Cartoons and Kingdoms: Mortlake’s Tapestry Tales
Between the 8th and 14th centuries, tapestries were highly fashionable, and because they were expensive, much more so than paintings, they were a way of showing off one’s wealth and taste. In some cases, what they depicted could be a subtle form of propaganda. Tapestries were frequently created as sets covering the walls of huge rooms. Unlike paintings, they were flexible and could be rolled up and transported, something of practical use when it was usual for the nobility to travel to and spend time at their other residences. Once in situ, the tapestries had a further function; in those pre-central heating days, they preserved warmth in the big draughty rooms of great houses, and the stories they depicted also provided entertainment and a refined talking point for guests.
Rulers, including the Medicis and Peter the Great, had their own tapestry factories. James 1 and his son Charles, Prince of Wales, both tapestry enthusiasts, encouraged the Prince’s secretary, Sir Francis Crane, to purchase, set up, and run the Mortlake Tapestry Works in 1619. The factory went on to produce some of the best tapestries in Europe.
The Miraculous Draught of the Fishes, after Raphael, Mortlake, 1636 – 37, London. Photo Credit: Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Mortlake was a good site as its proximity to the river Thames facilitated the transport of goods and materials by boat, and the damp river atmosphere relaxed the tension of the yarn used for weaving. The main building, The Lower Dutch House, formed the weavers’ residence above, ‘the great working room’, which contained 12 looms and another room with six looms. At the very top was a long gallery...
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Written by Patricia Cleveland-Peck
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Further information:
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Image Credits:
Lead: Expulsion of Hagar, and Abraham. Tapestry ca. 1657-1665 (made). Philip Hollenberche. Woven at Mortlake. Photo Credit: V&A Museum, London.