Cloth of gold
Encyclopedia
Cloth of gold is a fabric
woven with a gold
-wrapped or spun
weft
- referred to as "a spirally spun gold strip". In most cases, the core yarn
is silk
wrapped with a band or strip of high content gold filé. In rarer instances, fine linen
and wool
have been used as the core.
Cloth of gold is not to be confused with various gold embroidery
techniques that date to the early Middle Ages
, though the type of goldwork thread called "passing" is identical to the weft thread of cloth of gold. It is mentioned on both Roman headstones for women and in the Book of Psalms as a fabric befitting a princess. The Ancient Greek
reference to the Golden Fleece
is seen by some as a reference to gold cloth. Cloth of gold has been popular for ecclesiastical use for many centuries. Under Henry VII, its use was reserved to royalty and higher levels of nobility.is also used today by companies such as Charvet for neckwear.
Few extant examples have survived in Roman
provincial tombs. Later producers of cloth of gold include the Byzantine Empire
and Medieval Italian
weavers, particularly in Genoa, Venice and Lucca. A similar cloth of silver was also made. It is still made in India and Europe today.
Most modern metallic fabrics made in the West are known as lamé
.
"Cloth of gold" is a familiar name occasionally applied to the venomous Conus textile
species of cone shell, http://www.gastropods.com/3/Shell_753.html presumably because of its Byssus
or fine hair. Byssus from some species has been made into a very fine cloth.
Resources:
"The Roman Textile Industry and Its Influence. A Birthday Tribute to John Peter Wild", edited by Penelope Walton Rodgers, et al.
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
woven with a gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
-wrapped or spun
Spinning (textiles)
Spinning is a major industry. It is part of the textile manufacturing process where three types of fibre are converted into yarn, then fabric, then textiles. The textiles are then fabricated into clothes or other artifacts. There are three industrial processes available to spin yarn, and a...
weft
Weft
In weaving, weft or woof is the yarn which is drawn through the warp yarns to create cloth. In North America, it is sometimes referred to as the "fill" or the "filling yarn"....
- referred to as "a spirally spun gold strip". In most cases, the core yarn
Yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or...
is silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
wrapped with a band or strip of high content gold filé. In rarer instances, fine linen
Linen
Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
and wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
have been used as the core.
Cloth of gold is not to be confused with various gold embroidery
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
techniques that date to the early Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, though the type of goldwork thread called "passing" is identical to the weft thread of cloth of gold. It is mentioned on both Roman headstones for women and in the Book of Psalms as a fabric befitting a princess. The Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
reference to the Golden Fleece
Golden Fleece
In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece is the fleece of the gold-haired winged ram, which can be procured in Colchis. It figures in the tale of Jason and his band of Argonauts, who set out on a quest by order of King Pelias for the fleece in order to place Jason rightfully on the throne of Iolcus...
is seen by some as a reference to gold cloth. Cloth of gold has been popular for ecclesiastical use for many centuries. Under Henry VII, its use was reserved to royalty and higher levels of nobility.is also used today by companies such as Charvet for neckwear.
Few extant examples have survived in Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
provincial tombs. Later producers of cloth of gold include the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
and Medieval Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
weavers, particularly in Genoa, Venice and Lucca. A similar cloth of silver was also made. It is still made in India and Europe today.
Most modern metallic fabrics made in the West are known as lamé
Lamé (fabric)
Lamé is a type of fabric woven or knit with thin ribbons of metallic yarns, as opposed to guimpé, where the ribbons are wrapped around a fibre yarn. It is usually gold or silver in color; sometimes copper lamé is seen. Lamé comes in different varieties, depending on the composition of the other...
.
"Cloth of gold" is a familiar name occasionally applied to the venomous Conus textile
Conus textile
Conus textile, common name the cloth of gold cone is a venomous species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails, cone shells or cones. The species is extremely dangerous to humans.-Distribution:C...
species of cone shell, http://www.gastropods.com/3/Shell_753.html presumably because of its Byssus
Byssus
Byssus means both a silky filament by which certain molluscs attach themselves to hard surfaces, and a rare fabric, also called sea silk and its fibre source.-Word:...
or fine hair. Byssus from some species has been made into a very fine cloth.
See also
- SamiteSamiteSamite may refer to :* Samite, a heavy silk fabric, of a twill-type weave, worn in the Middle Ages* Samite Mulondo, Ugandan-American musician* SS Samite, a Liberty ship...
Resources:
"The Roman Textile Industry and Its Influence. A Birthday Tribute to John Peter Wild", edited by Penelope Walton Rodgers, et al.