Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts Commons^™

A Name Of A Private Factory (Or Workshop) On A Piece Of Textile: The Case Of The Document A.L.18 (Vienna), Anne Regourd, Fiona J. L. Handley

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

The Arabic Leinwand (A.L.) collection is held by the Department of Papyrus (Papyrussammlung) in the Austrian National Library of Vienna.1 The collection was acquired in Egypt in the late 19th century by an antiquity trader in Cairo commissioned by Joseph von Karabacek, the famous papyrologist, and contains 68 items.2 Almost all of these have an association with writing, hence the reason why they were collected for the Library, and only eight objects have no association at all. The language for the most part is Arabic with a few texts in Greek, or with Greek with Arabic. The collection of pieces …

A Diachronic View On Fulling Technology In The Mediterranean And The Ancient Near East: Tools, Raw Materials And Natural Resources For The Finishing Of Textiles, Elena Soriga

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

Among the operations required in the overall cycle of the ancient production of textiles, Greek and Roman sources refer to the fulling of woollen fabrics as the most complex and expensive technical process performed both in the 1st millennium BC and the 1st millennium AD. Indeed, the finishing of woollen clothes needed a large amount of time, energy and labour, as well as involving the use of specialized skills and costly raw materials. Fulling fulfilled two functions that were necessary for the proper finishing of cloth, namely the scouring and consolidation of the fibres in the fabric. Woven cloth straight …

Flax And Linen Terminology In Talmudic Literature, Nahum Ben-Yehuda

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

Material culture data is mentioned in Talmudic (or ‘rabbinical’) literature when a relevant legal (‘halakhic’) or homiletic (‘midrashic’) context arises. Therefore, certain details may be lacking or ambiguously stated. This however is not presented in a systematic and detailed manner, such as in ‘Pliny’s Natural History’.2 Additional classical authors mention flax and linen. First and foremost: Diocletian3 in his edict of maximum prices. And in less scope and detail: Xenophon,4 Virgil,5 Strabo,6 Columella,7 Pausanias,8 and Theodosius II9 – in his codex. In some instances, these sources may be useful for comparison, contrast and clarification – to Talmudic sources. It is …

Armenian Karmir, Sogdian Karmīr ‘Red’, Hebrew Karmīl And The Armenian Scale Insect Dye In Antiquity, Agnes Korn, Georg Warning

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

This paper looks at three terms denoting the colour ‘red’, viz. Armenian karmir, the obviously corresponding Sogdian word karmīr, and karmīl ‘scarlet’ found in the Hebrew Bible. It will first briefly discuss the etymology of these words (summarising an argument made elsewhere) and argue that the words in question represent a technical term for a red dye from Armenia produced by scale insects. We will then attempt to show that historical data and chemical analysis of extant historical textiles confirm the Armenian red as the relevant dye.

Late Biblical Hebrew karmīl occurs only three times. All three attestations are …

Textilnet.Dk – A Toolkit For Terminology Research And Presentation, Susanne Lervad, Tove Engelhardt Mathiassen

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

Since February 2015, the digital dictionary or term database, textilnet.dk, has been accessible on the Internet.1 The purpose of this paper is to present the background and methods of this pilot project. Since 2010, the project has collaborated with The Danish National Research Foundation’s Centre for Textile Research (CTR), University of Copenhagen, and has gained moral support from Sabine Kirchmeier-Andersen, director of Dansk Sprognævn, the Danish National Language Advisory Committee.2 From 2011 to 2015, we have been working with generous funding from the Danish Ministry of Culture. The objective of textilnet.dk is to preserve and communicate the cultural heritage of …

Irritating Byssus – Etymological Problems, Material Facts, And The Impact Of Mass Media, Felicitas Maeder

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

Byssus and sea-silk made of the fibre beard of the Pinna nobilis – zoologically called byssus – have both become subjects of scholarly interest in the last decade. The subject is discussed not only in scientific books and journals, but also in mass media around the world. Although scientific research has clarified some old misunderstandings, the double meaning of the term byssus has created new doubts and scepticism in the scholarly debate, bearing the danger of new, additional erroneous interpretations. This article recapitulates the present state of knowledge and calls attention to the consequences of assumed ‘old/new knowledge’ entering the …

The Oscillum Misunderstanding, Francesco Meo

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

In this passage the Latin term oscillum refers to a particular class of objects: a small face or mask hung on trees during certain religious feasts celebrated by the Ausones in honour of Bacchus (Fig. 1). The Roman oscilla most probably derives from the Aἰῶραι, small images related to Dionysus hung on trees during the Aἰῶρα, an Athenian public feast. They were believed to purify the air as they swung in the wind. Both the Greek and the Latin words refer to objects used during particular sacred feasts, in the first case public and in the second case …

The Textile Terminology In Ancient Japan, Mari Omura, Naoko Kizawa

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

This paper investigates key Japanese words related to textiles and their production in ancient Japan that is during the 1st millennium AD. At this time the language known as ‘Old Japanese’ evolved and eventually systems for writing it down emerged, based on borrowing the Chinese characters. Textiles used for clothing, coverings, tax items, and ritual objects played an integral role in the society, and thus terms related to textiles provide insight into the life style, politics, religion and economy of Japan as it emerged from a tribal-based localized society into a centralized nation state. The linguistic study also points to …

Blanket Statements, Issue 132, Winter 2017–2018

Blanket Statements: News Publication of the American Quilt Study Group

Blanket Statements, Issue 132, Winter 2017–2018

Textile Terminology In Old High German Between Inherited And Loan Words, Roland Schuhmann

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

A particular language consists of course not only of words inherited from its respective parent language but contains also a certain amount of loan words (however, this amount differs depending on the respective language). This universal principle then also holds true for the speakers of the Germanic languages. The vocabulary of the Germanic languages includes not only the lexicon inherited from Proto‑Indo‑European but a range of languages later on heavily influenced it. In the times before the documentation of the Germanic languages, the two most important sources that influenced the Germanic lexicon were Celtic and (prolonged) Latin. Influence in the …

Terminology Associated With Silk In The Middle Byzantine Period (Ad 843-1204), Julia Galliker

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

During the 1st millennium AD, silk became the most desirable fibre in the Mediterranean region. While the expansion of silk production and consumption is widely acknowledged, specific features of the industry’s development are more difficult to discern. Chroniclers had little reason to document silk manufacturing processes, and producers were not inclined to record or publicise their trade secrets. Historical knowledge of silk comes mainly from accounts of its consumption in a variety of forms and contexts.

For the middle Byzantine period (AD 843-1204), the two most elaborated sources associated with silk date from the 10th century. The Book of the …

The Textile Term Gammadia, Maciej Szymaszek

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

This paper aims to investigate the origin of the term gammadia by determining the oldest examples of its use both in source texts and secondary literature.1 For nearly four centuries this term was commonly applied to the various motifs on mantles of figures represented in art of the 1st millennium AD.2 These right-angled and letter-like signs attracted the attention of several authors who were seeking to explain their possible symbolic meaning, but they did not pay attention to the correctness of the term adapted to name such motifs.3 This approach contributed to the terminological confusion and difficulties in understanding the …

“Der Faden Soll Nicht Reißen, Während Ich Meine Dichtung Webe…”: Zum Metaphorischen Gebrauch Von Textilterminologie Im Rigveda, Stefan Niederreiter,

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

Wenn man sich als historisch-vergleichender Sprachwissenschaftler mit einem speziellen realienkundlichen Thema einer ausgewählten Epoche einer altindogermanischen Sprache beschäftigt, so ist man aus Erfahrung darauf gefasst, dass Informationen zumeist lückenhaft vorhanden sind und die Erschließung der Texte mit den unterschiedlichsten philologischen und linguistischen Schwierigkeiten verbunden sein kann. Trägt man das Erkenntnisinteresse textilterminologischer Fragestellungen an den ältesten indischen Text, den Rigveda (RV), heran, liegt es schon an der Textsorte der für rituelle Zwecke bestimmten sacerdotalen Dichtung, dass Informationen zur handwerklichen Praxis des Webens allenfalls verstreut, beiläufig und dann vor allem in poetischen Metaphern den vedischen Hymnen zu entnehmen sind. Aber gerade der …

Purple And Its Various Kinds In Documentary Papyri, Ines Bogensperger

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

The colour purple evokes an inestimable, priceless luxury in our understanding. It almost belongs in a legendary world along with other exquisite goods. Purple is seen as example par excellence for a symbol of social status, a token of prestige. A significant study on the importance of purple has brought to light the persistent desire for this colour throughout the Greek and Roman world.2 Literary sources from Roman times provide us quite comprehensive information on the colour and its sources. The most often quoted author is doubtlessly Caius Plinius Secundus, known as Pliny the Elder, who compiled specialist knowledge in …

Blanket Statements, Issue 131, Seminar 2017

Blanket Statements: News Publication of the American Quilt Study Group

Blanket Statements, Issue 131, Seminar 2017

Uncoverings: The Research Papers Of The American Quilt Study Group, Volume 38 (2017), Lynne Zacek Bassett, Dana Fobes Bowne, Deborah Cooney, Dale Drake, Anita B. Loscalzo, Rachel May, Ronda Harrell Mcallen, Kathy Moore, Linda Welters

Uncoverings Journal

Foreword by Lynne Zacek Bassett

"Old Quilt Brought to America" by Dana Fobes Bowne

The Cushman Quilt Tops: A Tale of North and South by Rachel May and Linda Welters

Louisiana Acadian Cotonnade Quilts: Preserving the Weaving Heritage of a People by Dale Drake

Baltimore Album Quilts: New Research by Deborah Cooney and Ronda Harrell McAllen

Whence Garlands, Swags, Bowknots, and Baskets? Four Neoclassical Design Motifs Found in American Quilts by Anita Loscalzo

The Mystery of the Harlequin Star Quilts: Finding and Naming a Previously Unidentified Regional Design by Kathleen L. Moore

Contributors

Index

From Beyond The Stars: Innovation And Inspiration In Meiji Japanese Art, 1868-1912, Charles Mason, Madeleine Zimmerman, Joe Earle, Tom Wagner

Kruizenga Art Museum Exhibition Catalogs

Design by Tom Wagner. Photography by the Kruizenga Art Museum, Tom Wagner, and Curatorial Assistance/WorldBridge Art, Inc. Produced by Storming the Castle Pictures (StCP) for the Kruizenga Art Museum as a catalogue for the exhibition, "From Beyond the Stars," August 29 - December 16, 2017.

Kruizenga Art Museum Online Collection - Exhibition Gallery

Radical Dissonance And Haunted Gestures: Rupture And Reverence In The Artwork Of Aja Mujinga Sherrard, Aja M. Sherrard

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper serves to establish the studio practice of Aja Mujinga Sherrard within the framework of conceptual art, touching on the flexible use of media, the subversive or political nature of the work, and its relationship to movements and disciplines such as Feminism and Poststructuralism.

The section entitled “Race and Incoherence” addresses the practice of Radical Dissonance—or the creation of ruptures within commonly accepted concepts and social constructions—through the Costuming Kinship Series, 13≠12≠12.2 (Genetics Project), and Body Double. The section entitled ”Art, Loss, and the Unspeakable” traces an emotional shift in her work and speaks directly to the pieces …

Design For Disassembly - A Circular Approach, Wajiha Pervez

Theses and Dissertations

As the world becomes increasingly aware of the need to better care for the environment, innovative business models are helping to counter the damage of the fast fashion system - a phenomenon in the fashion industry whereby production processes are expedited in order to get new trends to the market as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Designing products with a focus on their renewability can shift the product-consumer relationship. The closed loop concept of a “circular economy” is emerging as a viable and promising solution to the current linear business model.

This study explores the possibilities of a more mindful …

Tools And Crafts, The Terminology Of Textile Manufacturing In 1st-Millennium Bc Babylonia, Louise Quillien

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

What did sheep shears in the 1st millennium BC Babylonia look like? We are not sure. Many cuneiform texts were written about textile work in Babylonia, but it was largely about administration or accounting. There were hardly any descriptions of the actual tools and processes. In this article we go back over the words, the iconography, and the archaeology in an attempt to find these missing descriptions. This study is limited to Babylonia during the 1st millennium BC, and this period correspond to a state of the Akkadian language, called Neo-Babylonian. At these times, major evolution took place. Mesopotamia entered …

Garments, Parts Of Garments, And Textile Techniques In The Assyrian Terminology: The Neo-Assyrian Textile Lexicon In The 1st-Millennium Bc Linguistic Context, Salvatore Gaspa

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

At its political and territorial apex in the 8th and 7th centuries BC, Assyria developed into an imperial society characterised by the coexistence of languages and cultures of various origins. The policy of deporting and resettling conquered peoples across the Empire’s territory caused the spread of the Aramaic language and alphabetic script as well as the use of Aramaic as a co-official language alongside Akkadian. The linguistic change caused by these events in the Empire’s core territory emerges from the late stage of the Assyrian dialect, which shows the impact of Aramaic on various grammatical and lexical elements of the …

Textile Terminologies, State Of The Art And New Directions, Salvatore Gaspa, Cécile Michel, Marie-Louise Nosch

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

The first published volume dedicated to the diachronic study of ancient textile terminologies gathered contributions on Semitic and Indo- European studies based on texts dated mainly to the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC.1 It provided a rich body of data and the first steps in elaborating a methodology of how to analyse textile terminologies and technologies according to various categories. Yet, it also highlighted the problems that were encounter in such studies. For example, some areas such as Greece, Italy, Anatolia and Italy are rich in texts providing numerous textile terms but do not yield many ancient textiles, which can …

List Of Contributors

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

The 42 contributors include Salvatore Gaspa, Cécile Michel, Marie-Louise Nosch, Elena Soriga, Louise Quillien, Luigi Malatacca, Nahum Ben-Yehuda, Christina Katsikadeli, Orit Shamir, Agnes Korn, Georg Warning, Birgit Anette Olsen, Stella Spantidaki, Peder Flemestad, Peter Herz, Ines Bogensperger, Herbert Graßl, Mary Harlow, Berit Hildebrandt, Magdalena Öhrman, Roland Schuhmann, Kerstin Droß-Krüpe, John Peter Wild, Maria Mossakowska-Gaubert, Julia Galliker, Anne Regourd, Fiona J. L. Handley, Götz König, Miguel Ángel Andrés-Toledo, Stefan Niederreiter, Oswald Panagl, Giovanni Fanfani, Le Wang, Feng Zhao, Mari Omura, Naoko Kizawa, Maciej Szymaszek, Francesco Meo, Felicitas Maeder, Kalliope Sarri, Susanne Lervad, and Tove Engelhardt Mathiassen.

Sha’Atnez – The Biblical Prohibition Against Wearing Mixed Wool And Linen Together And The Observance And Enforcement Of The Command In The Orthodox Jewish Communities Today, Orit Shamir

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

Jewish law forbids Sha’atnez – wearing mixed wool and linen together was forbidden for the Jewish population. The article will first explain the meaning and acronym of sha’atnez, and then review the sha’atnez textiles which were found in the Land of Israel. The possible reasons for the prohibition of sha’atnez will be presented and remarks on observance and enforcement of the law in Orthodox Jewish communities today will be made according to ethnographic investigation.²

The concept of sha’atnez: Jewish law forbids sha’atnez – wearing garments of mixed wool and linen. This is mentioned twice in the Hebrew Bible: …

Beschaffung Und Handel Mit Farbstoffen, Peter Herz

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

Farbstoffe sind alles andere als ein leicht zu behandelndes Thema, denn von wenigen Ausnahmen abgesehen, die die mineralischen Farben betreffen, geht die archäologische Nachweisbarkeit in der Regel fast gegen Null, was gerade für die Textilfarben sehr bedauerlich ist. Die frühesten Nachweise auf einen internationalen Handel mit Farbstoffen stammen aus dem Ägypten der 4. Dynastie. In vielen Gräbern dieser Epoche finden wir Wandgemälde aus einem ganz speziellen Blau, dem sogenannten Ägyptischen Blau. Einer der Grundstoffe war Lapislazuli oder Blaustein, ein Mineral, das noch heute in den östlichen Teilen von Afghanistan abgebaut wird. Von dort aus wurde das Rohprodukt mit Eselskarawanen bis …

Remarks On The Interpretation Of Some Ambiguous Greek Textile Terms, Stella Spantidaki

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

The study of written sources of the Classical period (5th and 4th centuries BC) reveals the existence of a very rich vocabulary related to textile production. There are terms referring to materials, tools, manufacture and decoration techniques, colours, people and places related to textile manufacture. Many terms are quite clearly defined, while others present major difficulties in their interpretation. Usually these concern terms for tools, such as κερκίς (pin beater or shuttle) and ἡλακάτη (distaff or spindle) or terms describing fabrics with some kind of decoration. Among the decorative terms, some refer to specific decorative techniques, such as κατάστικτος (embroidered) …

Armenian Textile Terminology, Birgit Anette Olsen

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

The part of the Armenian vocabulary that is inherited from the Indo-European protolanguage is notoriously limited, variously estimated to include between 450 and 700 stems. Otherwise, the lexicon is dominated by etymologically obscure elements and an impressive amount of Middle Iranian loanwords, reflecting the centuries of Iranian political dominance. In particular the Parthian loans, introduced during the Arsacid dynasty (247 BC-224 AD), have left their mark on the Classical Armenian language, attested from the early 5th century, to a similar extent as Old French on English or Low German on Danish, so that linguists until the late 19th century still …

Sabellic Textile Terminology, Peder Flemestad, Birgit Anette Olsen

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

Despite numerous recent studies of Italic textiles and textile production etc., no systematic study has so far been attempted regarding the textile terminology of Italic languages besides Latin. The present study seeks to remedy this, making a first step into the textile terminology of Sabellic languages, predominantly Oscan and Umbrian. There are two types of sources for Sabellic textile terminology: inscriptions and glosses in Greek and Latin literature. Both are, however, fraught with uncertainties. The glosses, as for example seen in the case of Etruscan, may have been misunderstood or misinterpreted and should be treated with due caution, and there …

Tunics Worn In Egypt In Roman And Byzantine Times: The Greek Vocabulary, Maria Mossakowska-Gaubert

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

The principal element of the fashion in clothing introduced in Egypt with the arrival of the Romans was a tunic made of two rectangular pieces of fabric sewn together. Such a tunic either would leave the arms naked, or cover the arms to the elbow (fig. 1). This fashion changed with the turn of the 2nd and 3rd century AD. At this time, in addition to the tunics without sleeves, the inhabitants of Egypt started to wear tunics with ‘true’ sleeves – long or short, wide or tight – inspired by the Eastern fashion: the manner of making the tunics …

Ars Polymita, Ars Plumaria: The Weaving Terminology Of Taqueté And Tapestry, John Peter Wild, Kerstin Droß-Krüpe

Textile Terminologies from the Orient to the Mediterranean and Europe, 1000 BC to 1000 AD

In Roman Egypt papyrologists and archaeologists sometimes seem to inhabit two different, if parallel, worlds, each apparently unaware of the treasures to be found in the other. This paper, however, is a co-operative venture between an ancient historian with papyrological interests – Kerstin Droß-Krüpe – and an archaeologist – John Peter Wild. In the research field of textiles we overlap, and we want to offer you insights from each of our worlds. At some point in the later 2nd century AD an unnamed magnate in the territory of the Lingones in central Gaul dictated a will in which he stipulated …