Art Institute of Chicago

Carpet

Date

1525-75

Medium

Wool, plain weave with supplementary wrapping wefts forming cut pile through a technique known as "Spanish knots;" warp fringe

Culture

Spain

Department

Textiles

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Alcaraz was probably the most famous city in Spain for the production of carpets and other woven textiles, and it contiuned to be so until the mid-seventeenth century. The weaving technique of early Spanish carpets differs greatly from that of examples woven in the Near East. Pieces, such as this one, were made with a 'single-warp knot' in which the yarn that formed the pile was wrapped around only one thread. Near Eastern weavers used several variations of knots wrapped around two warp threads to produce their carpets. The single-warp knot has become known as the 'Spanish knot."

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