[MR] Hey, assisi is NEAR perugia

[Alianora Munro]

--- Betty Eyer <betty_eyer at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Well, then I have a question.  How did brocade get
> into Europe? I know a lot about Lampas and it's
> variations such as damask, but I thought that
> brocade
> required a jacquard loom which is out of period.  I
> sort of intuitively associate brocade with chinese
> and
> french, but I am not sure why. So how did brocade
> get
> into Italy in 13c?

And to that you added, 'what is brocade, anyway?' in
another post.  I'll start there.

Loom weavers define brocade as a technique used to add
designs to fabric during the weaving process using one
or more secondary wefts. Brocaded designs typically go
across the web from selvage to selvage.  If you have
access to a copy of Mary Black's _Key to Weaving_, she
has a really good discussion of the technique of
brocading.

You do not need a jacquard loom to brocade.  All you
need is a loom, a second shuttle loaded with a
supplementary weft, and a pick-up stick.

As to how and when brocade got to Europe, I haven't
done a lot of in-depth research on that topic.  My
guess is early (during the time of the Roman Empire,
perhaps before?) and probably from the east (central
Asia or China?).  I know the Romans got Chinese
textiles over the silk routes, so brocaded fabrics
certainly would have been available to them.

regards,
Alianora

=====
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dame Alianora Munro, Atlantia
the website: http://hometown.aol.com/noramunro/Chateau/index.htm
the blog:  http://damenora.diaryland.com

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