Art and Design Commons^™

The University Of Maryland Historic Textile Data Base, Clarita Anderson

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

INTRODUCTION

Our charge today is to discuss strategies and methodologies for gathering and extracting data from textiles. My specific task is to discuss the University of Maryland Historic Textile Data Base. This Data Base was officially established in September 1986 with a grant from the College of Human Ecology. Its purpose was to establish a sophisticated data management program on personal computers to handle the massive amounts of data necessary for research in this area. The long range goal of this project is to include all flat textiles. The immediate goal is to establish a data base on coverlets.

Before …

Contents- Textiles As Primary Sources- 1988, John E. Vollmer

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

Note: This quick copy published volume includes talks prepared by panelists and speakers for the first symposium of the Textile Society of America held at the Minneapolis Institute of Art held September 16-18, 1988. The papers are unedited and have been reproduced as submitted by each author. The speakers were vetted by the 1988 program chair for the Textile Society of America; but the Society takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the submissions printed here.

Copyright remains with each author. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or …

Piecing In Twill Tapestry Shawls Of Persia And Kashmir, Grace C. Beardsley

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

The 19th century witnessed the development of considerable piecework in the manufacture of twill tapestry shawls in both Kashmir and Persia. Modes of construction parallel so closely as to be indistinguishable. This is not surprising considering the centuries-long lively cultural intercourse between the two areas and especially their exchange of designs, weavers and textile technology. In both regions piecework was a response to pressure for faster production, the culmination of a gradual shift from atelier weaving toward a mass market.

Among construction modes, the weaving and subsequent assembly of many rectilinear shapes is to be found especially among long shawls. …

A French "Kashmir" Shawl In The Collection Of The Metropolitan Museum, Arlene Cooper

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

This paper proposes a French provenance for a rare and superb long white shawl¹ in the collection of the Textile Study Room (TSR) of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This shawl has generally been thought to have been woven in Kashmir from a French design because of its weave structure, double weft-interlocked 2/2 twill, a characteristically Indian technique. The quality of the shawl is comparable to the finer Kashmir and French shawls of the earlier 19th c.; there are between 43 and 53 wefts per centimeter of goat hair in 12 colors used so effectively there appear to be …

Orientation And Symmetry: The Structuring Of Pattern Repeats In The Paracas Necropolis Embroideries, Mary Frame

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

The most extensive Peruvian fabric remains come from the archeological site of Paracas Necropolis on the South Coast of Peru. Preserved by the dry desert conditions, this cache of 429 mummy bundles, excavated in 1926-27, provides an unparalleled opportunity for comparing the range and nature of variations in similar fabrics which are securely related in time and space. The bundles are thought to span the time period from 500-200 B.C.

The most numerous and notable fabrics are embroideries: garments that have been classified as mantles, tunics, wraparound skirts, loincloths, turbans and ponchos. In general, a single figure is repeated in …

Work-In-Progress, Lynn Felsher

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

INTRODUCTION

This slide presentation and brief introduction represent work-in-progress, originally undertaken for an exhibition that was to have been held at the Fashion Institute of Technology.¹

The textiles in question were either designed for the textile firm of F. Schumacher & Company or imported and sold under the company's name. The slides, reproduced from a number of periodicals and company manuals, were shown in the hope that they would be recognized by the other conferees.

HISTORY²

The company was founded by Frederick Schumacher, who came to the United States from France in 1883 to establish an office for …

Techniques And Production Complexity Of Mississippian Period Textiles From Spiro, Oklahoma, Jenna Tedrick Kuttruff

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

The archaeological site of Spiro, which is located in eastern Oklahoma, was a major civic-ceremonial center of the Mississippian cultural period from approximately A.D. 900 to 1400. These prehistoric peoples developed an extensive trade network, a highly developed religious center, and a political system which controlled the region. An exceptionally rich assemblage of artifacts has been recovered from the mounds at Spiro, and Craig Mound has produced the most extensive collection of preserved prehistoric textiles in the southeastern United States (Brown 1976, King & Gardner 1981, Kuttruff 1988).

METHODS:

A purposeful sample of 71 Spiro textile specimens from burial context …

Traditional Textiles In Cultural Contexts International Research And Video Documentation, Louise W. Mackie, Lotus Stack, Frieda Sorber

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

As the manufacture and use of traditional hand-made textiles in their cultural contexts decreases around the world, we are trying to preserve some of the information for posterity through publication and video documentation. The work is urgent. The comparatively few age-old traditions that still survive have become the equivalent of endangered species.

Although the size and scope of each documentation project will vary according to what survives, three collaborative results are sought based on research and fieldwork. Each fulfills a distinct educational purpose and informs specific audiences, both scholars and the general public. Each will also increase the understanding of …

Transmutations Of The Tartan: Attributed Meanings To Tartan Design, Richard Martin

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

We all associate meaning with textile designs. If we can see the principles of Revolutionary zeal and the sanction of family life and work in one textile design, we can perceive the explicit Modernism of another and realize that in the complex decisions that comprise the creation of a textile, we have fashioned our world and its values. Perhaps the textile is small, but its condensed values and meaning may be a more clarified perception about the world than most others. For many, such as Roland Barthes, textiles and clothing can thereby be described as a sign system offering a …

Cognitive Textiles Cloths: The Indigenous Classification Of Batak, Sandra A. Niessen

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

INTRODUCTION

Since completing a doctorate in anthropology on textiles produced by the Batak of North Sumatra (Niessen 1985), I have been supported by various post-doctoral scholarships (1) to produce an inventory of these same textiles. I am pleased to have this rare opportunity to tell you, a learned society of textile scholars, how I have gone about this task, my motives, goals, and methodology. I particularly would welcome feedback from you on what I see to be the theoretical underpinnings and implications of the project.

The inception of this project dates from a day in 1980 when I visited one …

Feltmaking, Carol D. Westfall

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

Felt is considered mankind's oldest textile. Created of wool or hair through pressure and shocking, and the application of heat and cold, felt is a warm, sturdy fabric used for shelter, clothing, carpets, saddles, and bags or container covers. Feltmaking is a world-wide tradition in the sense that it is practiced in such disparate regions as Mongolia, Central Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.

In the souk in Marrakech, Morocco, a two-sided prayer rug is created, one side white and one side grey, using the natural color of the fleece. The process involves the addition of soap …

Miniature Masterworks, Daphne A. Deeds

Sheldon Museum of Art: Catalogs and Publications

Miniature does not merely mean small. When applied to painting, the term "miniature" conveys art historical and psychological meanings of greater import than simple dimensions may indicate. "Miniature Masterworks" offers a diverse group of undersized paintings which are related by virtue of their size, but which reveal larger issues pertinent to the history of twentieth century art.

While artists have used the miniature format throughout the history of art, the tradition of small scale paintings was rather recently reestablished in America, via the French. In part as a reaction to large, Neoclassical paintings commissioned by grand patrons, and depicting ideal …

Textiles As Primary Sources In The Study Of "Boundary Art:" Hispanic Textiles Of Northern New Mexico, Suzanne Baizerman

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

INTRODUCTION

Wool, weft-faced textiles from the looms of Northern New Mexican Hispanic weavers (Figs. 1 through 7) are widely represented in museum collections and historical societies. Often, they are confused with Navajo and Mexican blankets and rugs although Hispanic weavings are the products of a unique weaving tradition and are produced within a distinctive cultural context. I view the history of Hispanic weaving in northern New Mexico as an example of "boundary art," that art which is produced by one cultural group for purchase by another. This transaction often requires the services of an intermediary and takes place within a …

Wringing It Dry: The Challenge Of Prehistoric Textiles, Elizabeth Barber

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

Some time ago I embarked on a "short little project" to find out what I could about Bronze Age Aegean textiles, which I had come to suspect were more elaborate and more important than anyone was giving them credit for. I knew the project could not take very long, and would not take more than maybe ten pages to write up, because virtually nothing in the way of textiles has survived from Greece—even in the Classical period, let alone the prehistoric era. But my father, who was a physicist, had instilled into me a question that changed everything: namely, "(If …

The Mexican Jaspe (Ikat) Rebozo: Comments On Its History, Significance And Prevalence, Virginia Davis

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

The rebozo is a multi-function shawl worn by women in Mexico, 6 to 12 feet long and 24 to 34 inches wide. Approximately three-quarters of the length is woven; the remainder is fringe, most often elaborately worked: usually by half hitch or overhand knotting or by finger weaving. Place and identity are communicated by the yam, the color and design of the weaving, the style and technique of fringe finishing, and by the manner in which the rebozo is worn. My particular interest is the ikat rebozo. The Spanish for ikat is jaspe. Jaspe,(ikat), a system of resist dyeing a …

Dedication- 1988, Milton Sonday

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

This published proceeding is a milestone in the development of the Textile Society of America, a professional organization for people involved with the study and care of textiles. Without the strong and consistent guiding hand of its founding president, Peggy Gilfoy, the first steps of this fledgling organization would have been so painless, nor its accomplishments so impressive.

Peg's untimely death in November, 1988, has come as a shock to us all. For the Textile Society of America there can be no more fitting memorial to this generous colleague and scholar than the dedication of this volume to Peggy Stolz …

Creating A Protocol For Reconstructing Weaving Technologies: Early Compound Non-Silk Fabrics Found In Egypt, M. M. El-Homossani

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

Introduction

The examination of weft-faced compound non-silk fabrics found in Egypt (ca. 3rd - 7th century A.D.), in the Royal Ontario Museum collections, revealed many structural differences and similarities. Single, double and ply yarns with apparent variation in size and set density were observed. Some have their twist in "S" direction, others in "Z" direction, with diverse amount of twist. Wool yarns make up the majority of the constructions, but in many cases wool yarns alternate with cotton and sometimes linen yarns. Tabby and 1/2 twill weaves are employed as binding weaves, while the compound weave structures comprise 1:1 and …

Crepe, Lillian Elliott

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

This report is on Crepe, which I have been weaving for eighteen years. I've chosen to achieve crepe effects not by weave structure or finishing techniques, but by the amount, direction, and combination of spin in the yarn. In my work I have used available commercial yarns almost exclusively, although I am interested in handspun yarn effects as well. I've chosen to use plain weave or tabby, so as to eliminate other elements, and focus on the effects of the spin of the yarn.

The area on which I concentrated was intentionally limited; using plain wave I first combined different …

Colonial Ecuadorian Yndias And Their Textiles, Blenda Femenias

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

Quito, Ecuador was a well established colonial urban center by the late sixteenth century. Although dominated by the Spanish ruling elite, indigenous people (male yndios, female yndias} and those of both Spanish and Andean ancestry (mestizos, mestizas} were socially and economically active in Quito. Cloth was a major trade item and prestige good, which circulated widely in Quito society and throughout the Andes. In pre-Hispanic times, Quito was not a major cloth-production center, and most fabric was imported from elsewhere in the Andes. During the colonial period, in addition to Andean textiles, European fabrics, as …

Manila Galleon Trade Textiles: Cross-Cultural Influences On New World Dress, Abby Sue Fisher

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

Spanning a 250 year period from 1565-1815, the Manila Galleon Trade is a fascinating period in history which is addressed far too infrequently by textile scholars. The cross-cultural contact resulting from the Spanish conquest of America expanded to include Asia with the start of the trans-Pacific trade in 1565. Spanish trade ships sailed between Manila in the Philippines and Acapulco in New Spain, becoming the most enduring trade route in history. Three continents were involved: Asia, the Americas, and Europe, and consequently three entirely different cultures with their corresponding customs, belief systems and art styles. The steady contact between these …

Theme And Variations: Creative Improvisation In African Textiles, Peggy S. Gilfoy

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

The Euro-American textile patterning vocabulary focusses on compartmentalization and symmetry. We describe textile design schemes as "repeats;" and as with many aspects of our lives, we divide our expressions into neat cubicles. The art historian, Meyer Shapiro, who wrestled with this cultural trait expressed it this way:

"Hardening of the categories causes art disease."

Yet, for many art-producing cultures there is scant division between the working world and the spiritual, the procurement of food and maintenance of order; relating history and group entertainment. Art is life. The function of artistic structure and the tenets of life are often interwoven.

Theme …

"Little Trifles": Understanding Victorian Fancywork, Beverly Gordon

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

As professionals working in museum and academic settings, many of you have probably found yourselves feeling at times like "poor cousins" -- textiles simply do not garner the same prestige as other types of artifacts and art forms. I now find myself in a situation where I feel like an even poorer cousin: although I am involved with textiles of all kinds, I find myself particularly fascinated or compelled by a type of textile-related artifact that is rarely considered seriously, even by textile historians. I am speaking of fancywork, specifically of small items such as tidies, wallpockets, sewing cases, flowerpot …

A World Of Costume And Textiles, Susan Anderson Hay

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

Susan Anderson Hay announced the publication of A World of Costume and Textiles: A Handbook of the Collection at the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design. Written by 13 authors, the book illustrates and describes 113 of the most important textiles and costumes in this superb collection. Begun in the 1870s with the founding of the Museum of Art, the textile and costume collection contains about 14,000 textiles and 6,000 examples of costume. It ranges from ancient Egyptian linen to contemporary Japanese artists' textiles and includes everything from colorful African Rente cloths to the early sixteenth century Flemish …

Designing Among The Navajo: Ethno Aesthetics In Weaving, Ann Lane Hedlund

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

Navajo weaving from northeastern Arizona and contiguous areas if the American Southwest is widely recognized for colors and patterns that range from subtle shades to dynamic brilliance, from soft stripes to bold geometries to fanciful pictorials. The apparent diversity in this native textile art, developed over the past three centuries, has defied any unified description of The Navajo Style. While Navajo blankets and rugs may be superficially categorized and classified, put into chronological sequences and evolutionary schemes, when the textiles are viewed synoptically, the delineation of Navajo aesthetics remains a formidable task.

The search for a Navajo style and sense …

Index To Authors- 1988

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

INDEX TO AUTHORS

A-Z pp.165-69 (6 pages)

Anderson, Clarita

Baizerman, Suzanne

Barber, Elizabeth

Beardsley, Grace

Cooper, Arlene

Davis, Virginia

El-Homossani, M. M

Elliott, Lillian

Felsher, Lynn

Femenias, Blenda

Fisher, Abby Sue

Frame, Mary

...

Washbum, Dorothy K

Westfall, Carol D.

Wilson, Laurel Elizabeth

The Kings As Gods: Textiles In The Thai State, H. Leedom Lefferts Jr,

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

If one observes the principles of Theravada Buddhist art, Thai textiles appear to pose a paradox. On the one hand, Buddhist art is defined as progressing hierarchically from representational to aniconic motifs, replicating movement from worlds of lesser merit to worlds of greater merit. On the other hand, we have the gloriously figurative and expensive garments worn by Thai royalty and adorning gods as depicted in temple murals. How is this seeming discrepancy to be explained?

A recent translation of a section of a larger work by the noted French scholar on Southeast Asia and Buddhism, Paul Mus, titled "The …

The Validity Of Studies Of Pattern And Structure: Case Histories, Milton Sonday

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

The importance of the analysis of continuous pattern and detailed recordings of the structures of lampas and velvet was driven home to me during my work on the Textile Museum's Safavid project. This resulted in "Pattern and Weaves, Safavid Lampas and Velvet" pp. 57-83 in the catalogue Woven from the Soul, Spun from the Heart published by The Textile Museum, Bier (1987). Practically anyone with a minimum knowledge of Iranian Safavid art and design of the 16th and 17th centuries can recognize a standard Safavid-style lampas and velvet because of motif. Therefore, why go any farther? Perhaps you don't, but …

Analysis Of Pattern Structure By Geometric Symmetries, Dorothy K. Washburn

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

INTRODUCTION

While a large literature exists on the technologies different peoples use to manufacture woven fabrics (cf. Emery 1966), little attention has been given to developing equally systematic ways to study the patterns produced. This paper outlines one approach to pattern analysis which utilizes mathematical symmetries to describe the way design parts are arranged in a pattern. The advantages of this method are discussed and examples of a number of problems that such an analysis of pattern structure can address are described.

SYMMETRY ANALYSIS:

Symmetry analysis is a mathematically based description of the structure of a pattern. It specifies the …

Goddess Imagery In Greek Folk Costume, Linda Welters, Linda Tepfenhart

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

The seeds of this research were sown in a textile exhibition entitled "Goddesses and Their Offspring: 19th and 20th Century Eastern European Embroideries" at the Roberson Center for the Arts in Binghamton, N.Y. in 1986. Similarities between the imagery of Eastern European textiles and the embroideries in Greek folk costume prompted this study. It was part of a larger field research project on Boeotian folk costumes sponsored by Earthwatch in the summer of 1988

A "hot topic" of discussion among feminists of all disciplines is the image of the prehistoric goddess and the ensuing implications for all women everywhere. I …

The Cornett Family Quilts, Laurel Elizabeth Wilson

Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings

ABSTRACT

The Cornett farm was settled in 1844 when northwestern Missouri was still frontier. The farm, its buildings and contents were donated to the University of Missouri in 1981. The house, built in 1884, contained three generations' of belongings. Among them were 41 quilts made by various members of Cornett family between 1855 and 1940.

This collection gives researchers valuable insights into the way people lived and how resources were utilized. Among the oldest quilts is one made entirely from handwoven homespun which was also home dyed. The fabrics were previously articles of clothing. A transitional quilt utilizes homespun fabrics …