Portuguese Needlepoint

Soft green tones on this Portuguese Needlepoint, circa 1940 woven in the village of Arraiolos, Southern-Portugal. A light off white to sandy tone background canvas is a wonderful base colour to work with the soft pinks, muted reds, and wonderful varying greens with hints of pale blue wool to create this flowing elegant floral design. Look at the wonderful floral images, subtle flower motifs with birds in the design too. In great condition for its age, with original fringes which flow all the way round a needlepoint. Gently cleaned by our workshop recently, it has brightened up and is such a pretty decorative carpet. Arraiolos is where these Portuguese needlework carpets are from a town in the province of Alto Alentejo in southern Portugal. The weave on this needlepoint is Arraiolos long-armed cross-stitch along with hand dyed wool using natural dyes. The Portuguese are also known for weaving specific types of Portuguese rugs that are called Alpujarras Rugs. Portuguese Needlepoint carpets differ from traditional Persian carpet weaving in that they produced using a tapestry needle and are created using diagonal stitches on the carpet’s jute or wool canvas. They have a larger wool knot because of this technique. The elegant floral patterns are actually created by changing the colours of the wool. Where as traditional Persian carpets are woven on a vertical loom, where the warp is strung vertically and the weft and knots go across the warp.