Tapestry

The introduction of tapestry properly so called dates from the 12th century, when it began to rival the more ancient embroidered stuffs called Sarrazin ois carpets. Tapestry is woven on looms, i. e. on a warp rolled round two cylinders, and stretched out between them either vertically or horizontally, for the insertion of the woof between and among the threads. When woven on a vertical warp, it is called high-warp ( haute-li e ); when horizontal, low-warp ( ba e-li e ). The former produces, for many reasons, incomparably the finest work, and is the method adopted for the Gobelins and Savonnerie tapestries. The progre of the art has followed, especially in Flanders, that of painting, from which its models are derived. It has become le popular than it was during the present century, from the general disuse of hangings in the decoration of houses. Perhaps the best condensed account of this extensive subject is the work of M. Alfred de Champeaux, translated for the South Kensington Museum. (See Bayeux Tapestry.)