PORTUGUESE RUGS
The Origin and
Characteristics of Arraiolos
by Teresa Pacheco
Pereira Schneider

Oriental, Persian and Spanish influence is to be found in the textiles of Portugal, and is especially well documented in the wonderful rugs from Arraiolos.

In 1571, the Pope's envoy Cardinal Alexandrino visited Portugal. On this occasion Venturino described the Rua Nova, Lisbon's main street, as follows "... hanging from the windows were exquisite rugs and coverlets. The spectacle was stupendous when there were three or four floors and many windows...". Admittedly, Portuguese used the word tapete indiscriminately for both rugs and tapestries, so conceivably Venturino might have been talking about tapestries. But if one reads on, one is left with no doubt "...

The beauty of embroideries from Castelo Branco are presented here in an article which looks into the origins and techniques of these textiles, which have been around since the seventeenth century.

The city of Castelo Branco, in the region of the same name, grew from a medieval settlement of the knightly order of the Templars; it then changed to the order of Christ. It was Emmanuel the Great (the king who gave Portugal its colonial strength), who recognised the importance of the city. In 1535, it was recognised for its services by King John III, but only in 1771, during the Portuguese expansion in Brazil was it raised to city status by King Joseph I; it also became the seat for a new episcopal diocese...

This is the first part of an article dedicated to the heterogeneous textile production from an area which is considered one of the most interesting and active of Persia, namely the area around Hamadan.
Hamadan, with its crisscross of streets and avenues designed by the German architect Karl Fritsch, and with its linear buildings, is no less than a modern oriental metropolis. And yet it is ancient. In fact, it was one of the first cities to have been built on the Iranian plateau, and historically was also one of the most important. The city of Hamadan is built on the site of the ancient fortress city of Ecbatana (or Ecmatane), founded, it is said, by the Medes in the seventh century BC. The city was built on an important trade route that extended from the banks of the Mediterranean and from Palmyra in Syria...