The Manufacture


The Royal Manufacturers De Wit, founded in 1889, is a world leader in the conservation and restoration of ancient tapestries for museums. The company also holds a leading position in the market for ancient tapestries, both in terms of trade with museums as with private individuals. Today, the fifth generation leads a team of some twenty weavers, restorers, experts and dealers in tapestries, all driven by excellence in the art that is so characteristic of the region.


The largest museums such as the Louvre in Paris, the Victoria & Albert in London, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Mobilier national-Manufacture des Gobelins in Paris, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Cleveland Museum of Art and many other important museums belong to the clientele of Manufacturers De Wit (see References and Notable Sales).


The Royal Manufacturers De Wit is located in the Refuge of the Tongerlo Abbey (1484) where it presents a collection of tapestries from the beginning of the 15th century to the present.
The workshops, exhibition rooms and the building, a national heritage site, are open to the public.


The Royal Manufacturers De Wit is also known for organising successful international tapestry exhibitions such as "Golden Weavings" in collaboration with the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in Munich (90,000 visitors) and "Los Honores" in collaboration with the Patrimonio Nacional in Spain (93,000 visitors).

The Royal Manufacturers De Wit, with its weavers, restorers, experts and tapestry dealers, is the present-day heir to the Flemish tapestry tradition.