Tapestry – The living art.

Tapestry is not only an art but a culture, pride, and tradition. It’s a mixture of compassion, concentration, hardwork and technique of weavers which gives a result in form of beautiful handlooms. Talking about this art very fewer people know about the facts behind its beauty. Let’s take you across the description in brief.

What is the tapestry?

It is a form of art woven by hand on the loom. The weft-faced weaving in which all the wrap threads are arranged to form a picturesque scene. Here the artisans interlace each colored weft back and forth on its own small pattern area. Most weaver’s used a natural wrap thread such as wool linen or cotton but may also include silk, gold, silver or other alternatives which increases the price of it. Hence the art of tapestry includes several steps.

1. Firstly a rough design of the final product is made of plastic with colors so that weaver can analyze the designs while weaving.

2. After that colorful threads are made with the appropriate dyes.

3. Initially, weavers were using natural dyes made of flowers extract and insect nector but now chemical dyes are cherished in industries.

4. Moreover, threads are then arranged on the loom which can be vertical or horizontal.

5. The weaver sits behind the loom and weaves across the threads arranged on the loom with the help of special needles which highly demand concentration.

Even today after-developed technology tapestry demand several years to give finished product as because the handwork plays a major role in it.

History:-

Tapestry is an art with long history. It had been begun from Hellenistic times 3rd century BC and was flourished in Europe in the 14th century. By the end of 16th-century Feanders, the towns of Oudenaarde, Brussels, Geraardsbergen, and Enghien had become the centers of European tapestry production. In France, at the time of Louis XIV (seventeenth century) the art was at the peak where the weavers started giving their full in designing.

Types of the tapestry:-

There are many types which are available in the market such as Bohemian, Mandala, Banky etc which can be used as wall decor, bedding,  curtains and as various other house decors.

1. Mandala wave tapestry:- It is a very elegant design. A geometric figure in it represents the universe in Hinduism and Buddhist symbolism.

2. Star mandala tapestry:- It is considered as one of the best design which is a combination of stars with mandala design.

3. Elephant wall tapestry:- This design includes the nature and wildlife. Elephants are majorly shown in it.

4. Sun and moon tapestry:- This design mainly focuses on the beauty of galaxies such as planets, stars, and moon.

5. Spiritual tapestry:- It is the most common one where religious symbols and pictures of God and goddesses are used in form of design which is highly appreciated by different religions.

These are available on various e-commerce websites.

Tapestry in India:-

It was displayed at Victoria and Albert Museum in London at the time of exhibition festival in 2015. Divia Patel, co-curator of the exhibition said that our aim was to introduce the raw materials and process of making cloth by hand and India is the better place to highlight.

The Fabric of india was the first exhibition to explore indian textile and form the centerpieces of festival 2015.

For the art of tapestry, a weaver should be in love with drawing have a high imagination, patience, and good creativity. Tapestry is the celebration of hard work and scripted work of weavers.