Spain · Silk weaving; Textile arts; Andalusian heritage
Seda Granadina
The weaving of silk fabric in Granada — a tradition continuous from the Nasrid Caliphate when the Vega de Granada was the most productive silk-raising region in the Iberian peninsula. Granada silk weaving produces taffeta; velvet; and brocade in the Moorish geometric and floral vocabulary, using hand-looms (telares artesanales) that have changed little since the 15th century. The tradition was nearly destroyed by the expulsion of the Moriscos (1609) and has been revived multiple times; the current revival (from the 1980s) is the most commercially sustained.
Risk level: Endangered · Not listed; the Alpujarras Silk Road (La Ruta de la Seda) is a recognized heritage route
The distillation of anise spirit from green anise seeds (Pimpinella anisum) in the town of Chinchón — 45km south of Madrid — whose anise production has been continuous since the 15th century.
The finishing of Segovia broadcloth — the complete post-weaving treatment sequence (fulling; raising; and shearing) that transformed raw woven wool cloth into the smooth; dense; finished broadcloth (paño) that made Segovia the most…
The steam distillation of lavender essential oil from the lavender fields of Brihuega — the self-styled 'lavender capital of Spain', whose Alcarria plateau produces a lavender (Lavandula latifolia — spike lavender; and Lavandula…
The forging and assembly of decorative ironwork in the Barcelona Modernisme tradition — the architectural iron railings, balconies, gates, and canopies produced for the buildings of Antoni Gaudí, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, and Josep Puig i…
The making of leather harness and equestrian equipment (bridas; cabezadas; cinchas; monturas) in the Madrid tradition — the craft that supplied the Spanish royal cavalry and the bullfighting picador tradition.
The making of flamenco guitars in the Granada tradition — technically distinct from the Madrid classical guitar tradition (CRAFT-1018) in four key ways: cypress wood back and sides (instead of rosewood — lighter; brighter; more…
Large devotional paintings on cotton cloth made in Nathdwara, Rajasthan, to hang behind the image of Shrinathji (Krishna as a child) in temples of the Pushtimarg sect.
Pha Praewa is the hand-reeled silk weaving tradition of the Phu Thai ethnic community of Kham Chanot and surrounding villages in Sakon Nakhon province — one of the most technically refined silk traditions in Thailand and distinct from the…
Weft-faced tapestry weaving on a vertical, frameless loom, producing the geometric rugs and blankets that are the Navajo Nation's best-known textile art, still passed mother to daughter within extended families.
The making of burel — a dense, felted wool cloth traditionally woven by shepherds in the Serra da Estrela region of Beira Baixa for cold-weather capes and blankets, and now revived as a contemporary design material.
Handloom weaving of tussar (tasar) wild silk in Bhagalpur, Bihar.
A backstrap- and floor-loom weaving tradition of Panchimalco, a hilltop town settled by Pipil refugees fleeing the 16th-century Spanish invasion of San Salvador, deliberately relaunched in the 1990s through a community "rescate" (rescue)…