Unicorn Tapestries

In 2001 West Dean weavers began a new and unusual project, recreating a set of seven tapestries for Historic Scotland (the government agency that safeguards ancient monuments and historic buildings across Scotland).
The tapestries being recreated are the Hunt of the Unicorn (1495 – 1505) series from the Cloisters Museum in New York. Work is underway on two sites: at the Tapestry Studio in West Dean, West Sussex and at Stirling Castle in Scotland. The team in Scotland are making a tapestry in full view of the general public, demonstrating how tapestry is made and to open this medium up to a wider audience. TheTamshee: and family visited the studio in Stirling Castle to witness the skilled weaver at work. It must be a surreal atmosphere for the craftsman with his back to the crowd while his every stitch is scrutinised by the assembled crowd. There is no photography allowed within the studio but strange things happen within the walls of ancient castles. On our exit the Indy kids spotted the ever watching Gargoyle in the adjacent rock face