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Tapēté

τάπης, τάπις). Tapestry; a carpet. Tapestry was known to the Greeks as early as Homer's time, being used for coverlets and pillows, and was also spread, in later ages, upon thrones, chairs, couches, etc. Carpets were made especially at Babylon, Tyre, Sardes, Carthage, and Alexandria. The most expensive kinds (μαλλωτοί) were like our baize or drugget, and had sometimes a nap on both sides (ἀμφίταποι) or on only one side (ἑτερόμαλλοι). They were beautifully dyed and often worked in figures of hunting scenes, etc. The Roman toral (q. v.) was a sort of tapestry.

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