Toward a Grammar of Textiles: A Reconsideration of Medieval Silk Aesthetics and the Impact of Modern Collecting (original) (raw)

REWEAVING THE HISTORY OF TWO LATE ANTIQUE EGYPTIAN TEXTILES: AN ANALYSIS ON TEXTILE FRAGMENTS FROM THE INSTITUTE OF

My thesis focuses on the analysis of two Late Antique Egyptian textiles:mInstitute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology UM/IEAA 2004.1.4 and Victoria and Albert Museum, London 294-1887. Using stylistic, iconographic, and technical analyses, I was able to match these two fragments, in addition to identifying their probable location of manufacture and date. The IEAA textile contains three separate pieces, a neckband and two clavi, sewn together. Observations revealed that these decorative elements were recycled from earlier garments and were reused together based on pomegranate imagery. The IEAA clavi employ an unusual motif, which I identified as a composite representation of the pomegranate flower. Based on acquisition date, technical attributes, stylistic elements, and comparable fragments, I propose that the IEAA and V&A pieces were manufactured in Akhmîm, Egypt, during the 5th- 8th centuries A.D. This study enabled me to reweave the history of these two textiles.

Preserving our Tangible Heritage: Clothing in Ancient Egypt to the Present Day

International Academic Journal Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management

It is known that the present can be the mirror of the past and the heritage of our dress is safeguarded through eras however it needs considerably more care to preserve that heritage for the future generations. It is important that greater part of Ancient Egyptian everyday life attire are of types still been worn by Egyptians these days in various parts of the nation, for example, tunics, shawls, women's scar-vest and dresses. These cases are viewed as essential bits of dress worn in ancient Egypt by both guys and females. This paper aims to authenticate the survival clothing and to compare its usage in our society; the author keen on answering the question whether similar ancient cloths are still in use nowadays? Some of our clothing in the time being has deeply rooted in ancient Egyptian civilization. The author presents this new scope of preserving the tangible heritage of clothing of modern Egypt through artistic description and analysis, and sheds light on some religious implications that the clothing may display. This paper is developed using analytical and comparative approaches based on document-art and art-historical analyses to consider the process of change or development of these clothes through different historical periods in Egypt. The paper concludes that majority of survival clothing in time perhaps has deeply rooted in ancient Egyptian civilization. Although it may differ in their design and decoration today, they are still keeping the main elements of an older Egyptian style.

Social Fabrics: Inscribed Textiles from Medieval Egyptian Tombs

Social Fabrics: Inscribed Textiles from Medieval Egyptian Tombs, 2021

Social Fabrics looks at tiraz—highly prized textiles enhanced with woven, embroidered, or painted inscriptions in Arabic—to trace the structure of medieval Egyptian society during a transformative period. It reveals a story as interwoven and complex as these delicate objects themselves. A foundational introduction to the topic, this exhibition catalogue combines richly illustrated entries with essays on the history of Egypt at the time, the meaning and materiality of tiraz, and the history of collecting these objects in US institutions. Created throughout the region (including lands now in Iran, Iraq, and Yemen) in the centuries following the Arab Muslim conquest of Egypt, inscribed textiles were a visual form of communication in a society that was ethnically, linguistically, and religiously diverse. Those with inscriptions regulated by the government were particularly valued, proclaiming their owners’ membership in the ruling elite.

Dressed in Myth: Mythology, Eschatology, and Performance on Late Antique Egyptian Textiles (2015)

Antike Mythologie in christlichen Kontexten der Spätantike, ed. H. Leppin (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, Millennium-Studien vol. 54), 263-296, 2015

Among the rich corpus of archaeological finds from late antiqueEgypt,todaytextiles tend to occupy an obscure and isolated place in scholarship. This obscurity is disappointing for several reasons, not least because of the extraordinary number of textiles that have survived, but alsosince the initial wave of discoveries of such textiles in the late 19 th and early20 th centuries elicited such enormous enthusiasm and popular appreciation. The period witnessed ab umper crop of textile finds from the dry climate of the Egyptian desert.I ti se stimatedt hat up to 150,000 specimens were found during this period,¹ although the exactn umber remains impossiblet od etermine, as fragments that originallyb elonged to the samep iece of textile were, as per standard practice, dispersedt od ifferent museums making it very difficult to know which fragments (so-called "orphans")b elong together.

New Kingdom Textile Decoration Techniques and Significance: Evidences from the Egyptian Textile Museum in Cairo

International Journal of Heritage, Tourism and Hospitality (IJHTH) Vol. (14), Issue (1), 2020

Textile decorations spread all over Egypt during the New Kingdom not only due to the prosperity of the country's economy but also the expansion of the Egyptian Empire and the influence on textile decorations by foreign weavers. mainly Syrian, on Egyptian clothes is powerful. The present study aims to investigate the fabric's decoration and the Egyptological analysis of three textile pieces preserved in the 'Egyptian Textile Museum' in Cairo that carry religious Neither surveying nor comparing the decoration techniques of the New Kingdom has been done by author. This paper aims to compare the textile decoration techniques occurred in ancient Egyptian New Kingdom depending on the decorated pieces in the newly inaugurated "Azhar Textile Museum Significance. The paper studies the morphological appearance of the pieces through visual examination of fibers by light microscopic to reveal what decoration techniques were used. Then it analyzes the religious significance of the decorations through analyzing scenes and texts they form. Eventually, technical setting about the techniques of the fabric decoration is delivered, bringing into argumentation the religious role of these pieces revealed from their decorations. The paper concluded that three different decoration techniques occurred in New Kingdom clothes encompassing Weft looping, Tapestry Weave, and coloring. It investigated reasons behind the spread of these specific techniques. Coloring techniques of the three studied pieces are also analyzed. Moreover, major similarities and differences among decoration and coloring techniques have been resulted.

Materiality and History of Archaeological Crafts in Ancient Egyptian and Using Them in Modern Fashion Design

The relations between historical studies and materiality oscillate from precariousness to rejection. The schism between them is ancient, deep-seated, and difficult to overcome. At human needs textile products , we are passionate about creating the world's most comfortable woven textile products, but the secret comfort features we build into every pair will only work if your woven textile products fit correctly and work properly with your body. For Designer to provide a wealth of information about looking after these miracles of biological engineering, wander, stroll or saunter in the utmost comfort. In this article, basic definitions and elements of woven textile products, comfort and understanding comfort of textile materials, its relevance to braided for bodies choice and some assessment methods have been discussed.