An age-old yarn

Woven tapestry art has been one of the most effective forms of literary expression through the centuries. Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad were related to the ancient Greeks through tapestries. Even stories from the Old and New Testament have been rendered in wool and silk. But then there was a 1,000 year gap in the history of tapestry art. Towards the early 13th and 14th century, Gothic art revived tapestry. The themes were mostly religious mysticism and intense spirituality. A couple of centuries down the lane, Renaissance tapestry evolved on completely opposite lines. Raphael and his Renaissance School of Ancient Roman Art, gave rise to a new style in the early 16th century. This was imbued with the spirit of that age. The work had become more intellectual and abstract. During the middle ages and through the 100 Year War, Paris was the tapestry capital of the Western world. During that war, many tapestries were lost or burned for their precious metal content. Most surviving pieces are from the 16th to 19th century woven using materials of that time — Picardy wool, Italian silk, and gold and silver threads imported from Cyprus.