The Tapestries – part 2

The Palm Sunday entrance into Jerusalem

Continuing my overview of the Perellos tapestries, it’s interesting to note that back then (1700s), many people were illiterate, and so any visual image would be the best way of conveying a message. Similar to what was done in many churches with the altarpiece (ventaltar in Maltese), people who could not understand Latin and could not read, they would look at the images depicted and reflect and meditate on them. The main theme of these tapestries is the Eucharist and the triumph of good over evil. The Triumph of the Eucharist was a particularly powerful theme at the time of the counter-Reformation.

The Last Supper tapestry

There are also episodes from the Life of Christ with special emphasis on the Nativity and Holy Week. The large tapestries measure approximately 6.5 meters in width (around 7 yards,) while 14 narrow ones depict the apostles, besides Jesus and the Virgin Mary. The predominant material used to craft them was silk, and most of the work done to restore them involved replacing some missing strands of thread, and cleaning the entire tapestry from dust accumulated over the years. (More tomorrow)

  
The vertical tapestries representing the apostles, including the coat of arms of Grand Master Perellos