The Girona Tapestry or Tapestry of Creation

Detail of Personification of the Month of April
in The Girona Tapestry of Creation

Stitches and Techniques

• self couching (Bokara couching)
• stem stitch

Design and Materials

The embroidery is worked in wool and linen on wool twill ground fabric. The remaining pieces measure 3.65m x 4.7m (12ft x 17ft 2 inches). It was produced in the early 12th Century (approx. 1100 CE) and was most likely produced in the local area of where it currently resides, in the Catherdral of Girona in Catalonia.

The images on the work record the Creation myths of the Bible and include other images relating to the natural world as well as historical references and images of the months of the year (with activities associated with those months also depicted).

Links

• El Tapís De La Creació - Website of La Catedral de Girona
• El Tapís De La Creació - extensive site, lots of images and text
• El Tapís De La Creació - art history site

Sources for Further Information

• Pedro de Palol, El tapís de la creació de la catedral de Girona (: Edicions Proa, 1986)
• M. Assumpta García i Renau, El Tapís de la creació, símbol del sagrat, (: La Llar del Llibre, 1993)
• Barbara Baert, "New Observations on the Genesis of Girona (1050-1100). The Iconography of the Legend of the True Cross", Gesta, Vol. 38, No. 2. (1999), pp. 115-127.
• Harry N. Abrams, The Art of Medieval Spain A.D. 500–1200, (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,
  1993)

Detail of Birds in The Girona Tapestry of Creation