Custom tapestries woven today are usually hand woven tapestries produced by skilled weavers who have to spend many years in apprentice training to acquire the skill needed to produce these fine works of art. Looms used today are traditionally the haut lessee looms (low warp) allowing the weaver to sit comfortably before a wall tapestry as he/she weaves the weft threads (the threads creating the picture) across the warp threads (the vertical or stabilizing threads). Custom woven tapestries and hand woven tapestries woven today are very similar to the way hand woven tapestries have been woven for over 800 years - one thread at a time, painstakingly and carefully created by skilled weavers. Depending on the size and detail in the tapestry wall hanging, a large tapestry, if it is custom, can take anywhere from 3-9 months to weave.
Each wall hanging tapestry that is custom hand woven undergoes the same process in creating the hand woven tapestry art work, cartoon, dyed specific color threads, setting up of the loom and finally the weaving.
Different weavers creating hand woven tapestries and custom tapestries specialize in different aspects of the tapestry wall hangings. Some weavers specialize in greenery, flowers and landscapes, while others specialize in faces and bodies. To become skilled in fine detail (such as faces) a weaver can spend 7 years or more refining his/her skill in weaving before they try their hand in weaving bodies and faces for custom tapestries or hand woven tapestries.
Custom tapestries today are hand woven in 100% wool or wool/silk combination. Silk thread is usually intertwined with wool thread and is used to create highlights or shimmer where it is needed in a tapestry wall hanging (such as sunlight on trees or sparkle in water).
Custom tapestries are designed to a persons specification for size, color and design. The wall tapestry remains the exclusive property of the individual or company and should not be reproduced for market. These are usually
large tapestries to fit a specific space or niche or a favorite scene created for an individual.
While hand woven tapestries and custom tapestries are woven new today, because they are woven with 100% wool content, they have a softness, depth and slight antique feel to them.
There are many different grades of custom tapestries and hand woven tapestries in the market today, but the best are woven under the discerning and expert eye of French weavers, woven in the orient where fine silk and carpet weaving has been a tradition for over 800 years.
In comparison to antique tapestries,
custom tapestries or hand woven tapestries are very affordable.
Antique tapestries, if you can find one in good shape, can run upwards of
$30,000 or more depending on when, where it was woven, the detail and how much repair is required. Most of the finest examples of antique tapestries reside in museums and art galleries throughout the world. The best antique collections of hand woven tapestries are found in the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Arts in New York, The Art Gallery in Washington, The Louvre in Paris, The Cluny in Paris, The Vatican Rome and the Uffizi Gallery in Florence to name just a few. Most antique tapestries that reach the market place today are either the lower quality of tapestries produced or are in such a poor state of disrepair they have lost their life and their value.
From time to time, Sothebys or Christies auction house acquires a collection of antique tapestries from a wealthy estate, and are quickly snapped up by museums and dealers for astronomical prices.
Copyright Heirloom European Tapestries, February 2011
