Tapestry

Guess which handbag brand loves Tapestry?  Well, the company that started the Coach brand, changed their name to Tapestry in 2017.  Below is the actual meaning of the word.

Tapestry is a form of textile art. It is woven by hand on a weaving-loom. The chain thread is the carrier in which the colored striking thread is woven. In this way, a colorful pattern or image is created. Most weavers use a naturally based chain thread made out of linen or wool. The striking threads can be made out of silk, wool, gold or silver, but can also be made out of any form of textile.

Both craftsmen and artists have produced tapestries. The 'blueprints' on cartboard were made by a famous artist, while the tapestries themselves were made by the craftsmen.

The term is commonly (though incorrectly) applied to embroidered items made in canvas work or needlepoint, probably because this type of embroidery mimics the woven effect.

Function

The success of the decorative tapestry can be partially explained by its portability. Kings and noblemen could transport the tapestry from one residence to another. In churches, it could be displayed on special occasions.

Iconography

The iconography of most Western tapestries goes back to written sources, the Bible and Ovid's Metamorphoses being two popular choices.

Apart from the religious and mythological images, hunting scenes are the subject of many tapestries produced for indoor decoration.

Historical development

Tapestry found a new stage in Europe since the early fourteenth century. The first wave of production originated from Germany and Switzerland. Over time, the market expanded to France and the Netherlands.

By the 16th century, Flanders had become the centre of European tapestry production. By the end of the 16th century, the Northern Netherlands became the most important producers of tapestries, and Delft and Amsterdam became the most important tapestry cities.

Famous tapestries

• The six-part piece La Dame
  la Licorne (The Lady and the Unicorn), stored in the Hotel de Cluny, Paris.
• The Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events surrounding the Battle of Hastings; note that this is not, strictly speaking, a tapestry, but is instead embroidery.
• The Hunt of the Unicorn is a seven piece tapestry from 1495 to 1505, currently displayed at the The Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Loom Definition

fiber Definition

fabric Definition

Woven Pictures: How Tapestry Is Made

Tapestry is built entirely in the weaving. Unlike embroidery, where decoration is stitched onto a finished cloth, a tapestry's pattern or image is created as the cloth itself is made. It is woven by hand on a weaving loom: the chain thread is the carrier, stretched as the foundation, and the colored striking thread is woven into it. Because the striking threads carry the colors, the weaver changes color area by area, building the picture thread by thread until the surface reads as an image rather than as a repeating pattern. Most weavers use a naturally based chain thread made out of linen or wool, chosen for strength under loom tension, while the striking threads can be silk, wool, gold or silver, or any form of textile, chosen for color and light.

Production traditionally divided the labor of invention and execution. Both craftsmen and artists have produced tapestries, and the blueprints on cardboard were made by a famous artist while the tapestries themselves were made by the craftsmen. The cartoon set the composition; the weavers translated painted areas into woven thread, a translation that demanded judgment about color and texture at every passage. The term is commonly, though incorrectly, applied to embroidered items made in canvas work or needlepoint, probably because this type of embroidery mimics the woven effect, but the distinction is structural: in tapestry the image is the weave itself.

Portable Walls of Cloth

The success of the decorative tapestry can be partially explained by its portability. Kings and noblemen could transport the tapestry from one residence to another, and in churches it could be displayed on special occasions. A woven hanging decorated a room, carried imagery with it, and could be rolled and moved in a way that painted walls and carved panels could not. The iconography of most Western tapestries goes back to written sources, the Bible and Ovid's Metamorphoses being two popular choices, and apart from religious and mythological images, hunting scenes are the subject of many tapestries produced for indoor decoration. The subjects were stories their viewers already knew, retold at large scale in thread.

Tapestry has been known since at least Hellenistic times, with samples of Greek tapestry found preserved in the desert of the Tarim Basin dating from the 3rd to 2nd century BCE. It found a new stage in Europe from the early fourteenth century, the first wave of production originating from Germany and Switzerland, and the market expanding over time to France and the Netherlands. In the 14th and 15th centuries Arras was a thriving textile town specializing in fine wool tapestries sold to decorate palaces and castles all over Europe, and Arras is still used to refer to a rich tapestry no matter where it was woven. By the 16th century Flanders had become the centre of European tapestry production, and by the end of that century the Northern Netherlands were the most important producers, with Delft and Amsterdam the most important tapestry cities. Among famous works, the six-part La Dame a la Licorne is stored in the Hotel de Cluny in Paris, and The Hunt of the Unicorn, a seven piece tapestry from 1495 to 1505, is displayed at The Cloisters of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.