Handwoven Vs. Jacquard Tapestries

Small imperfections are a characteristic of handwoven tapestries.

There are two ways that tapestries are made. Some are handwoven on a loom, while others are machine-woven using similar methods to those invented by Jacquard. Both methods produce excellent tapestries, but there are ways to tell the two apart as a bargaining chip when you are purchasing your own. As a general rule, a Jacquard tapestry should be drastically cheaper than a handwoven tapestry.

Handwoven Tapestry

A handwoven tapestry is made on one of two special warps. A high warp is used for large and oversize tapestries. This warp aligns the vertical threads and allows the weaver to insert their bobbins through the desired threads for their particular effect. After the entire row is woven, the warp sends it down to the bottom by the weaver’s feet where it is tightly positioned against the previous row. The low warp is used for smaller tapestries and uses a horizontal technique instead of vertical.

How to Tell if a Tapestry is Handwoven

Handwoven tapestries can be detected with some key observations. First, most handwoven tapestries are made with silk or silk-wool thread. Anything else, is most likely Jacquard woven. Next, when you look at the back of the tapestry, you’ll notice small loose threads throughout. These threads were the locations where colors where switched out and woven together on the warp. Look for small errors in a handwoven tapestry, especially the larger ones, as errors are not noticed by the weaver until the end. Finally, handwoven tapestries will always be much more expensive.

Jacquard Tapestry

The Jacquard tapestry technique was invented in the early 1800’s using a machine to do what a hand-weaver does, but in less time. Jacquard weaving has been modernized and use by most tapestry artists to obtain a more precise tapestry. Modern Jacquard machines are computer programed and can produce a tapestry in days instead of months.

How to Tell if It's a Jacquard Tapestry

The fabrics used for Jacquard tapestries are usually either cotton or cotton blend threads. This is the most obvious way to tell it’s a Jacquard. Additionally, there won’t be any loose strings on the back of the tapestry, because the machines do not need to tie off each thread in the row. There will be no errors in the tapestry and the weaving will be very even. Additionally, Jacquard tapestries will be drastically less expensive.

References

• Tapestry Tapestries: A History of Tapestries
• Mille Fleurs Tapestries: Hand Woven Tapestries