The Press

History of Tapestry.

The Art Was Known to the Ancient Greeks and Egyptians.

Flemish artists are believed to have been the first to make tapestry for use as a covering for walls. The art itself is certainly very ancient, many of the hangings used in Egypt and Greece being considered true tapestry.

Its subsequent history is obscure, but it evidently maintained a lingering existence in the east until the Saracens revived it and brought it to Europe.

Tapestry was used by the Saracens only as drapery or curtains for the courts of their houses. Embroidery appears to have served for this purpose in northern Europe until after the twelfth century, and much of the work of this period was really embroidery, such as the incorrectly named Bayeux tapestry. It was in the fourteenth century that tapestry began to be largely made in Flanders, where the weaving industry became very important. At that time twenty-seven streets were occupied by the weavers of Ghent. In 1382 there were 50,000 weavers in Louvain and more still at Ypres.

Very few samples of fourteenth century tapestry remain, but those that have come down to the present day closely resemble contemporary wall painting. During the latter part of the fifteenth century the golden age of tapestry existed, especially in Bruges and Arras. The Flemish tapestries of that time are models of textile art. The color is rich, the decorative effect strong, the drawing and composition graceful, and the whole arrangement shows consummate skill in endeavoring to meet the exigencies of the loom and at the same time the aesthetic requirements of wall decoration.

--Argonaut.