We can go back to Ancient Greece when colorful tapestry was used to tell classic stories of some of the greatest people in history. These wall hangings have also depicted historical battles and decorated the walls of the Parthenon. The homes of nobility and stature displayed tapestry as part of their décor. In castles, because of frigid temperatures and the only heat source being a fireplace, tapestry was used to help keep the cold out. The tapestry wall hangings can be easily transported to other places or walls in the home which made them popular.
The Dark Ages were a time when creativity was stifled and any type of societal advancement was halted. Medieval times are when tapestry weaving surfaced again and became popular. Many of the tapestry designs at that time were of Biblical scenes, family crests, hunting, and mythological tales. Tapestry designs demonstrated God’s relationship with mankind and tapestry artisans would use their own interpretations. The Renaissance caused an evolution of the tapestry designs and the tapestry began to tell a story. The art of tapestry design was more abstract and intellectualized. Illusions of reality, perfection of form caused it to be a more scientific method. The materials used to create gorgeous woven tapestries were silk, wool, silver and gold threads. The designs of these times were sketched and drawn before the weaving started and were full-size. During the Hundreds Years’ War were lost to crimes of destruction and looting. Some tapestry hangings were burned during this era.
The history is marvelous and the creation of the tapestry is an old craft. Many tapestry works you see today are most likely made in a factory. But they still used some of the old methods when constructing a tapestry. Most weaving use warp threads that are woven with weft threads. Weavers use two kinds of looms, a high and low warp loom. The threads are pulled through two rollers on the loom. A weaver works a high loom vertically while standing in front of it. A low warp loom is operated horizontally and the weaver can sit or lean over it. Weavers today still use bobbins that weavers of old also used.
For color and to give the tapestry depth, many colored weft threads are used. To make the colors appear differently, a twisting technique can make the same thread appears to look like something else and cause various color effects. Two qualities about weaving tapestry that have not changed through the years are that weft threads completely cover the warp and the weft threads do not stretch completely from side to side. A weft row goes as far as it needs to only to complete the image.
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Check out Jeff Smith's Tapestry Throws and Tapestry Rugs for more information.
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