The combination of the decorative arts with literature and creative writing has led to many classical stories and novels themed around a painting or artefact. Others have used tapestry as metaphor to imply a weaving of a tale, and using tapestry to theme a story has strengthened the power that tapestry has of telling a legend or story through a magnificent tableau. When we think of what it is about tapestry that inspires those to write and use the craft in literature there is the weaving element of words being spun together to form a tale. There may of course be a story hidden within the stitches of a tapestry just waiting to be told or imagined and recreated. Just as the tapestry is created by fine stitchery so stories are developed through connecting ideas.

Stories Without End In The Walls

The Tapestry House was first written by Mrs Molesworth in 1879 and is centred around a small girl who lives in a house where one of the rooms is covered in tapestry. Indeed her maid says that,” There are stories without end in the walls of the tapestry room”. Viewing the tapestry in the moonlight sees it draped in natural beauty and with creatures coming to life. Imagine a peacock walking out of a tapestry! A magical tale is woven, firing the imagination of those who gaze at a tapestry and wonder what the picture really means.

Silk Tapestry by Patrick Atagan tells the story of an old woman, a boy and a wild spirit who combine to change the world around them in this charming Chinese folk tale. The completion of a magical tapestry is a core element to the story and enhances the mystique around antique and faded tapestries and the tale woven into the fabric.

Inspired by Tapestry

Tapestry and famous paintings have been known to inspire writers to create novels from the view they perceive. One of the more well known novels relating to tapestry is the Lady and the Unicorn by Tracey Chevalier which was inspired by the famous panels depicting the six senses and now displayed in the Cluny Museum. Each panel features the Lady and a Unicorn and is themed around a sense such as sight or hearing. The story unfolds as a Paris Nobleman commissions a set of six tapestries to impress and the young weaver , wanting a change from creating battle scenes, designs the Unicorn panels, all depicting an aspect of the six senses. Into the story is woven loves, friendships and rivalry, as well as historical research concerning the lives of dyers and weavers at the time. It is, in effect a tapestry about a tapestry.

Using a different yet powerful perspective, Marjory Agosin in her book, Tapestries of Hope, Threads of Love 1974-1994 tells the stories of countless women living in poverty and hardship in Chile under the Pinochet regime. In one of the most spectacular protests the omen created arpilleras or patchwork tapestries of everyday life, embroidering their sorrow into the fabric as they told the story of their disappeared relatives. Smuggled out of Chile these tapestries expressed the fruitless searches to the world. In a way that imparted great emotion and feeling, these stories told through tapestry recounted a very different type of narrative in a powerful and striking manner.

Tapestry as Metaphor

Tapestry implies a weaving and creation of a picture or pieces coming together to form a wider perspective. Tapestry has been used in the title of a number of crime novels and thrillers to imply a mysterious aspect. In fantasy novels tapestry is evident in titles such as the Fionavar Trilogy by Guy Gavriel Kay, perhaps implying a mysterious weaving together of ideas. Like tapestry panels such as the classical Unicorn series, a trilogy also combines a series of novels into a bigger story than can be contained in one picture or book.

Combining the Creative Arts

Writing and literature express ideas and creative imaginations. In early medieval times before the development of literacy and mass produced books tapestry was used to tell a story to the masses, such as the Bayeux Tapestries. That tapestry finds itself in literature and in storytelling is not unusual but a powerful combination of the creative arts that is more readily accessible in the age of information. Tapestry will continue to have a classical and timeless appeal and will still be an inspiration to those who wish to be creative in thought and action.

 

By: Angela Dawson-Field

ituated in the Limousin region of France on the banks of the River Creuse, the Aubusson Tapestry Works are some of the best of their kind in the world. The factory originated in the fourteenth century probably through Flemish weavers developing the craft both at Aubusson and nearby Felletin.

Local Production

The distance between the Flemish and Parisian Tapestry Works and the craftsmen at Aubusson meant that production was limited to clients in the local area. Tapestries produced here tended to feature a lot of verdure or greenery, mythological and religious subjects and were exquisitely detailed in a flat weave technique. Producing local tapestry meant they were often used in practical house furnishings and could be manufactured relatively cheaply, and these were coarser in nature.

The weavers began to seek new development opportunities and became travelling salesmen, offering wares and bringing in lucrative commissions for the factory. Work became more sophisticated and detailed and was carried out in the family workrooms. Designs were taken from engravings and sometimes adapted on to paper and transposed to the loom. Colours were usually selected by the craftsman, and in this way the factory flourished with the advances in expanding commerce.

Developing Luxurious Tapestries

During the sixteenth century wars and religious conflict had a negative impact on the Aubusson Factory and business slowed. The area was predominately Calvinist and therefore many families who might have purchased the work left the country. When Henry IV came to the throne his priority was to recover the large amount of debt incurred through war and conflict. This included a limit on imports to France and as this prevented Flemish tapestries from entering the country, Aubusson saw the opportunity to develop their product and increase their former prosperity. Customs and excise duties were lifted on Aubusson tapestries when entering Paris which enabled the workers of Limousin to compete with the Paris workshops. The elaborate verdure designs continued with country scenes and very typically large flowered or large leaved plants such as poppies or tobacco plants. Flowing rivers, hunting scenes, foxes, falcons retained their popularity with many of the nobility. Some religious subjects were also in demand as the factory flourished. Work such as three panels depicting the Life of St Saturnin was designed for the church of Saint Mainboeuf in Angers. Mythological subjects were not as popular during the sixteenth century, however have appeared in Aubusson pieces as popular stories. Achilles and Coriolanus were themes appearing frequently in some of the designs.

A limitation to the Aubusson work was the lack of a painter and dyer, and sometimes designs were known to have been copied from the Gobelins factory. The intention to plagiarise was not intended, more a need to diversify and offer a wide selection of designs.

The Growth of Local Talent

In 1665 the Aubusson Works was finally granted an official charter effectively giving them royal status. The Aubusson mark was abbreviated to MRD meaning Manufacture Royal Daubusson and was woven into each tapestry. The need for a competent painter persisted and combined with the political move concerning the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes led to instability at the factory. Most families in the area were Calvinist and chose to migrate.

With recognition that the Aubusson Factory was at risk of closing, a painter was finally appointed and following a number of successive appointments eventually led to a drawing school being established at Aubusson to grow talent locally. It is thought that the 1750’s were amongst the finest period at Aubusson as new energy and ideas led to elaborate pastoral designs and landscapes with animals. Finely woven they continued to delight and grace many wealthy homes and palaces. Figurative panels such as the Story of Don Quixote or the well known verdures the Dessins de Flandres are among the most prolific of the designs to emerge from this increasingly vibrant and specialist environment. The Chinese Scenes were another renowned Aubusson production, reflecting the increasing curiosity and interest in oriental matters at the Royal Court and a potential for diverse ideas in the decorative arts field.

The French Revolution saw a number of tapestry factories close as the desire for elaborate design declined. Once the instability was over the workers sought to redevelop and grow the expertise at Aubusson. This included a National School of Decorative Arts being established in the area to ensure new ideas and creative thought was continuing to be developed. A factory continues today in the town of Aubusson where local tradition and tapestry craft work continues.

 

By: Angela Dawson-Field