Auratae vestes: Gold textiles in the ancient Mediterranean

Asia InCH, 2017

Gold has captured human imagination since time immemorial. It has provoked a powerful response in humans. It has been used for embellishment and adornment of the human body since ancient times. This adornment was not only limited to the body in form of gold jewellery but it was also used to decorate the attire worn by the man. Gold was one such means of adornment which was used in various ways to adorn the body as well as the clothes worn. It was the noblest metal and enjoyed a special place in the lives of ancient people. Gold was considered as a symbol of royalty and wealth and was used in various ways to decorate the fabric. Gold and silver pigments were painted and printed onto the fabric to give it a shimmering look. Gold and silver threads were used to weave luxurious patterns into the fabric and the glittering patterns of gold embroidery combined with silk threads and semi-precious stones gave the illusion of gold embroidery on the body of the wearer. This paper discusses the use of this precious metal in different forms, to decorate & ornament textiles since ancient times.

Textile Crossroads: Exploring European Clothing, Identity, and Culture across Millennia. Anthology of COST Action “CA 19131 – EuroWeb”, 2024

religious authorities in Europe during the Middle Ages. In the 6th-7th centuries, gold threads were already recognized as a means of ornamentation in textiles throughout all of Europe. Silver threads of a grey hue were integrated alongside the gold threads.

“36th International Symposium in Archaeometry”, Quebec – Canada, 2-6 May 2006, 2009

"This research aims to contribute to the comprehensive study of Greek Orthodox ecclesiastical textiles and is focused on the identification of morphological and technological characteristics of the metal threads used for the decoration of these textiles. The results will help to explore possible stylistic and technological relationships among the various embroidery workshops operating during that time. Moreover, the data will allow examining exchanges of technological knowledge among the Greek craftsmen and among Greek, European and Ottoman ones during that period. The project is based on the study of 117 objects decorated with metal threads obtained from several Greek and European Institutions. The Greek objects are mainly embroidered ecclesiastical textiles used by the Greek Orthodox Church across a large region and covering the 14th to 19th centuries. The objects from European institutions are primarily woven secular objects of European and Middle Eastern origins which are dated from the 13th century onwards. "

2012

A lidded sarkophagus of Proconnesos marble was discovered in the East of the cemetery of Thessaloniki. The sarkophagus contained a lead coffin with the body of a woman clothed in a gold-woven textile, an exceptional example of high weaving skill, using the tapestry weaving technique. The paper deals the find complex, epigraphical evidence from Thessaloniki regarding the craftsmen who produced such garments, and the wider cultural and histoical context of Late Roman Thessaloniki, and its stong East Mediterrannean influences. The study of the skeletical material showed that th dead woman was 50-60 years of age. The burial is datd in the 4th c. AD. The intrement in a lead sarkophagus contributed to the inhibition of microbiological attack and the preservation of both the human organic remains and the textile, given his antimicrobiocal properties.The main characteristics of the textile include the use of silk, the purple colour, and the use of composite gold thread the decorative motif. Six pieces are preserved in total. The decorative motif consists of two vertical bands of linear decoration and two further narrow parallel bands with a running tendril framing oval leafs. The flowers and leaves of Isatis trincoria or woad are the main source of the plant dye used to produce a purle hue. The similarity between the leaves on the textile and those on the plant may well indicate that the textile pattern is an imitation of actual woad leaves.

"This research aims to contribute to the comprehensive study of Greek Orthodox ecclesiastical textiles and is focused on the identification of morphological and technological characteristics of the metal threads used for the decoration of these textiles. The results will help to explore possible stylistic and technological relationships among the various embroidery workshops operating during that time. Moreover, the data will allow examining exchanges of technological knowledge among the Greek craftsmen and among Greek, European and Ottoman ones during that period. The project is based on the study of 117 objects decorated with metal threads obtained from several Greek and European Institutions. The Greek objects are mainly embroidered ecclesiastical textiles used by the Greek Orthodox Church across a large region and covering the 14th to 19th centuries. The objects from European institutions are primarily woven secular objects of European and Middle Eastern origins which are dated from the 13th century onwards. "

Ενδυματολογικά, Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation, 2015

The use of precious metals for the decoration of luxury fabrics goes back to ancient times. Gold and silver, in the form of metal threads, have been interwoven into fabrics, used decoratively in tapestry, embroidery and lace making. They have been traditionally associated with the use of silk, since gold threads, just like silk, are considered luxury materials engaged in the manufacture of the finest and most expensive fabrics. The brightness of these expensive textiles served to express hierarchy and to display sacred status. This paper aims to explore the role of Orthodox Church within the Greek society from the fall of Byzantine Empire onwards through the study of the metal threads used for the decoration of ecclesiastical garments. Based on the results of a research project that dealt with the study and analysis of metal thread samples from Greek ecclesiastical textiles dated between the 14 th and the 19 th century the development of the various types of metal threads will be presented as well as the changes that have occurred in materials and the manufacturing techniques through time. Furthermore, the methods employed for the application on the ground fabric will be discussed in order to document Western and Middle Eastern influences and how these have been integrated within the Greek Orthodox tradition.