Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-11-13
ABSOLUTELY PURE

ed upon a frame mounted upon rollers
which revolve at the viii Of the operator
The weavers bend over their work, sway
ing back and forth. az they throw the
shuttlcs, singing quaint songs In low
soft voices. The wOrkmen are mostly
French. and form a little colony I'm the
village Of williamsburg. The master
workman, also o Frcnchman, was form
erly M the head Of the windsor works.
established in England, under the pat
ronage OF the Queen. some years ago.
and finally abandoned.
Although only n FEW looms were set up
at first in the old house 40 Williams
bridge. there are now twenty The woods
used are Of the most artistic and ex-
quisite tints. The dyes are mixed with
water taken from the Bronx river. which
has been found 10 possess the same pro-
perties as the Bievre. from which the
Gobciin dyes. so superior 90 all others.
are made. and over whose banks the
government tapestry works Of France are
situated. The classical writer's I'm their
accounts Of ancieRt tapestries mention
repeatedly the color purple. which iu
our day has dogcnerated into n mixture
Of red and blue. Ovid. speaking of MIN
erva and Arachne at the loom. says: "lH
their weaving they employ the purple or
Tyre prepared I'm brazen vessels" This
Tyran purple. or royal purple, was O.
deep-red blood color, obtained from
Mediterranean species of mOliuscOus ami
NAL, or sheil-nsh. called purple. Each
little animal yielded only "a small drop Of
the secretion; large numbers consequently
had TO be used I'm order TO obtain enough
10 dye a small amount of wool; hence
the dye was excessively costly and sigh-
ly priced. and thus came 10 be the symbol
Of imperial power.
The subjects for tapestry should always
be decorative Neurological subjects and
stories derived from antiquity character
lied the Greek period and were popular
with the Romans. although they. MunZ
tells us. looked upon tapestry ass form
of painting. and through its medium por-
trayed scenes of all kinds as freely as DOB
q fresc0. Battle and Biblical scenes. fesu-
val and banquet. were ON used by them
i'm a broadly decorative spirit Turning 10
ovid again, we read that branches OF
ivy wreathed with flowers encirclc the
canvas in a flowing border which. says
MuutZ. is the first appearance OF those
wreaths which in the fifteenth century
were considered the necessary framework
of every ornamental hanging These de-
lightful garlands Of flowers degenerated
later into borders Of pumpkins, turnips,
and onions. intermiXed with allegorical
figures. Prior 10 the Greek period, con
ventiOnalized animals I'm picturesque con-
fusion followed by the same treatment In
flowers and shrubbery, characterized the
Eastern fabrics.
The art of tapestry languished during
the Dark Ages. hut with the Renaissance
IL took part in the redwakening, and at
the beginning Of the fourteenth century
we find the manufacture of it centered in
Northern France and Flanders The skill
Of their wor1men gave Arras and Brussels
the supremacy. Neither Germany nor
England has had workshops comparable
with those Of France and Flanders. Du-
ring the fifteenth century swarms OF
French and Flemish tapestry de-
seconded into Italy, setting up their looms
in the different cities. and there the art
attained it's highest position. outside Of
Flanders. I'm the sixteenth century Before
the end Of the eighteenth century, the
Flemish workshops had n downfall from
which they have never risen, and it was
left for France 20 preserve the art and
pass 70 on 10 ms. The best artists have fur
nshed the cartoons for tapestry I'm all
ages. and we find among them such names
as Jan de Bruges Van Eych. Memling.
Raphael, Giulio Romani. Andrea Manteg-
ma Lebrun. Lefebvre, Boucher, Vatican,
and many others.
IL Is interesting 10 note that this beaut-
ful old art of tapestry-weaying has taken
root on our soil az the same moment that
n strong decorative movement has been
initiated among ms. The future Of deco
ratiye art in this country is as has been
said I'm the hands Of the artists. and this
branch Of IL is largely dependent upon
them for its success. OF whom does IL
remain 10 be said. as Of Rubens that "his
feeling for decoration was so strong that
his pictures We're TRANSPORTED IN passing
from the canvas to the warp?