No.59

Unicorn in Captivity

A 15th Century Tapestry

Tapestry is a form of textile art, woven on a vertical loom. It is composed of two sets of interlaced threads, those running parallel to the length (called the warp) and those parallel to the width (called the weft); the warp threads are set up under tension on a loom, and the weft thread is passed back and forth across part or all of the warps. 

Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike cloth weaving where both the warp and the weft threads may be visible. In tapestry weaving, weft yarns are typically discontinuous; the artisan interlaces each coloured weft back and forth in its own small pattern area. It is a plain weft-faced weave having weft threads of different colours worked over portions of the warp to form the design.

Most weavers use a naturally based warp thread such as linen or cotton. The weft threads are usually wool or cotton, but may include silk, gold, silver, or other alternatives.

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The Farm Cart

by Myles Birket Foster 1825-99

The name of this English watercolour artist will be unfamiliar to most people. Yet for many years he was highly regarded and around 400 of his paintings were exhibited at the Royal Academy. Also known as an illustrator, he worked for a time for Punch magazine and the Illustrated London News.

Later he was criticised for his idealised pictures of country life. He was one of a number of artists whose works were used by Cadbury to decorate their boxes of chocolates.

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