To accompany the Tom Phillips exhibition WOVEN MUSIC at Galeria Tapeçarias de Portalegre

The art of tapestry dates from time immemorial as has been confirmed through both documentary and physical evidence. From the time that different yarns were stretched and arranged side by side and with them or through them threads were interlaced, the principles of weaving were invented and the first examples of tapestry produced.

Since that time human genius has never stopped developing treatments and combinations of materials and inventing new methods and mechanisms to obtain surprising effects and diverse richly coloured textures.

Portalegre Tapestry is an example of this creative spirit, not only through the invention of the stitch (by Manuel do Carmo Peixeiro) by which the tapestries are woven but also in the techniques by which they are made.

Portalegre Tapestry represents an innovatory method in relation to traditional tapestry. The simple interlacing of the warp threads with the weft alternating even and uneven threads as in the original technique is substituted in the Portalegre method by an original stitch. This consists of completely covering the warp thread by the decorative weft; thus from the very first stitch, stitch by stitch, areas of colour are designed with precise outlines or subtle passages of delicate tonal values which enchant by their soft, sensual, velvety touch. As this tapestry is made 100% manually it is executed with great accuracy and richness of colour in a perfect transcription of the original which is the basis of this art.

Now let us look at the technique and how the tapestry is born. In Portalegre the weaving is done on a high warp loom (or haute lisse) which means that the warp yarn is placed vertically on the loom, which is itself vertical. A fixed number of warp threads or linhois, are placed side by side and the tensioned warp threads make up a dense uniform curtain of 10 threads per cm. All the threads pass one by one through the heddles or short loops that keep them in position. The even threads and the corresponding heddles made a prechada which is a set of warp threads and which act as one unit. This can be isolated from the prechada of uneven threads thus forming two warp curtains. The present looms, which have greatly contributed to the superb execution of these tapestries, owe a great deal to the invention of Guy Fino. They basically combine the mechanical advantages which the treadles on low warp looms have in the division of the warp into even and uneven threads through a manual mechanism which works the set (prechada) with the advantages of the execution and control of weaving which the high warp loom provides.

In the weaving operation two threads are picked each time (one even and the other uneven) and these are completely covered by the end or decorative weft. The weaving is done in successive rows from the reverse side. After each passage a fine connecting weft is introduced into the space between the even and uneven threads resulting in the relative separation of the two fixed yarns, this operation being alternated, so that once the even threads are at the front the uneven threads follow through automatically.

The fact that the same two warp threads are always covered by the stitch in every pick givers the weaving a very regular and uniform texture. At the same time very minute details and precise shapes can be reproduced by using only one of the warp threads, making what is called a half stitch. It is therefore possible to draw fine lines and trace perfect oblique angles.

The weaving technique at Portalegre gives five stitches per centimetre or 250,000 per square metre. This density is equivalent to the finest density commonly used in French tapestry (that is 4.8 threads per centimetre).

The connecting weft is pressed against the woven body of the tapestry by combing and is completely hidden by the weaving which gives a solid structural texture. In Portalegre Tapestry it is not therefore necessary afterwards to sew the juxtaposed areas of colour in the direction of the warp which in traditional tapestry leave open spaces in the fabric.

The final look of the tapestry depends on the thickness of the warp thread, this determines the grain, coarse or fine, of the weaving. This is more balanced when the threads of the weft and the warp are the same ply and the spaces between the warp threads are completely filled by the thickness of the decorative weft.

The mixing of different colours in the same weave are called mixtures (mesclas) and these result in splendid colour effects. If the colours used are contrasting colours the result is called picado, riscado ou chine (the last named being a chromatic effect) depending on the concentration of colour and the formation of the mixtures. If the colours used are similar or are made up of different shades of the same colour, softer tonal passages are achieved.

The tapestry is the reproduction in a different medium using different methods and on another scale to that of the original sketch presented by the artist. The tapestry is not merely the slavish or mechanical reproduction of the original. It is in itself an original work of art through its intrinsic qualities created by the various methods and techniques used in its translation, enhancement and execution.

The original is therefore very carefully studied. The design workshop plays an important role in its interpretation and in the preparation of the drawing for the weaving process.

The original is enlarged to the required size of the final work through the projection of a transparency. The outline of the shapes is traced on 2mm squared paper (which corresponds to the size of the stitch) together with the edges of the colours and the details of the original sketch ready to be transposed into the weaving. The enlarged drawing will go through successive phases which include cleaning, correcting shapes and lines traced in the making of the enlargement with close comparison to the original, colouring of all the shapes with light watercolours similar to the tones of the original, and finally the marking of all areas of colour with the numbers or codes of a colour palette made according to the selection of colours and the choice of wool or mixtures.

These phases are extremely time consuming due to the complexity of the work, the drawing requires great precision and the colour choice requires expert knowledge and great sensitivity. The weaving drawing now becomes the original for the weavers. It is the equivalent of the cartoon or sketch of the original French technique which the painter had to make according to the size of the tapestry. Yous Lurçat made his cartons to the size of the tapestry in black and white, codified by a series of numbers corresponding to the colours that the painter chose from his pre-defined palette.

The weaving drawing is also marked with numbers of the wool and the mixtures that are to be used. The tapestry is woven from bottom to top in the same direction as it is going to be hung. The weavers sit with the weaving drawing at head height. If the tapestry is higher than the level at which it can reasonably be woven then it has to be lowered. To achieve this a sufficient length of warp has to be unrolled and the woven piece of tapesty is tied to the base of the loom. Finally the tirela de remate, ie the edging of the fabric is done to complete the weaving process.

Once the weaving is finished the threads of the warp are cut freeing the tapestry from the loom. But it is not yet ready to be hung. It is ready for the finishing touches when it is stretched and squared, soaked in water and moth proofed, reinforcing the anti moth treatment already carried out in the wool dyeing. The colour warp and the connecting weft being absorbent maintain the uniform tension of the weaving.

The vertical warp forms the skeleton of the tapestry taking all the weight and thus enabling it to fall correctly when hung.

Finally the bolduc is sewn on the back. This small piece of canvas identifies the workshop, the title of the work, states its dimensions and has the name and signature of the painter.

"Woven Music", an exhibition of works by Tom Phillips and Portalegre Tapestries based on Phillips' work, was on display at the Galeria Tapeçarias de Portalegre, Lisbon, Portugal, from December 2002 through February 2003. For more information, see the "Woven Music" exhibition overview.

To Contact Manufactura Tapeçarias Portalegre, email: tapecariasportalegre@clix.pt

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