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Find the perfect antique rug for your home at our showroom or through our bespoke 'at-home' viewing service.
11437

Portuguese Needlepoint

Circa 1940
400 × 297 cm 13’1” x 9’8”
£6,500

Description

Beautiful green tones on this Portuguese Needlepoint, circa 1940-50 woven in the village of Arraiolos, Southern-Portugal.  A light off white tone background canvas is a wonderful base colour to work with the soft pinks, golds and yellow dyes, and wonderful varying greens with hints of pale blue wool to create this flowing elegant floral design.

In great condition for its age, with the majority of the original fringes which flow all the way round a needlepoint.  Gently cleaned by our workshop recently, it has brightened up and is such a pretty decorative carpet.

Arraiolos is where these Portuguese needlework carpets are from a town in the province of Alto Alentejo in southern Portugal.  The weave on this needlepoint is Arraiolos long-armed cross-stitch along with hand dyed wool using natural dyes. The Portuguese are also known for weaving specific types of Portuguese rugs that are called Alpujarras Rugs.

Book in a showroom visit or home visit soon, we would love to show this needlepoint up close.

 

These Portuguese needlepoints are renowned for their embroidered work in wool on jute or linen. Portugal doesn’t have an extensive history in producing hand-woven carpets although Moorish carpet weavers worked in Portugal until the early 15th century until they were expelled.  These floor coverings from Portugal are unique and feature pile in loops, made primarily in Spain from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century in the Alpujarras district, which is located south of Granada.

Once Queen Isabella expelled the Jews in 1492, they headed to Arraiolos, the women brought their expertise and knowledge of weaving needlepoints with them.  They started weaving needlepoint carpets to make a living and the women used to weave them in the village on the porch steps in the glorious sunshine! Many of the designs reflect tile work throughout Spain and Portuguese architecture.  They are still woven in Portugal today, and you can see women weaving in groups producing beautiful carpets.

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