An Important Early Islamic Broder Trim

Analysis prepared by Dr.Julia Galliker, PhD, 10/30/2015

Fragment: Woven band consisting of lamellae (metal foil or gilded base) wrapped paired yarns in both the warp and weft Fragment Dimensions (based on measurement of intact woven areas only) Total height: 17.6 cm Total width: 3.6 cm Selvedge width on each side: 0.33 cm Photo: 1 gold fragment dimensions Yarn characteristics - Golden brown colored silk core comprising S twist 2 ply untwisted or lightly twisted singles. - Lamella (Metal foil or gilded base material) cut into strips - Avg lamella width: 440 um - Avg yarn diameter including core and lamella strips is: 245 um - This fragment includes yarns wrapped in both and S and Z direction as discussed below. Photo: 2 weft yarn at 150 x mag Photo: 3 warp yarn at 150 x mag Warp characteristics Avg warps/cm - Selvedges: 48/cm - Central section: 26-28/cm Warp composition: 110 total warps comprising 2 borders with 16 warps on each side and 78 warps in the center region. Structure: paired warps in extended tabby. Lamella direction was a specific design choice in preparing the loom. Warps in the selvedges are comprised of warp pairs with lamella in a SZ (\/) for one selvedge with the other in a ZS (/\) combination. The warps in the center section follow a the following pair sequence: SS ZZ SS ZZ. The intended effect of these different combinations was to emphasize the metallic material by making the foil direction less observable. The effect is a nuanced and sophisticated piece with subtle textural and light differences. Photo: 4 width of textile at 5 x mag Photo: 5 Warp foil twist direction analysis 50 x mag Photo: 6 Alternating warp s z 15 x mag Weft characteristics Avg wefts/cm: 16-18/cm grouped into pairs Note that weft density varies significantly depending upon the weave design. Structure: paired wefts in extended tabby. Lamella direction was a specific design choice with paired weft insertion comprising one S and one Z warp resulting in a pair. Maintaining this sequence in successive wefts would have required two shuttles fixed together or a single shuttle with two spools. Since the lamella direction does not reverse, the shuttle(s) would have to be held in the same parallel orientation throughout the weaving process with the left side of the shuttle entering first on throws to the left, and the right side entering first on throws to the right. Photo: 7 warp and weft foil twist direction 50 x mag Weave structure Extended tabby with paired warps and wefts with patterning achieved by various warp and weft float combinations. No float patterning mistakes are discernable. Loom type Band loom - refers to any special loom for weaving narrow bands. Possible uses Such bands were often applied to the edge of a garment for decorative purposes. However, no distension is evident on either selvedge. No sewing thread fragments are visible on the piece. Impression The piece is a fine example of band loom weaving. Apart from slight color variation in the lamellae, there are no signs of wear. There is no visible damage to the silk core such as yarn breaks or distension. The lamellae are similarly intact and undamaged. No foreign matter such as soil or other contaminants are visible. There is no definitive evidence to suggest that the piece came from an archaeological context. Note that this observation is suggestive, but not definitive. Analysis .