DIANA AUTO

Harvest time has been recorded in tapestries since the 10th century. We see many hand woven tapestries from the medieval period depicting grape harvest and production of wine. Water was often dirty and carried disease. Wine was considered a ‘safe’ drink, as was mead made from apples or barley. As a result, wine harvest wall tapestries were often the subject of choice, with wall tapestry borders adorned with grapes, fruit and vegetables, marking harvest time.
By the 16th and 17th century we start to see more tapestries with harvest themes. One famous tapestry wall hanging series from the 17th century known as the ‘Months of Lucas’ depicts a different theme for each of the twelve months. October and November shows sheep shearing and the harvesting nuts and berries in a village landscape. These tapestries, with their exquisite detail were originally woven for the king of France by the famous Gobelins weavers in Paris. The original hand woven tapestries had gold and silver woven threads intertwined with the wool, with the price determined by how much precious metal was in the tapestries when completed.
Whether we enjoy a Saturday trip to the farmers market, a glass of wine with fresh bread and cheese, a bite of a freshly picked apple, or a fresh baked apple pie, we can always sit back and marvel at the exquisite beauty of the ‘harvest’ tapestries that have been left to us by our predecessors 400-900 years ago.

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