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<p>During the 1550s, a warehouse was constructed in Antwerp with funds from both the
city government and a private investor. This building, the Tapissierspand, became
the global center for selling and distributing tapestries of extraordinary beauty,
exquisite craftsmanship, and exorbitant cost. The construction of the building indicates
that the very nature of how tapestries were made and purchased was changing in the
1550s. Although Antwerp's fairs had long been convenient locations for agents to
find luxury items that might please their wealthy clients, like with many luxury trades,
tapestry sales were shifting from strictly commissioned sales to include on spec sales.
The Tapissierspand was the ideal place for a dealer to purchase multiple already-made
tapestries and load them onto the waiting ships in Antwerp's busy harbor for export
and resale abroad. The city's export registers document that thousands of yards
of tapestry were shipped this way. </p><p>The regulatory environment in Antwerp was
much less strict than in other cities and this permitted freer interactions within
guilds and across industries. The city was for this reason a desirable location for
craftsmen to work and sell. But because the strict royal ordinances delivered throughout
the 1530s and 1540s were frequently uninforced, workers in the industry were forced
to find other ways to manage the large risk inherent in the tapestry trade. The development
of the Tapissierspand in Antwerp was an effort on the part of merchants and the city
to abate risk. The city could continue to entice merchants if it could provide the
right opportunities and environment. However, by the sixteenth century, the constant
hyper-vigilance the city had experienced throughout the fifteenth century during frequent
times of war and financial difficulty shaped the way the city and its occupants viewed
business. In a large sense, everything came down to risk, and how to manage it and
minimize it. </p><p>At a time of upheaval and mismanagement, survival and financial
success through the reduction of risk became of primary importance. Tapestry weaving
carried inherent--and large--risks. Raw materials were expensive, and workshops often
did not have the capital needed for on spec weaving. The purchase of on spec tapestries
without any guarantees of quality or origin was risky for buyers. Thus the Tapissierspand's
story is one of people seeking to maximize economic advantage and minimize risk.
The Tapissierspand allowed buyers and sellers to minimize risk by facilitating exchange
of knowledge, assessment of quality, negotiation of prices and commissions, and extension
of credit. </p><p>This dissertation will examine the historical precedents in Antwerp
that allowed the Tapissierspand to develop, and the ways in which the Pand functioned
to expand trade while reducing risk for both buyers and sellers by reducing the risks
inherent in the industry.</p>
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