Tapestries

January 15th, 2010 | Collectibles, Tapestries

Vintage Gypsy Gobelin Tapestry Canvas plaster fram

US $24,500.00

Sale

Magnificent 18th Century Aubusson Tapestry from France

US $23,000.00

Sale

Collectibles -> Linens, Fabric & Textiles -> Tapestries

Tapestries are more than just beautiful wall hangings, they’re woven art that served to tell stories in ancient times. The Odyssey and the Iliad were both “told” in woven form as large, rich tapestries. Every period in history has had major events chronicled in tapestry form. Even the Old and New Testaments of the Bible have been the inspiration for large and detailed woven tapestry art. Once a major art form, large tapestries were owned by the wealthy and the aristocracy, with castles often decorated with dozens or even hundreds of these creations. The Parthenon was even believed to have tapestries decorating its walls.

Religious and romantic stories were told in tapestries in the 13th and 14th centuries in what’s known as gothic art. While beauty and artistry were important, the story itself was the focus, with religious symbolism and spirituality being the most common themes of the stories. Woven artwork had gone into a lull for several centuries, with large pieces of art done chiefly by painters and by embroidery. But the gothic art movement brought woven art back into the mainstream.

Renaissance art, on the other hand, that became popular in the 16th century thanks to artist like Raphael, focused on image and illusion more than storytelling. The woven art of tapestries followed the flow of other art into pictorial images in the Renaissance style.

Paris was the tapestry capital of the world, with France being the top and most important tapestry producer from the Middle Ages to the Hundred Years War. During the war, many tapestries were lost to looting and pillaging, or burned for the precious metals they contained in the silver and gold thread.

Most of the ancient tapestries still available today are dated from the 16th century Renaissance period through the 19th century, and are usually made from Italian silk, Picardy wool and silver and gold threads from Cyprus. These original tapestries are chiefly found in homes of the royalty or very wealthy, or in museums, as they command high prices and are extremely valuable. True tapestries are easily identified by a look at the back side of the pieces to see the weaving.

Reproduction tapestries, while they sound like little more than copies or fakes, command high prices as well and can still be valuable to collectors who want the original art in a similar form. Those tapestries that can’t be accurately copied in a true jacquard weave are done by a method of hand-silk-screening and painting that can take years. They are often more expensive that woven reproductions because of the time and effort involved. To get a truly detailed reproduction of a large tapestry, creating the perfect hand-made screen can take 1 to 4 years.

Important considerations when shopping for tapestries is to make sure you understand whether the tapestry is an original or a reproduction. Whether it’s woven or tediously hand-painted is an important point that can greatly affect the value of the tapestry, as well.

Originally posted 2008-10-13 14:00:01. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Related Posts

Beginning the Art of Collecting Wine The purpose of this article is simply to provide you with some tips for the art of collecting wine. If you are thinking about beginning your own wine cellar or simply putting together a hobby of collecting wine, then the following tips should prove useful to you. Keep in mind......
Precious Moments Collectibles Collectibles -> Decorative Collectibles -> Precious Moments -> Figurines With their distinctive designs and inspirational quips, Precious Moments collectibles are one of the most sought after decorative arts. Originally designed in 1975 by Eugene Freedman, it wasn’t until the mid-1980’s that the company hit full stride. Since then, these cute......
Collectible Pipes Collectables -> Tobacciana -> Pipes If you think all pipes look basically the same, then you should take some time to browse through the variety of collectible pipes available in places like eBay or collectible pipe shops online. With today's campaigns against smoking of all types, and the media......
Antique Jewelry Sports Memorabilia -> Fantasy, Mythical and Magical -> Jewelry Antique jewelry is a wonderful collectible that is not only valuable, but also very beautiful. Whether you are a fan of precious stones, interesting settings or you just have a love of everything vintage, buying antique jewelry is a lot of......
Thomas Kinkade Collectables -> Collectibles -> Disneyana Thomas Kinkade is a living, American artist whose work is so popular today that many people have no idea they even have Thomas Kinkade artwork in their homes in some form or another. There seems to be no middle ground when it comes his......

Related Websites

4 Tips to Picking a Tennis Racket The racket you pick will have more than an impact on a tennis ball, it will have an impact on the way that you play this game. If youâre not using the right tennis racket, chances are you are not playing the game as well as you could be. It......
Taiko Drums Top the Video Game Charts The traditional Taiko drum has a long history in Japan. Split into two varieties, the byou-uchi daiko and the tsukeshime-daiko, the taiko drum is an instrument used in traditional and modern Japanese music. The drums have a new renewal of interest in the young generation as the video game, Taiko......
Top Travel Places to Go in 2010 reprinted from New York Times 2. Patagonia Wine Country Ten years ago, a group of adventurous winemakers set their sights on an Argentine valley called San Patricio del Chañar, an unusually fertile and eerily beautiful corner of Patagonia. They plowed, planted and waited. The outcome? A blossoming wine country with......
Save Time, Money and Space in Over 80 Ways If you're looking for handy gadgets, tools and various items that can save you time, money or space (or all three!) this list of more than 80 top products is just what you need. Everyone's got saving money on their minds these days. Some of us are always looking to......
Going Out to the Picture Show - 30,000 Years Ago We were taught in school that those ancient cave paintings of hunters and animals were created by prehistoric priests, supposedly to conjure good luck for an upcoming hunt, or chronicle a recent hunting expedition. Nonsense. Cave paintings were all that people had for TV and cinema way back when.......