Tapestry is one of the oldest forms of woven textile. As a technique, tapestry has been used to create everything from tunics and purses to table covers and chair backs, as well as some of the world's largest and most beautiful pieces of textile art.

Wholly linen tapestries were made in ancient Egypt, while Copts, or Egyptian Christians, and medieval Europeans sometimes used linen for the warp. Cotton and wool were employed for pre-Columbian Peruvian tapestries as well as for some of the tapestries made in the Islamic world during the Middle Ages.