This tapestry is a "Point d'Halluin" weave tapestry from the Flanders region area of France (Northern Western area up against the border of Belgium).  The subject of the tapestry is luxuriant leaves of aristoloches (type of plant) with birds,  the pattern number 3944 Verdure de Grammont. This tapestry is a reproduction from the 16 century.  Dimensions are 130 cm x 165 cm (51" x 65").  This tapestry has a registration number 51231 and is hand finished.  There are 8 hanging bars across the top of the tapestry.  Colors in the photos are true colors; they are lush, bright and vibrant.  There is no fading of the colors.  The tapestry is clean and has been well care for.  My asking price is about half of a new one.

The history of tapestries goes back many centuries. Since antiquity, the technique of tapestries was known in the Orient. Looms were made of few pieces of wood, but man endeavored to mingle warps thread with colored weft threads to form a design. In the Middle-Age (5th to 15th century), tradesmen and crusaders introduced tapestries in Europe. The weaving of the tapestries was done with a limited range of natural colors. The craft expanded considerably in the large cities where the workshops were built : in Paris, Flandres, Arras (origin of the word Arazzi, Italian word for tapestry), Tournai, Bruges and Brussels. Tapestries were at that time a useful item. Beyond the decorative aspect, they had the primary purpose to insulate the large rooms of castles, thanks to the wool and silk they were made of. The Renaissance (XVth and XVI th century) amplifies the rise of the tapestries.  At that time, many motifs from painters were turned into tapestries. The Flemish workshops copied the cartons (original drawings) of famous painters. In order to respect the colors of the paintings, the weavers used very fine threads and an increasingly full range of colors.  In XVIIth century large manufactures were developed : Gobelins, Beauvais, Aubusson and Felletin, the work was still manual. These manufactures were founded directly or indirectly by the kings who bought most of the production.  The mechanization of weaving started in 1733, when the English John Kay imagined a foot-operated loom which projected the shuttle from one edge of the warp to the other. It is with the invention of Joseph Jacquard (1752-1834) that looms with punch-cards appeared, thus allowing the realization of very complex weaves. Tapestries, real work of art, became a real symbol of wealth, and decorated large upper-class residences.

I use FedEx ground/home delivery as it is usually the least expensive. FedEx cannot ship to a PO Box. Please provide a street address.