Oriental Rugs Dictionary
Spanish Textile
Spanish textiles refer to fabrics produced in Spain, particularly during the medieval and Renaissance periods. These textiles often show Moorish (Islamic) influences, reflecting the historical interaction between Islamic and European cultures. Spanish textile production played an important role in the development of European decorative arts. When the Arab and Berber invaders established themselves in central Spain in the early 8th Century, the country was already known for its thriving wool and linen industry. The conquerors brought with them a textile culture that would rapidly impact an existing local production: the iconography of Hispano-Moresque textiles up to the Christian reconquest in the 15 Century and the design vocabulary of Spanish carpets surviving from the last years of Islamic rule and beyond the striking above all for the ways in which the Islamic repertoire is gradually combined with native traditions.
