The Mortlake Tapestry Works was established alongside the River Thames at Mortlake, then outside, but now on the edge of west London, in 1619 by Sir Francis Crane. It produced lighter, if vastly more expensive, decoration for rooms than the previously favoured Elizabethan wood panelling. King Charles I was a heavy investor and it prospered. The English Civil War disrupted all luxury goods businesses. Cromwell tried to help. Charles II imposed heavy duties on competitive imports, but the decline could not be reversed. It closed in 1704; some of the weavers continued to work privately.[1]
The Seizure of Cassandra by Ajax from a set of The Horses, c. 1650–70, another Cleyn design
The proposal to establish a tapestry works at Mortlake came from King James I in 1619. It was to be under the management of Sir Francis Crane who undertook the recruitment of weavers and to meet the cost of building and fitting up premises. In return he was to receive a fee, the exclusive right to weave tapestries of all sorts for 21 years and they were to be free of customs duties. Since there was no effective pool of labour in England, some 50 Flemish workers were brought in great secrecy, mainly from Brussels and the Low Countries (Belgium) where tapestry weaving was a major industry. It was agreed that some of the masters would be naturalised on the word of Sir Francis. The craft was to be taught to suitable boys in the orphanages of the City of London. The City agreed to pay their maintenance during the seven-year apprenticeship and Sir Francis would supply the looms and the materials.[2]
The works were first established on John Dee's estate in Mortlake, later the site of the Queen's Head pub. Initially, the factory mostly copied designs from the large collection assembled by Henry VIII, with updated borders in more contemporary styles.[3]
Vulcan and Venus; Neptune and Cupid Plead for the Lovers, 1620-25, Wool, silk and metal thread; Height: 453 cm, Width: 578 cm. Victoria and Albert Museum
Knighted in 1617, Crane later became Secretary to Charles I when he was Prince of Wales. However, it was the arrival of an able designer, Francis Cleyn, Clein or Klein, German-born and previously in the service of the king of Denmark, together with the patronage of Charles both when Prince of Wales and later as king which gave the works a good start. Although Crane became very wealthy when he died in 1637 his brother Captain Richard Crane found himself unable to pay the weavers and eventually sold the project to the Crown. It continued to function for the rest of the century though its fortunes fluctuated; the English Civil War was a difficult period, but royal patronage was revived under Charles II. When the Royal Collection was valued before being broken up under the English Commonwealth, a third of the most valuable items were sets of Mortlake tapestries.[4]
Accounts of the cost of materials, wages and details of the way in which the work was apportioned between named weavers survive for a few tapestries.[7]
Tapestries
The Mortlake weavers were highly skilled in depicting natural textures and effects such as flesh and water. Their products can be seen in many museums and English country houses. In 2020, Mortlake tapestries from the Royal Collection were on display at St James's Palace, Kensington Palace and the Palace of Holyroodhouse.[8]
Lord Leverhulme acquired a Mortlake tapestry series in 1918 from Stella Hall, near Newcastle, home of the family of the industrialist Sir Joseph Cowen (1800–73). This was a complete set of six of one of the most popular tapestry series woven by Mortlake, illustrating the ancient Greek story of the tragic love of the priestess Hero for Leander. Leander swam the dangerous currents of the Hellespont, the straits between Europe and Asia at the Bosphorus, in order to see his love, but was drowned one stormy night. The set may have been woven for Stella Hall, which was demolished in 1955. In the 17th century, it was the home of the Tempest family, a wealthy Catholic courtier family, loyal throughout the reigns of the Stuart kings. It is now in the Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight, Merseyside[13] Mortlake's chief designer Francis Cleyn designed the series in 1625 and the first set was woven for James I. A further set was discovered folded up behind wallpaper in the Primate's Palace, Bratislava, Slovakia, which is now on display there.
^W. G. Thomson, A History of Tapestry from the Earliest Times to the Present Day, London 1930 pp. 277–312; a more recent account is Wendy Hefford, ‘The Mortlake Manufactory 1619–1649’ in Thomas P Campbell, Tapestry in the Baroque Threads of Splendor, 2007 Yale, pp. 171–183.
mortlake, tapestry, works, established, alongside, river, thames, mortlake, then, outside, edge, west, london, 1619, francis, crane, produced, lighter, vastly, more, expensive, decoration, rooms, than, previously, favoured, elizabethan, wood, panelling, king, . The Mortlake Tapestry Works was established alongside the River Thames at Mortlake then outside but now on the edge of west London in 1619 by Sir Francis Crane It produced lighter if vastly more expensive decoration for rooms than the previously favoured Elizabethan wood panelling King Charles I was a heavy investor and it prospered The English Civil War disrupted all luxury goods businesses Cromwell tried to help Charles II imposed heavy duties on competitive imports but the decline could not be reversed It closed in 1704 some of the weavers continued to work privately 1 One of the Hero and Leander series in the Primate s Palace Bratislava Slovakia Designed by Francis Cleyn c 1582 1658 and woven in the 1630s Contents 1 Royal patronage 2 Tapestries 3 Notes 4 ReferencesRoyal patronage Edit The Seizure of Cassandra by Ajax from a set of The Horses c 1650 70 another Cleyn design The proposal to establish a tapestry works at Mortlake came from King James I in 1619 It was to be under the management of Sir Francis Crane who undertook the recruitment of weavers and to meet the cost of building and fitting up premises In return he was to receive a fee the exclusive right to weave tapestries of all sorts for 21 years and they were to be free of customs duties Since there was no effective pool of labour in England some 50 Flemish workers were brought in great secrecy mainly from Brussels and the Low Countries Belgium where tapestry weaving was a major industry It was agreed that some of the masters would be naturalised on the word of Sir Francis The craft was to be taught to suitable boys in the orphanages of the City of London The City agreed to pay their maintenance during the seven year apprenticeship and Sir Francis would supply the looms and the materials 2 The works were first established on John Dee s estate in Mortlake later the site of the Queen s Head pub Initially the factory mostly copied designs from the large collection assembled by Henry VIII with updated borders in more contemporary styles 3 Vulcan and Venus Neptune and Cupid Plead for the Lovers 1620 25 Wool silk and metal thread Height 453 cm Width 578 cm Victoria and Albert Museum Knighted in 1617 Crane later became Secretary to Charles I when he was Prince of Wales However it was the arrival of an able designer Francis Cleyn Clein or Klein German born and previously in the service of the king of Denmark together with the patronage of Charles both when Prince of Wales and later as king which gave the works a good start Although Crane became very wealthy when he died in 1637 his brother Captain Richard Crane found himself unable to pay the weavers and eventually sold the project to the Crown It continued to function for the rest of the century though its fortunes fluctuated the English Civil War was a difficult period but royal patronage was revived under Charles II When the Royal Collection was valued before being broken up under the English Commonwealth a third of the most valuable items were sets of Mortlake tapestries 4 In 1629 Charles I granted Crane c 400 acres of Stoke Park at Stoke Bruerne in Northamptonshire England together with a manor house 5 6 Accounts of the cost of materials wages and details of the way in which the work was apportioned between named weavers survive for a few tapestries 7 Tapestries EditThe Mortlake weavers were highly skilled in depicting natural textures and effects such as flesh and water Their products can be seen in many museums and English country houses In 2020 Mortlake tapestries from the Royal Collection were on display at St James s Palace Kensington Palace and the Palace of Holyroodhouse 8 Saint Paul Preaching in Athens from one of the sets after the Raphael Cartoons now in the Ducal Palace Urbino One of their most grand and popular sets was the seven tapestries based on the Raphael Cartoons made for the Sistine Chapel tapestries and a century later bought in Genoa by Charles I in 1623 He paid 500 each for a set with new baroque borders the Royal Collection already had a set made in Brussels for Henry VIII Several other sets were made in Mortlake and the Royal Collection now has another set which is displayed at Hampton Court Palace Charles I s set was bought by Cardinal Mazarin when his collection was broken up under the English Commonwealth and now belongs to the French government 9 Forde Abbey 10 Chatsworth House the Duke of Buccleuch and others have sets 11 A set of six tapestries is now in the Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden 12 Lord Leverhulme acquired a Mortlake tapestry series in 1918 from Stella Hall near Newcastle home of the family of the industrialist Sir Joseph Cowen 1800 73 This was a complete set of six of one of the most popular tapestry series woven by Mortlake illustrating the ancient Greek story of the tragic love of the priestess Hero for Leander Leander swam the dangerous currents of the Hellespont the straits between Europe and Asia at the Bosphorus in order to see his love but was drowned one stormy night The set may have been woven for Stella Hall which was demolished in 1955 In the 17th century it was the home of the Tempest family a wealthy Catholic courtier family loyal throughout the reigns of the Stuart kings It is now in the Lady Lever Art Gallery Port Sunlight Merseyside 13 Mortlake s chief designer Francis Cleyn designed the series in 1625 and the first set was woven for James I A further set was discovered folded up behind wallpaper in the Primate s Palace Bratislava Slovakia which is now on display there The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has a larger and later set known as The Horses with various mythological subjects featuring horses These belonged to the Cavalier Henry Mordaunt 2nd Earl of Peterborough and his descendants until 1920 14 Ten pieces are kept at Musee Labenche at Brive la Gaillarde Notes Edit Haynes 1974 W G Thomson A History of Tapestry from the Earliest Times to the Present Day London 1930 pp 277 312 a more recent account is Wendy Hefford The Mortlake Manufactory 1619 1649 in Thomas P Campbell Tapestry in the Baroque Threads of Splendor 2007 Yale pp 171 183 Royal Collection Royal Collection Leaflet provided as part of the English Heritage open access scheme to Stoke Park 2008 Barnes and Mortlake History Society Retrieved 17 August 2008 Sources cited at note 1 Royal Collection Dussler Royal Collection The Mortlake Tapestries Forde Abbey website Dussler Raffael Macht der Bilder Die Tapisserien und ihre Wirkung Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister Collection of Lady Lever Art Gallery Port Sunlight Archived from the original on 19 July 2008 Retrieved 18 August 2008 The Seizure of Cassandra by Ajax from a set of The Horses ca 1650 70 Metropolitan Museum of ArtReferences Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mortlake Tapestry Works Haynes Alan The Mortlake Tapestry Factory 1619 1703 History Today Jan 1974 Vol 24 Issue 1 pp 32 40 online Dussler Luitpold Raphael A Critical Catalogue of his Pictures Wall Paintings amp Tapestries online section on the cartoons and tapestries Royal Collection Page on Mortlake Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mortlake Tapestry Works amp oldid 1128883754, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
