The colors! If you don't know the history of Wode, the plant grown in the South of France, around Toulouse, and its role in the early dyes that give us the thrill of the blues and greens of the verdure and French or Flemish tapestries, you really must read a bit. This is a c.1600s salvaged panel from some great large tapestry which at one time would have hung in a castle or chateau as a means to keep the draft of the cold stone walls contained. If you love the panels like I do, it's hard to think of them as just having been insulation, isn't it. So they also told us stories, were created in simpler forest scenes for serenity, from which this one has been saved - but also tell family history, Royal processions, history of war and culture, court events. Some of the finer ones would take decades to create, employing many weavers. If you know the history, you understand that, even those rather rough salvaged panels (like this one) are still very much sought after and treasured. I love them all! This one is 16" x 12.5" plus a nice long and more modern French passementerie fringe that expands the size a bit. Back is a modern cotton velvet, fine accenting color and without flaws.
Very good condition for age and type. The new parts of this throw pillow are excellent, and the pillow has no odors at all, no stains. The ancient woven wool and silk yarns of the salvage fragment are just as you see them in our photo. Some areas have had restoration, lovingly done. It can only be called shabby chic, but the history and the appeal of it remains, and I'm so grateful someone saved it and gave it this additional life. I can see that there is about a 2" section to one end of this pillow which needs someone with a needle and thread. The machine sewing at the edge might have been shallow, and a little section of tapestry didn't catch well. A simple 'fix' and one worth lovingly doing - for the investment of your own life into the long long life of this panel. It displays well, is a tree with a leafy branch, fabulous palette of c.1500-1600s dyes. Backing is closed by hand stitching rather than a zipper. The fill pillow feels like down to me. Light.
