration the environment in which the piece will live. What type of furniture do you have? Is it ultra-modern, or do you have a lot of antiques? Depending on your answer, you may want to search for a piece that blends in with your “theme”. For example, you may want to consider a more traditional tapestry if you have a great deal of antique furniture pieces in the room.

As we mentioned, the size of the room can have a dramatic impact on the style of tapestry you choose. Every room is different. And different people have different objectives they are trying to accomplish with their décor. If you have a large room that you feel creates too much distance between the people occupying it, perhaps you will want to purchase multiple small tapestries to bring about a more cozy feeling to the space. On the other hand, if you are dealing with a small room, you may want to consider a tapestry which conveys a sense of openness, such as a vast landscape or ocean.

Lighting is also something to think about when purchasing a tapestry. Do you have light fixtures that match your furniture pieces? Do you use table lamps or recessed lighting fixtures, or do you use a combination of both? If you are going for a modern feel, perhaps you will want to consider using chrome lighting fixtures to accent more abstract tapestry pieces. You want to make sure you have plenty of light to enjoy the color schemes of your tapestries, but you also do not want so much light that it detracts from the artistic displays themselves.

Staying True to Your Heart
In light of all the considerations, the main thing to remember about choosing a tapestry is to look for something that has meaning to you. You will need to be aware of your living space, the lighting conditions, the types of furniture present your home and the size of the walls you are intending to decorate. But none of these factors will make any difference if you are unable to connect with the tapestry on a personal level. Think of the tapestry as an extension of your personality and individuality, and then think of the other factors as influences on the piece.

Copyright © The Tapestry House, all rights reserved.

A History of Tapestry: part 1

It is difficult to put an exact date on when and where the art of tapestry originated as the surviving evidence is both rare and fragmented (true tapestries include various primitive textiles woven on the rudest of early looms). However, the evidence we do have indicates that the earliest known tapestry weaving was worked in linen by the Ancient Egyptians between the period 1483 and 1411 BC.

Some scholars believe that tapestry art was introduced to the egyptians by the ancient people of Mesopatamia. They argue that since tapestries were not produced in quantities until the 4th century the likelihood of the art being indigenous is remote.

Fragments, preserved by the dry desert climate of Egypt, were discovered in the tomb of Thutmose IV (the 8th Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt). Two of these ancient fragments have cartouches of Egyptian Pharaohs and the third is a succession of hieroglyphs. Also, a woven tapestry glove and a robe were discovered in the tomb of Tutankhamen c1323 BC.

In the first millennium before Christ the evidence suggests that the art of tapestry weaving was flourishing throughout Western Asia. Fragments that date from the 4th or 3rd century BC were discovered in burial places in the Ukraine near Kerch on the Crimean Peninsula. The designs of these fragments are very ornamental and of a Hellenistic style that was particularly prevalent in Syrian art at that time.

Another fragment dating 200 to 500 years later was found in China at Lou-lan in the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, and again shows Syrian connections and is of silken weave. The archaeological sites of Palmyra and Doura-Europus also produced fragments of tapestries. Unfortunately, the climatic conditions in the Middle East was not ideal for textile preservation and for this reason it is hard to determine that at the start of the Christian Era Syria was a great centre of tapestry weaving and production.

In both ancient Greece and Rome there are literary descriptions of tapestry production. Homer, in the Odyssey (8th century BC?), describes Penelope, whilst waiting for Odysseus, working on a tapestry that was unraveled each night. In Metamorphoses, Ovid, the Roman Poet (43BC-AD 17), describes in detail the tapestry looms used by Arachne and Minerva in their mythological weaving contest.

Throughout the period of the Roman Empire the Romans imported tapestries in vast numbers to decorate their public buildings and the homes of the wealthy. It is generally accepted that the Latin terms related to tapestry and weaving are Greek in origin and therefore that the art of tapestry making was introduced to the Romans by the Greeks.

Tapestry Production in Eastern Asia
The K'o-ssu (Chinese tapestry of cut silk) has long been produced in China. The earliest surviving examples of K'o-ssu date from the T'ang dynasty (ad 618-907). Traditionally, made of entirely silk, these tapestries are fine in texture, light in weight and completely reversible. They differ from European tapestries in that the warps are vertical to the pattern as opposed to European tapestries that are woven horizontally.

Fragments from the eighth century have been discovered in desert oases around Turfan in the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, China. And late T'ang fragments have been found in the Ch'ien-fo-tung or Mo-kao-k'u (Caves of the Thousand Buddha's) near the town of Tun Huang in Kansu Province. Although these fragments are not representative of the more developed K'o-ssu of the T'ang period their beauty is in their simplicity of simple repeating patterns of ducks, lions, flowers and vines; and they were found mainly in relatively remote areas of Central Asia along the silk trade routes. The oldest known complete Chinese wall tapestry hangs in the Taima-dera, a temple near Nara, Japan. The tapestry is 43 square feet and tells the story of the T'ang dynasty priest Shan-tao.

It was during the Sung Dynasty (960-1279) that the imperial family patronized the art of tapestry and workshops sprang up at Ting-Chou in Hopeh Province. In the Chekiang Province, under the Yuan dynasty (1206-1368) a government for weaving K'o-ssu was established at Hangchow. The rich ornamental designs produced by the factory were frequently woven with gold and silver thread. Few examples of the exquisite tapestries from the Ming period (1368-1644) exist today. The finest tapestries produced during the Ch'ing dynasty (1644-1911/12) are renowned for their delicate colouring and their use of religious and philosophical themes. Later tapestries from the Ch'ing dynasty have survived in abundance but technical and artistic decline are evident.

It was during the late 15th and early 16th century that the tapestry technique travelled from China to Japan. Tsuzure-nishiki (Japanese polychrome tapestry) is much different from Chinese tapestry in its more pronounced surface relief. This affect is achieved by using thick cotton weft threads covered with gold, silver or silken thread. The production of Japanese tapestry flourished during the Tokugawa (Edo) period (1603-1867) and continued throughout the seventeenth and eighteen century.

Unusually, Japanese tapestries were used primarily to decorate garments and wrapping gifts, they were rarely used as wall hangings.

The history of tapestry art in Korea remains somewhat ambiguous but the productions of coarse tapestry woven rugs with stylized motifs are still in production today.

Copyright © The Tapestry House, all rights reserved.

William Morris Tapestries

The William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow, London, is the only public museum in the world that is devoted to Englands most versatile and best known designer, William Morris.

William Morris - writer, socialist, craftsman and designer - was born on the 24th of March 1824 in Walthamstow, London.

Morris enjoyed a priviledged upbringing and spent much of his childhood in the forests around his home. It was here that he developed the love of nature that was to be evident many years later in the designs that he produced.

Discovering art to be his natural gift, he embraced it fully, writing poetry and printing and learning how to weave and dye and work a loom. It was the latter pursuit that would come to demonstrate Morris’s talent at it’s most impressive. His spectacular tapestries became his most famous creations.

William Morris developed an array of skills. He learned to embroider by unpicking antique pieces to learn the stitches; he set up a loom in his house and taught himself to weave with only an 18th century French manual for guidance. Within a matter of months he had completed his first tapestry design. Acanthus and Vine was designed and woven by Morris in 1879.

One of the most popular religious tapestries Morris & Co created was ‘The Adoration of Magi’ it was first produced in 1890. As well as being Morris’s most ecclesiastical it was also the most complex. At least ten similar versions of the tapestry were woven between 1890-1907. Originally designed by Burne-Jones the tapestry depicts the Nativity scene.

Most of William Morris's tapestry designs were the result of collaborations between Edward Burne-Jones, John Henry Deale and William Morris himself. But that is not to say that all designs were collaborations, indeed, one of Morris's most famous designs is 'The Woodpecker'. This intricately designed tapestry is typical of Morris in that he uses the ornate leafy background of leaves, reminiscent of Mille Fleurs. The Woodpecker features a woodpecker perched on the branch of a fruit tree. The verse that runs across the top of the tapestry reads:

I once a King and chief • Now am the tree-bark’s thief • Ever ‘twixt trunk and leaf • Chasing the prey.

The Woodpecker tapestry is currently on display in the William Morris Gallery in London.

One of the most intricate and beautiful creations from the company, known as “the Firm”, is the Tree of Life tapestry. Designed by Morris it demonstrates his talent with patterns and his awareness and appreciation of the use of colour. Symbolising growth and continuous life, the Tree of Life wall hanging is still one Morris’s most recognised works.
Tapestries

Other famous works include Pomona (1884), Design for Flora (1885), and The Orchard (1890).

William Morris Tapestries are as much in demand today as they were over a century ago.