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/ THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI ---- French tapestry of the late 15th Century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lillian Stokes Gillespie Collection. Continued from page 10 Wool is the most frequently used fiber, though details are often done with silk or even gold or silver -- and some tapestries have been produced entirely in silk. Large pictorial tapestries were generally made by a team of weavers, the most skillful of whom specialized in faces. They worked from a full size design, or cartoon, made by a professional designer, which was traced in out- line on the warp or vertical threads. Tapestries used as wall hangings found a wide accept- ance in mediaeval Europe -- they gave warmth and color to the stark stone walls of castles and. other interiors, and they were a type of furnishing easily movable from one location to another. Crusades Inspired Europeans The earliest wool tapestries in Western Europe date from the 12th and 13th centuries -- when the Crusades had made Europeans familiar with the tapestries of the East. The first professional tapestry workshop in Paris was established about 1263. The earliest surviving product of that workshop is a group of large tapestries showing scenes from the Apocalypse, now in the Museum of Tapes- tries in Angers, France. Others from the same period in- clude ope called "Nine Heroes," now in. The Cloisters in New York, and the "Presentation of Christ in the Temple," which is in Brussels. All of these reflect the style of the Franco-Flemish painting and book illumination of the late 14th Century -- a composition in tiers and back- grounds covered with initials or flowers. ' "Arras" Means Tapestry Flourishing tapestry workshops often ceased abruptly -- as did tapestry weaving in Paris, in 1415, after the de- wishes for health and happiness, peace and good will, to all. B. L. WANAMAKER GENERAL STORE SEAGRAVE St. Nick is coming to help us thank all our patrons, friends, «you! DAVID and HELEN'S BEAUTY SALON feat of the French by the English at Agincourt. But the art would then be re-established elsewhere, in another town -- as it was after 1415, in Arras, under the patronage of the dukes of Burgundy. At Arras, the weavers won such a reputation that the name of the town became a synonym for tapestry itself. The mid-15th Century was a great period in tapestry weaving, with important workshops like that at Tournai. France, which produced famous tapestries such as the "Story df Troy," a series of 11 large hangings, which were reproduced by order for several houses of royalty. The very composition of these tapestries shows they were meant primarily for wall hangings -- the artists deliber- ately avoided perspective, keeping the overall proportions to a single scale. Raphael Changed Technique With the Renaissance, however, the technique changed completely, when the great painter Raphael designed tap- estries in the manner of Renaissance fresco painting, im- posing the painter's laws on the woven designs. Raphael's: designs were much admired and repeatedly re-woven dur- ing the 16th and 17th centuries, most often at the great workshops in Brussels and other Flemish cities. Other workshops were in Italy and France, later in Germany, Denmark, and Sweden, and finally in England. The weaving of tapestries continued to be a flourishing ihdustry throughout the 17th Century. with new designs by the great painter Rubens, for the Flemish workshops. A new industry was established in France, under Henry IV, and in 1662 the royal factory of the Gobelins was formed -- one of the most famous names in tapestry. During the 18th Century, European taste moved towards a lighter,and more delicate style of decoration. Tapestries began to lose favor, and the art reached a low point in the 19th Century. An exception was a revival in the 1880's by William Morris in England, who returned to mediaeval inspiration in tapestry design, just as the "pre-Raphael- ite" painters and poets did in art and poetry. Tapestry in Today's World The revival of interest in our own time is partially at- tributable to a reaction against poor quality in mass- produced merchandise and synthetic fabrics. Another fac- tor is that modern painting of the abstract school trans- lates well into tapestry. And again -- today's architecture is stark and severe, and in need of color, just as were mediaeval castles. Hence decorative wall hangings are again serving a true function, even if they are no longer needed to keep out the cold. Today we have not only the professional weavers in tra- ditional workshops, but also the small-scale production of the artist-weaver. Even more notable, perhaps, is the prominence of the individual craftsman, most often a craftswoman, who expresses herself in the related tech- niques of needlepoint and crewel embroidery. Many of today's experts in needlecrafts are members of the Embroiderers' Guild of America, an educational, non- profit organization whose purpose is to maintain high standards of design, color, and workmanship in all kinds of embroidery and canvas work. Through its New York office, the Guild carries on a variety of activities, includ- ing a quarterly publication, a reference library, and occa- sional contests. The modern illustrations we show are courtesy of the Embroiderers' Guild, as they are among the winning de- signs in a Christmas Card competition held by the Guild. They are interesting modern interpretations of the tapes- try themes of the past. UNICORN TAPESTRY Many tapestries of the 15th and 16th centuries portrayed secular themes as well as religious ones. Court and hunt- ing scenes were popular, as in the famous "Hunt of the Unicorn," now in The Cloisters, New York. all the of A bounty, } Fd blessings 5 of Christmas by be yours. BRUTON'S DRUG STORE « -- | PEACE... AT CHRISTMAS That all may share peace, good will is our holiday wish. COMMUNITY NURSING HOME JREETINGS Wishing you a holiday season gleaming with goodness. Mey the joy ~) ~ of His / message : J fill your heart . with true peace. L.- B. NIXON BURNER SALES and SERVICE Se Ine a Lok pL Beth £ UG A A Sey om el oe Xo: oo ar § SETI ES SE J; 2. 4 ALY fs a a. » / Bs