Do have a look at this little video – it’s a tantalising glimpse into what once was…
Have you ever wondered what our tapestries would have looked like with their original unfaded colours?
Take a look at this brilliant digital representation of one of the 16th century Gideon tapestries from Hardwick Hall. See it fade from it’s original colours through to what we see now – 450 years later.
There are 13 of these tapestries, 10 have been conserved with the 11th currently in the studio and fundraising for the remaining two ongoing to preserve them for the next 100 years.
Thanks to our colleagues at Hardwick Hall and Rusty Monkey Ltd for this video and to Chris Tims who took the original photos.
Video and digital colour restoration by Rusty Monkey Ltd
Dreaming In Stitches 
Wow! i wonder what William Morris would have made of those colours – nothing like those soft blues and grey greens he used in his tapestries!
True – it’s similar to castles and cathedrals where you need to imagine the original vivid colours that they once had, instead of the current plain stone. I’ve seen a couple of interpretations before of how tapestries would have looked, but I think this is the best I’ve seen.
Amazing! You forget just how brilliant these tapestries would have looked – very far from dreary, as they appear today.
Absolutely – our ancestors didn’t share modern tastes in interior decor, but it’s so sad to see them faded and largely ignored.