Persian textiles

Characterization of Metallic Yarns in Historic Persian Textiles by Microanalysis... 

A COLLECTION OF PERSIAN TEXTILE FRAGMENTS has been a part of the historic fabric collection in the Department of Consumer Affairs at Auburn University for a number of years. One of us (F. J. D.) initiated an investigation to determine how the fabrics came to be in the collection and what were their origins. The answer to the first question is incomplete. Apparently the textiles were originally donated to the Department of Textile Engineering by Oliver W. Brantley. Because of interest in the historic aspects, the collection was loaned to the Department of Consumer Affairs shortly thereafter. Brantley had made notes of identification that accompanied each of the 64 pieces in the collection. Just who Brantley was and how he came to possess the fabrics is still, after extensive inquiries, not known. 

The greatly increased demand for Persian textiles caused the quantity of production to increase, and, almost inevitably, the quality of the textiles decreased. By the 18th century Persian textiles had declined... 

Recent references to textiles that have gold and silver threads include the detailed volume on Persian textiles by Reath and Sachs (3) and work by France-Lanord (9), Werner and Summers (10), and Stouring-Neilsen (II). Except for Reath and Sachs (3), the articles deal... 

Historical. A detailed visual examination of the textiles, both macroscopic and microscopic, was done to determine motifs, techniques of woven construction, color, and fiber content. Many literary sources were used to identify the fragments, including the Survey of Persian Art by Pope and Ackerman (13), Persian Textiles and Their Techniques by Reath and Sachs (3), plates from the volumes on Persian and Indian textiles by Riefstahl (14), and Bunt (15). In... 

The collection pieces were examined and classified by dimensions, motifs, yarn construction, weaving technique, selvage, finish line, color, probable date, probable provenance, and presence or absence of metallic threads. After the initial classifications the pieces were taken to the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C., for comparison to extant Persian textiles in its collection. Comparisons were also done to pieces in the Hobart and Edward Small Moore Collection located at the Yale University Art Gallery. 

Reath, N. A. Sachs, E. B. Persian Textiles and Their Techniques from the Sixth to the Eighteenth Centuries Including a System for General Textiles Classification Yale University New Haven, 1937 p. 3. 

Madder, also known as Turkey red, is a scarlet dye extracted from perennial herbaceous plants of the order Rubiacea, of which there are about 35 species (Chenciner 2001 Farnsworth 1951). A well-known plant from this order is Rubia tinctorum, found naturally in Palestine and Egypt, abundant in Asia and Europe, and extensively cultivated in the ancient world, was widely used for production of the dye since remote antiquity. The use of madder for dyeing seems to have originated in the Middle East it was identified in many textiles found in Egyptian tombs and in woolen fabrics from the Judean Desert in Palestine. It was also used by the ancient Persians, Greeks, and Romans. Madder from other varieties of Rubiacea plants were used by the Incas in ancient Peru (Schaefer 1941 Fieser 1930). 

Riefstahl, R. E. Persian and Indian Textiles from the Late Sixteenth to the Early Nineteenth Century E. Weyhe New York, 1923. 

Khaki ka-ke, ka-, Canad often kar- [Hindi khaki dust-colored, fr. khdk dust, fr Persian] (1857) M. (1) A light yellowish brown. (2) A khaki-colored cloth of cotton, wool, or combinations of these fibers with manufactured fibers used primarily in military uniforms and work clothes. Vincenti R (ed) (1994) Elsevier s textile dictionary. Elsevier Science and Technology Books, New York. 

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