During the Spanish Second Republic, the historic Real Fábrica de Tapices ['Royal Tapestry Factory'] operated under the name of Fábrica Nacional de Tapices ['National Tapestry Works']. There is no record of any edict by the republican administration officially changing the name, but from 1931 onwards the rugs produced at the works on Calle Fuenterrabía were marked 'Fábrica Nacional de Tapices'. This means that the name was changed before the works was brought under the control of the republican government’s Consejo de Administración del Patrimonio ['National Heritage Governing Board'] in the wake of the uprising on 18 July 1936 that sparked the Spanish Civil War. A decree published in the Gazeta de Madrid newspaper on 24 September 1936 dismissed the then director Liviio Stuyck Millenet, and another decree dated the 27th confiscated the works and appointed Manuel Navarro Boto as chief administrator.
On 1 March 1939, in the final days of the war, Manuel Navarro was dismissed and on 29th March ownership of the works was handed over to the brothers Gabino and Miguel Stuyck San Martín.
In the eight years between April 1931 and March 1939 the works suffered many setbacks which seriously reduced operations and threatened the very survival of the plant. At that time the Atocha-based looms were being used mainly to produce rugs, as demand for tapestries had plummeted. The production of knotted rugs had begun to emerge as a major output of the works under the direction of the Stuyck family in the 19th century, and became an increasingly common reference point in publications. For example, a monograph by Miguel Utrillo published in 1932 bears the title La Manufactura Nacional de Alfombras y Tapices de Madrid ['The National Rug and Tapestry Works in Madrid'].
By 1933 all areas of the works were in crisis. The republican government decided to provide funding and entrust the works with restoring and reproducing the famous Gothic tapestries of the Collegiate Church of Pastrana in Guadalajara. This commission enabled it to survive the tough years of the Civil War.
During the Spanish Second Republic, the historic Real Fábrica de Tapices ['Royal Tapestry Factory'] operated under the name of Fábrica Nacional de Tapices ['National Tapestry Works']. There is no record of any edict by the republican administration officially changing the name, but from 1931 onwards the rugs produced at the works on Calle Fuenterrabía were marked 'Fábrica Nacional de Tapices'. This means that the name was changed before the works was brought under the control of the republican government’s Consejo de Administración del Patrimonio ['National Heritage Governing Board'] in the wake of the uprising on 18 July 1936 that sparked the Spanish Civil War. A decree published in the Gazeta de Madrid newspaper on 24 September 1936 dismissed the then director Liviio Stuyck Millenet, and another decree dated the 27th confiscated the works and appointed Manuel Navarro Boto as chief administrator.
On 1 March 1939, in the final days of the war, Manuel Navarro was dismissed and on 29th March ownership of the works was handed over to the brothers Gabino and Miguel Stuyck San Martín.
In the eight years between April 1931 and March 1939 the works suffered many setbacks which seriously reduced operations and threatened the very survival of the plant. At that time the Atocha-based looms were being used mainly to produce rugs, as demand for tapestries had plummeted. The production of knotted rugs had begun to emerge as a major output of the works under the direction of the Stuyck family in the 19th century, and became an increasingly common reference point in publications. For example, a monograph by Miguel Utrillo published in 1932 bears the title La Manufactura Nacional de Alfombras y Tapices de Madrid ['The National Rug and Tapestry Works in Madrid'].
By 1933 all areas of the works were in crisis. The republican government decided to provide funding and entrust the works with restoring and reproducing the famous Gothic tapestries of the Collegiate Church of Pastrana in Guadalajara. This commission enabled it to survive the tough years of the Civil War.