Grazalema Blanket
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A Grazalema blanket (), also known as Grazalema cloth () is a type of striped brown and beige thick cloth that was particularly popular between the 17th and 19th centuries. It takes its name from the town of its origin,
Grazalema Grazalema is a village located in the northeastern part of the province of Cádiz, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Situated in the foothills of the Sierra del Pinar mountain range (Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park), Grazalema ...
, one of the main manufacturing centres of wool products in Spain. Using wool from the region as raw material and since Grazalema is one of the rainiest places in Spain, this water was used to wash the wool, producing exceptional results. Author Blasco Ibáñez made multiple references to the blankets and capes of Grazalema, and
Julio Romero de Torres Julio Romero de Torres (9 November 1874 – 10 May 1930) was a Spanish painter. His brothers, Rafael and , also became painters. Biography He was the son of Rafael Romero Barros, a painter who served as Director of the Fine Arts Museum o ...
wrote about how before a fire destroyed the municipal archive of Grazalema, it had contained the
Royal Decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...
by means of which
Philip V Philip V may refer to: * Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC) * Philip V of France (1293–1322) * Philip II of Spain, also Philip V, Duke of Burgundy (1526–1598) * Philip V of Spain Philip V (; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was List of Sp ...
had granted privileges to those who made textiles and wool products in the town. The coats of the approximately 65,000 ''
tercio A ''tercio'' (), Spanish for " third") was a military unit of the Spanish Army during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain and Habsburg Spain in the early modern period. They were the elite military units of the Spanish monarchy and ...
'' soldiers during the
Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...
were made out of Grazalema cloth. It is said that between Grazalema and Benamahoma there lived about 9,000 people dedicated to what today would be called auxiliary industries: dyeing, spinning, perching, flocking etc. People had looms in their houses where the whole family wove, which they would later take to the factories to finish them. Currently, only one company, Artesanía Textil de Grazalema, produces blankets. It is the oldest artisan textile company in Spain. Part of the blanket production is exported to the
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,
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and the
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.


Bibliography

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References

{{reflist, 2 Spanish clothing Wool