Dear Helaine and Joe: I bought this tapestry several years ago in an antique store and love the black and brown tones in it. When I was moving the picture, the paper on the back tore and I was surprised to see that the fabric was originally woven in beautiful colors. Should I have it professionally cleaned? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you. —M.K., Dawson Springs, Ky.
Dear M.K.: Some tapestries can be very valuable, but others are not. The oldest existing tapestries are from pharaonic Egypt, but other ancient cultures are thought to have made them as well.
Traditionally and classically, a tapestry is a hand woven fabric, but there are textiles that are referred to as "tapestries" that are actually more hand-embroidered than handwoven. To create a tapestry, a weaver sets up a loom with relatively course "warp" threads that run lengthwise or vertically.
The "weft," or softer, finer horizontal threads, make up the pattern, which is created by moving a bobbin containing differently colored thread or yarn back and forth over the "warp" threads. This is done one color at a time, and when the weaver finishes with a thread, it is knotted on the back of the fabric to hold it in place.
In the case of a tapestry, the "warp" threads are completely covered by the "weft" threads, and on close examination all an observer can see of the "warp" threads is lines or ribs. This feature is an important characteristic of a true handwoven tapestry. Another telltale trait is that the design on a real tapestry is exactly alike on both sides except that the backside has the knots where the threads are tied.
In addition, where horizontally woven threads of different color meet at a vertical "warp" thread, the tying off of each color thread leaves a "slit" or small opening in the surface. This too is a good sign of a quality, handmade tapestry.
In the case of the piece belonging to M.K., a close examination should reveal that none of these characteristics can be found on her textile.
Instead, the item is a machine-made, tapestry-like textile that was made in Europe — probably in Belgium, France or Italy — sometime in the early 20th century. Textiles like these were made in vast quantities and were widely used as wall hangings, table runners and the like. Unfortunately, they have yet to excite a great deal of collector interest (in other words, these mass-produced tapestries are very hard to sell).
Tapestries are pictorial by their very nature, and the age of any given example is judged to some extent by the style of the design. The textile belonging to M.K. has a charming 17th-century tavern scene on it, but this is a fantasy of the manufacturer and was made to be decorative rather than to present a historical depiction of a scene that existed in reality.
If M.K. liked the monochromatic nature of this piece when she bought it, she should probably leave it the way it is. Having this textile professionally cleaned by a conservator who specializes in old fabrics would be very expensive. In fact, any attempt to clean this piece should be avoided except for placing a net covering over the surface and gently vacuuming it.
The insurance replacement value of this circa 1915 tapestry-like textile is between $125 and $175.
Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson are the authors of "Price It Yourself" (HarperResource, $19.95). Questions can by mailed to them at P.O. Box 12208, Knoxville, TN 37912-0208.