TAPESTRY (ME. tapeccry, tapecerye, from OF. tapisseric, tapestry, from tapisser, to furnish with hangings, from tapis, tapestry, carpet, from tapetiom, from Gk. Tar'rjnov, diminutive of rams, tapes, figured cloth, tapestry). A decora tive textile fabric formed by a process inter mediate between embroidery and true weaving. It differs from embroidery in that the design is not applied to an existing fabric, but, by being woven in and out of warp threads, forms a part of the fabric. It differs from ordinary weaving in that the filling thread, instead of being shot back and forth continuously with a shuttle through a shed formed by the heddles (see WEAVING ) , is worked in and out a few stitches at a time with a thread held in the hand. Tapestry weaving is the simplest and appears to have been the earliest form of weaving. The Saracens introduced it into Europe, and for a long time the fabric was called Sarrazinos.
Toward the end of the twelfth century tapes try weaving was begun in Flanders and Artois, and here it was continued for many centuries. The productions of Arras, in particular, became so famous, both for quality and numbers, that the name of the town was given to the fabric.
Tapestries were, during the Middle Ages, pro duced chiefly for State and ecclesiastical pur poses and for the decoration of royal palaces. They were used as curtains, wall-coverings, and less frequently as coverings for tables, beds, and floors. The scenes portrayed on them were visu ally based on Scriptural stories or historical events. The famous Bayeux tapestry (q.v.), which, by the way, is not true tapestry at all, but embroidery, was contemporaneously executed to record the events connected with the conquest of England by William of Normandy.
The Saracenic tapestries were ornamented. with flowers and geometric figures only, but the Flemish people sought. to enrich them with his toric subjects. So important did this art become that the most eminent masters in painting, from Raphael downward, bestowed some of their great est efforts upon cartoons to serve as copies for the tapestry-workers. After its introduction into France by Henry IV. at the beginning of the seventeenth century, the art of making tapestry does not appear to have made much progress until the middle of that century. when a small establishment founded by the brothers Canaye on the premises formerly occupied by Jean Gobe lin, a Parisian dyer of wool, was commenced. It was afterwards carried on by a Dutchman named Gluck and his assistants with such success that it was suggested by Colbert. the minister of Louis NW., that it should be taken under the King's patronage; in consequence of which the establishment was bought, and constituted a royal manufactory in 1667, under the manage ment of M. Lebrun, who was the first director. A royal carpet manufactory had been previously established in 1615; this was called La Savonne rie, from the previous use of the buildings for the manufacture of soap. The Savonnerie and
the Gobelin factories were both carried on with great spirit by successive sovereigns. They were formed into one establishment in 1826, when the works of the Savonnerie were removed to the Gobelins. During the seventeenth century two other royal factories were established, one at Beauvais and one at Aubusson, and these factories are still maintained by the State. In 1619, during the reign of James I., tapestry looms were set up at Mortlake, England, and during the following reign were under the direc tion of the painter Francis Crane. Charles I. introduced skilled weavers from Belgimn. This factory was closed in 1703. In 1872 another royal factory was established in England, this time at Windsor, but it was closed in 1888.
Two kinds of looms are used in making tapes try: The high-warp vertical looms (haute lisse) and the low-warp horizontal looms (basse lisse). The former is the kind upon which the finest tapestries are woven and is used exclu sively in the Gobelins. In the high-warp loom two uprights of wood or iron support two movable cylinders (ealsouples), one at each end, on which the warp threads are stretched at will. The weaver works at the back of the loom, where the design is sketched on the warp threads. He places the cartoon behind him, using it to get the design and to match his colors. Occasionally he steps around to the front to get the effect on the right side. The threads are woven in and out like basketwork, a little patch of color at a time, the different colors being wound on dif ferent spindles. Each distance must be traversed twice, as only alternate threads are cov ered on the right side. Thus tapestry is a double cloth. When the thread has been woven only one way it is called a half-pass; when it is turned and woven hack the other way, completing the covering of the warp, it is called a woof. When the weaver has finished using a given color he does not break the thread, hut leaves the spindle hanging at the back till he shall require the same color again. It will readily be seen that in the vertical lines of a design, in weaving the colors, open slits will be left which must be afterwards sewed together. For this reason many of the Oriental tapestries have no lines running in the direction of the warp, but only zigzags. On the low-warp looms the threads are moved by peddles. connected with treadles, leav ing both hands free for the work. Hence the work can be done more rapidly; but it is not as satisfactory, since the workman can see it but imperfectly till it is completed.
Most tapestries are made of wool on cotton warp. Silk and gold and Bilrer threads are also used to heighten the effect. The dyeing of the multitudes of tints required in this work is in itself an art requiring no little skill. Consult: Muntz, Short of Tapestry, trans. by Davis (London, 1S85) ; also Cole, Tapestry (bald >Embroidery (ib. ISM).