The History of Tapestries
Since the 12th century, tapestries have adorned the walls of castles, cottages, and homes all around the world and have been around even longer than that. At Charlotte Home Furnishings, we specialize in importing unique and beautiful hanging tapestries and tapestry art to bring all of that historical value into the comfort of your own home. If you are someone looking for elegant home decor to bring culture into your home, there is no better way to do just that than to hang a tapestry in your home. If you are curious about learning more regarding the history of tapestries, here is a quick rundown to give you the information you are looking for! Check out our store to find the perfect tapestry for your home.
What Are Tapestries?
First things first, we have to determine exactly what a tapestry is. Tapestries are textile products — meaning they are sewn together by hand with different color fibers to create an image that is both beautiful and representative of something more. They are one of the most time-consuming craft practices from ancient times and have actually contributed to the development of different dyes. These ancient crafts have dozens of styles that have been created over the years and are the perfect way to bring a sense of history and curiosity into your home.
Crude Beginnings
While before the 12th century, tapestries were utilized by the Egyptians and other ancient kingdoms to bury the dead as well as Rome and Greece to decorate walls, the tapestry really took off around 1100 AD. While this is considered the beginnings of the tapestry we all picture, these are rough representations of the modern tapestry. They displayed images, but these images were primitive, lacked proportion, and lacked detail. It was not until the 14th, 15th, and 16th century that tapestry art and hanging tapestries really took off.
The Renaissance
During the 14th century, Paris became the main hub of tapestry production in Europe and after the 100 years war, these craftsmen settled in Arras. Through the 15th and 16th centuries, France remained the epicenter of tapestry creation, but craftsmen became much more skilled at their work and masterpieces began to emerge after some investments from royalty and the encouragement of tapestry production by the king of France. This is the true budding-period of tapestry creation and these designs are what we think of when we think of medieval tapestries.
An Explosion of Creation
Once the groundwork had been laid for the art of tapestry creation, tapestry craftsmen became highly valued and the skill of tapestry making took off. From the 17th century to the 18th century, thousands of tapestry artists were hired by royalty to create unique and beautiful pieces of art for display in their homes. This sealed the popularity of tapestry in European culture and encouraged the growth and development of this unique and beautiful practice.
Today, tapestries are still some of the most elegant and beautiful works of art to display in your home. At Charlotte Home Furnishings, our home decor collection is filled with unique and beautiful hanging tapestries that bring curiosity and style into any room. Whether you are looking for a unique piece of home decor for your living room or a special wall hanging for your dining room, we have a huge selection of hanging tapestries, throw tapestries, and even tapestry cushions for you to choose from. As a home decor importer, we are committed to providing you with some of the finest products in the world! Shop our collection of tapestries today to find the perfect home decor for any room.