Cloth of Gold
Metal thread
So, in a previous post, I presented a classification system to help identify a cloth of gold. This system presents three characteristics about the metal (gold or silver) thread. In addition to helping to identify the structure of the cloth, these three characteristics are important in determining the value of the cloth: they all impact the quantity of metal thread used in the cloth. Let’s look at each of these characteristics and their impact on the value of the cloth:
A) Metal thread could be of two basic types:
filé thread – has a thin sheet of the metal (gold or silver) wrapped around a core fiber of silk or animal membrane (lamella).
drawn wire – is a metal (gold or silver) wire drawn into a very fine wire. It can be made either entirely of the metal or it can be a gilt layer over a less expensive metal. For example: silver wire with a gold layer over it, or bronze wire with either a gold or silver layer over it.
Impact on Value: The filé thread is usually less costly than drawn wire because it contains less of the precious metal.
B) How far across the metal thread goes:
brocade (broché) – (discontinuous pattern weft) the additional metal-thread weft is woven back and forth, just at the point where the gold (or silver) design occurs.
pattern weft (lancé) – (continuous pattern weft) the additional metal-thread weft is woven all the way across, from selvedge to selvedge.
Impact on Value: These two weaves present a toss-up in terms of their impact on value. The brocade is more labor-intensive, which would probably increase the cost of production. However, the continuous pattern weft would be using more metal thread, which would increase the cost of materials (more gold or silver).
C) How smoothly the metal thread is pulled:
flat – (normal weave) the additional metal-thread weft is pulled tightly across the surface of the cloth, giving it a “flat” surface.
looped (frisé) – (pile weave) the additional metal-thread weft is drawn up over a rod to create loops, which gives the cloth its “looped” surface. Think of what modern terry cloth (bath towels) looks like.
Impact on Value: The flat surface is usually less costly than the looped surface because it uses less of the precious metal.
Some images will help to show the beautiful appearance of these characteristics. Here is an image that shows a cloth of gold with loops of both types:
- Filé thread (shown in blue circles):
- A few of the loops have threads that have lost their gilt cover (especially in the circle on the right), revealing the yellow silk core.
- The filé loops in the left circle are of a shorter height than those in the right circle. A variance in heights was a common feature of frisé fabric.
- The gold filé thread is also visible across the surface of the cloth in the flat (non-looped) areas of the surface.
- Drawn wire (shown in the red circle): these loops are much heavier than those of filé thread.
(8) Detail of frisé cloth with loops of both gold wire & filé thread (Florence, mid-16thC) (OrsiLandini2005, pg. 186)
It is difficult to tell whether the gold filé thread in Image 8 (above) has a continuous or discontinuous weave for the entire cloth. However, Images 9 and 10 clearly show gold filé thread in discontinuous weaves: Image 9 (left) shows a lampas brocade, and Image 10 (right) shows a velvet with discs of gold filé.
(9) Lampas w/ satin ground, brocaded with gold (1st half 14th C) (Arizzoli-Clémentel1990, pg. 58)
(10) Detail of crimson velvet w/ figured gold discs formed by brocaded gold filé (late 13th-early 14thC) (Monnas2008, pg. 76)
(11) Detail of lancé satin (1st half 16thC) (OrsiLandini2005, pg. 187)
Image 11 (left) shows a beautiful lancé (continuous) weave of red silk and gold thread. However, in the 15th and 16th centuries, cloth of gold/silver, in its “purest” sense, would have a continuous weave of gold thread, to produce a cloth with an entirely metal surface. Image 3 (in the Feb. 10 post) shows a stained-glass representation of this type of cloth. Images of this cloth are also found in many art works of the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries (see Merchants, Princes and Painters). Image 2 (Feb. 1st) shows a cloth of gold with a red ground. However, as Roberta Orsi Landini notes:
Unfortunately, the richness of the descriptions [of cloths of gold and silver] is not matched by a similar quantity of surviving fabrics, which, albeit present in various collections, are not sufficient to render the complexity, the variety or even the splendour of such production (OrsiLandini2005, pg. 186).
For our modern eyes to get a true idea of this “splendour”, one of the best sources that I’ve found is the “Golden Gown” of Queen Margaret. Check out the wonderful photos by Lynn Meyer to get an idea of the radiant shine of the surface of this cloth, as well as of the weight of the cloth itself! So what does all this mean for the 1532 inventory? I’ll talk about that next time….
la françoysse 