[MR] islamic trade textiles - embroidered vs woven

[Betty Eyer]

Forgive the comments, but there seems to still be
interest, so I thought I would clarify yesterday's
generalizations.  Then I will go back into my geeky
existance until someone rattles my chain again. 

I went back over some of the books that I own and
notes from the ILL's I did last year.  The reason that
there are more samples of the linen (or cotton) with
bands of bright paterning in embroidery than in
weaving stripes is that it was less expensive to
produce.  I could not find any link in the short time
I spent on it between italian "towels", but I will
keep that in mind in the future. 

Textile production for sale was dominated by the
royalty sponsored workshops in Islamic countries
during the time period we have been discussing.  Their
trade advantage was partly because of the availibility
of raw goods, government endorsed monopolies, artistic
and technology advances caused by conquering wide
geographic areas and finally, on the use of slave
labor. But even among slaves, there was a hierarchy
among those tradesmen, and the most skilled and
respected lived rather priviledged lives for their
time.  The hierarchy was based on the complexity of
the work and the cost of the materials.  So thread of
gold and silver was first, then silk, then cotton and
linen (use interchangably depending on
geography/agriculture) and wool, pretty much in that
order.  In the skill department - advanced weaving
styles (lampas, damask, brocade, open work, etc.),
then regional specialties (yemen cloth, ikat,
tapestry), then embroidery, then block print, then
painting.  

The highest prices worldwide were given for styles
favored by the royalty and for imitations of
fashionable chinese styles, in silk with gold or
silver threads, requiring a high degree of skilled
labor to produce.  The Europeans did not much
distinguish Chinese silks from Islamic silks because
they bought them in most cases from the same merchants
and through the same trade routes.  

Like other monopolies, over time creativity and
innovation waned along with the eagerness to please
the customer (why am I thinking of Microsoft?).  After
the trade shift I mentioned in an earlier email, the
goods from Italy began to be in demand in the east and
a cross-cultural exchange began which eventually
developed a truly international style. At that point
determining the source of an item by its style,
technology or contents became more and more difficult.
 Modern carbon dating and forensic research has
overturned long accepted classifications of old
textiles and revealed an amazing amount of knockoffs
right down to weaving a false shop name into the
selvedge(the medieval equivalent of producing your own
Gucci handbags).  

So if linen cloth with beautiful silk stripes could
have been produced in Europe in the thirteenth century
at a cheaper price than the similar islamic imports it
would have been a very profitable enterprise.  

I better put some of this creative energy into my day
job now.

=====
Magdalena de Hazebrouck-Purpure, a fess fusilly argent between three torches or. 
"There are two types of music.  The Blues and Zippity Doo Dah." Townes Van Zandt

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search
http://shopping.yahoo.com