Stirling Castle, home of the illustrious James V, hosts the largest British undertaking in tapestry for a century. Although once housing over 100 magnificent tapestries in the1530s- 40s, today, sadly, the originals do not survive. To combat this, Historic Scotland commissioned the modern-day weaving of seven large tapestries of the Hunt of the Unicorn- a surviving set of thematically similar tapestries to Royal inventories described as once hanging in the Queen’s bed-chamber.
The lengthy 13-year timeline of the project started with visits to the originals at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, working to choose the most accurate colours and yarn. Investigating the techniques was challenging, especially the weights of yarn used. Two samples of a figure’s knee woven at eight and four warps per centimeter showed vast differences in surface texture, but ultimately the choice to make it at four warps per centimeter saved years in production time. The West Dean Tapestry Studio, a specialist center of woven crafts, carried out the weaving process in the heart of Stirling Castle in front of the public. The length and medieval style of the project forged a sort of time body connection between the past and present, giving the team an emotional empathy for the original weavers. At points, members of the public asked why machines weren’t used, mentioning speed and efficiency- questions the weavers found upsetting. As a society, are we so far removed from working with our hands that the preservation of specialised historic skills seems like a waste of time?
Alongside the investment in preserving ancient skills, the symbolism in this set of tapestries provides key insight into medieval relationships between religion, romance, and art. The tapestries tell the story of the hunt and capture of a unicorn, who is killed before coming back to life- a symbolic representation of the life of Christ. Upon a floral background, the unicorn purifies the water in a stream for other animals, embodying Christ’s atonement of human sin.
Similar religious references spread across the tapestries with the Archangel Gabriel depicted and a crown of thorns placed around the unicorn’s neck- the scenes also double as a medieval love story. A project like this allows art historians a unique space to understand how the physical processes of creation relate to the meanings and symbolism displayed.
Now, the seven tapestries hang in the Queen’s inner hall of Stirling Castle over three
thousand miles from their inspiration, linking 500 years of history. This is a strong reminder of what humans are capable of and the need for investment in the arts.
“The hunt of the unicorn, tapestry #6” by Eusebius@Commons is licensed under CC BY 2.0.