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Palace Project Update
A landmark has been reached in the project to create seven great tapestries to hang in the Queen’s Inner Hall within the Renaissance palace at Stirling Castle. The weavers based at the castle have now reached the half-way point on the fifth, which is called The Unicorn at Bay.
Each piece takes two-and-a-half to four-and-a-half years to complete. So even with two teams of weavers at work, one in Scotland and the other at the West Dean College in Sussex, the project will have taken 12 years by the time it is complete in 2013. Each tapestry measures around 12 feet by 14 feet and is made from wool, silk, silver and gilt wefts. With so much time, skill and precious material going into each one it’s little wonder that the weavers like to celebrate whenever they reach a significant milestone.
And what better way to celebrate than going to New York – which is exactly where some of the team are right now. In fact, rather than being a well-earned break, the visit is an essential part of the project. The Stirling Tapestries are new versions of the fine surviving set, called the Hunt of the Unicorn series, kept in the city’s famous Metropolitan Museum of Art. The purpose of the trip is to carry out the complex task of colour matching to ensure that everything about the new versions is fully authentic. This involves going into the museum at times when it is closed to the public in order to study the early 16th-century originals.
While they are in the USA the team, which consists of Louise Martin, Katharine Swailes, and Caron Penney, will also be doing talks and displays for museum visitors. This will help spread word of the palace project to potential American tourists as well as give them insights into aspects of the tapestry-making including the making of preliminary cartoons and the weaving work itself.
The four tapestries which have so far been completed are on display in the Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle. Visitors can also see the weavers at work in their studio.
The Stirling Tapestries Project is a £2 million initiative funded separately from the main Palace Project and which has been made possible thanks to the generosity of the Quinque Foundation. This is the family foundation of Helen Buchanan of Exeter, Rhode Island in the USA.
Read more about the Palace Project
Each piece takes two-and-a-half to four-and-a-half years to complete. So even with two teams of weavers at work, one in Scotland and the other at the West Dean College in Sussex, the project will have taken 12 years by the time it is complete in 2013. Each tapestry measures around 12 feet by 14 feet and is made from wool, silk, silver and gilt wefts. With so much time, skill and precious material going into each one it’s little wonder that the weavers like to celebrate whenever they reach a significant milestone.And what better way to celebrate than going to New York – which is exactly where some of the team are right now. In fact, rather than being a well-earned break, the visit is an essential part of the project. The Stirling Tapestries are new versions of the fine surviving set, called the Hunt of the Unicorn series, kept in the city’s famous Metropolitan Museum of Art. The purpose of the trip is to carry out the complex task of colour matching to ensure that everything about the new versions is fully authentic. This involves going into the museum at times when it is closed to the public in order to study the early 16th-century originals.
While they are in the USA the team, which consists of Louise Martin, Katharine Swailes, and Caron Penney, will also be doing talks and displays for museum visitors. This will help spread word of the palace project to potential American tourists as well as give them insights into aspects of the tapestry-making including the making of preliminary cartoons and the weaving work itself.
The four tapestries which have so far been completed are on display in the Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle. Visitors can also see the weavers at work in their studio.
The Stirling Tapestries Project is a £2 million initiative funded separately from the main Palace Project and which has been made possible thanks to the generosity of the Quinque Foundation. This is the family foundation of Helen Buchanan of Exeter, Rhode Island in the USA.
Read more about the Palace Project
