Editing Tapestry (section)

==Function==
[[File: Family of Henry VIII c 1545 detail.jpg|right|thumb|King [[Henry VIII]] seated beneath a tapestry cloth of state]]
The success of decorative tapestry can be partially explained by its portability ([[Le Corbusier]] once called tapestries "nomadic murals").<ref name="Stone" />  The fully hand-woven tapestry form is more suitable for creating new figurative designs than other types of woven textile, and the looms could be much larger.<ref>Campbell (2007), 3–4</ref>  Kings and [[Nobility|noblemen]] could fold up and transport tapestries from one residence to another. Many kings had "wardrobe" departments with their own buildings devoted to the care, repair, and movement of tapestries, which were folded into large canvas bags and carried on carts. In churches, they were displayed on special occasions. Tapestries were also draped on the walls of palaces and castles for insulation during winter, as well as for decorative display.  For special ceremonial processions such as coronations, [[royal entries]] and weddings, they would sometimes be displayed outside.<ref>Campbell and Ainsworth, 23; Tapestries in the Royal Collection</ref>   The largest and best tapestries, designed for more public spaces in palaces, were only displayed on special occasions, reducing wear and fading.  Presumably the smaller personal rooms were hung permanently.<ref>Campbell and Ainsworth, 6, 23</ref>

Many smaller pieces were made as covers for furniture or cushions, or curtains and bed hangings.  Others, especially in the case of those made for patrons outside the top of the elite, were cut up and reused for such functions when they, or tapestries in general, came to seem old-fashioned.  Bags, and sometimes clothing were other re-uses.<ref name="CampbellAinsworth1314">Campbell and Ainsworth, 13–14</ref>  The [[Beauvais Manufactory]] became rather a specialist in furniture upholstery, which enabled it to survive after the [[French Revolution]] when this became the main remaining market.  In the case of tapestries with precious metal thread, they might be burned to recover the metal, as Charles V's soldiers did to some of the [[Sistine Chapel tapestries]], and the [[French Directory]] government did in the 1790s to most of the royal collection from the Renaissance.<ref>Campbell and Ainsworth, 6</ref>

In the [[Middle Ages]] and the [[Renaissance]], a rich tapestry panel woven with [[symbol]]ic [[emblem]]s, [[motto]]es, or [[coat of arms|coats of arms]] called a [[baldachin]], canopy of state or cloth of state was hung behind and over a throne as a symbol of authority.<ref>Campbell (2007), 339–341</ref> The seat under such a canopy of state would normally be raised on a [[dais]].

As paintings came to be regarded as more important works of art, typically by the 17th century, tapestries in palaces were moved less, and came to be regarded as more or less permanent fittings for a particular room. It was at this point that many old tapestries were cut to allow fitting around doors and windows.  They also often suffered the indignity of having paintings hung on top of them.<ref>Campbell and Ainsworth, 6; Tapestries in the Royal Collection; Campbell (2007), xi</ref>  Some new tapestries were made to fit around a specific room; the design of the Gobelins set from [[Croome Court]], now in New York, has a large field with an ornamental design that could easily be adjusted in size to fit the measurements of the customer's room.