Author: Anne Marie Decker

Nalbinding Researcher

NOW: Nidaros Stocking N11979

Having had an excuse to go to Norway, I had to go to Trondheim to see our next Nalbound Object of the Week. Found in a pre-1300 CE context, the Nidaros stocking is one of the earliest knee length nalbound stockings found.

The stocking is laid out horizontally with the upper portion of the foot to the left of the photograph, toe up. The leg still has folds, but likely reached the knee. A high resolution photo is available via the link in the online catalog. Photo: Ole-Aleksander Ulvik, NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet CC BY-SA 4.0

Object: Nidaros Stocking

Description: A nearly complete full stocking from toes to the knee. The sock shows heavy fulling, though if that was intentional or from wear or find circumstances is unknown. There are 4 holes that show evidence of compression near them. The areas away from the holes are a significantly darker color, have a layer of fibers obscuring the nalbinding, and are noticeably stiffer and not flexible.

Dated to: medieval,1 pre-13002

Find location: Field S of the Søndre Gate 4 dig in medieval Nidaros, modernly Trondheim, Norway. More specifically it was found under the floorboards of a pre-1300 house in the wealthy blocks of the city.3

Material: wool4

Stitch(es) used: Further examination is necessary given the condition of the textile. However, the surface texture most closely resembles the stitch known as Dalby, F1 UOU/OUOO.

Inventory number: N11979

Current location: NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://www.unimus.no/portal/#/things/c72c7d23-f49f-4c0b-9bf8-dd67f4fb111e

Some sources in which more information can be found:

In 2020, there was a Facebook post by the Nidaros Archaeological Archive (NIDARK) project with a photograph of the stocking and some information regarding its excavation. I’d share it with you, but within this last year, that post has since disappeared along with all of the rest of the NIDARK Facebook page posts. Nonetheless, that project and its posts led me to this fabulous artifact.

Photographs:

Detail of the cuff of the Nidaros Stocking showing one of the holes.
Photo: Anne Marie Decker 2024
Examination day is always so exciting!
Photo: Anne Marie Decker 2024
The Nidaros Stocking was found in excavations under this street.
Photo: Anne Marie Decker 2024

Acknowledgements: My sincerest thanks to the NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet and especially to Torkel Johansen, Curator, and Frances Lucas Lukezic, Conservator for their assistance during my study visit.

Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog.
Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.

  1. The museum catalog states Medieval, Modern Era https://www.unimus.no/portal/#/things/c72c7d23-f49f-4c0b-9bf8-dd67f4fb111e Accessed 30 March 2024. ↩︎
  2. Per discussions with Torkel Johansen, curator at the Institutt for arkeologi og kulturhistorie, NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet during my study visit on 16 April 2024. ↩︎
  3. Per discussions with Torkel Johansen, curator at the Institutt for arkeologi og kulturhistorie, NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet during my study visit on 16 April 2024. ↩︎
  4. Gjenstandsbeskrivelse https://www.unimus.no/portal/#/things/c72c7d23-f49f-4c0b-9bf8-dd67f4fb111e Accessed 6 May 2024. ↩︎

NOW: Oslo mitten C28155

Last week I had the distinct pleasure to go visit a well known mitten that rather recently has been placed on display again in the NOREGR – Medieval Stories exhibition at the Historical Museum in Oslo. And thus, the Oslo mitten joins the Nalbound Object of the Week series.

Anne Marie Decker pointing to the Oslo mitten on display in the Historical Museum in Oslo. Photo Anne Marie Decker 18 April 2024

Object: Oslo Mitten

Description: An adult sized mitten made of wool with damage at the base of the thumb and palm areas.

Dated to: 11th century,1 medieval. Ca. 1025-1125 CE2

The exhibition label for the Oslo mitten in the NOREGR – Medieval Stories exhibition at the Historical Museum in Oslo. Photo: Anne Marie Decker 18 April 2024.

Find location: The mitten was found during the 1926 excavation of the old town of Oslo on a layer of wood chips under the wooden flooring of a narrow passage between houses. This part of town was built in the 11th century.3

Material: wool4

Stitch(es) used: Nordland published the stitch used as 412 in his classification system5 which most likely translates to the stitch commonly known as Oslo and classified in Hansen’s notation as UO/UOO F1. However, further examination is warranted as the surface texture does not match. The surface texture more closely resembles the Mammen stitch, F2 UOO/UUOO.

Inventory number: C28155

Current location: Historical Museum

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://www.unimus.no/portal/#/things/fbbd3006-2407-498e-a527-a18f62fadb2a

Some sources in which more information can be found:

Claßen-Büttner, Ulrike. Nadelbinden – Was ist denn das? Geschichte und Technik einer fast vergessenen Handarbeit. Norderstedt: Books on Demand GmbH, 2012. ISBN 978-3-8482-0124-2.

Claßen-Büttner, Ulrike. Nalbinding – What in the World Is That? History and Technique of an Almost Forgotten Handicraft. Norderstedt: Books on Demand, 2015. ISBN 978-3-7347-7905-3.

Nordland, Odd. Primitive Scandinavian Textiles in Knotless Netting. Studia Norvegica no. 10. Oslo: Oslo University Press, 1961. No ISBN listed in Book.

Photographs:

The museum catalog has 3 very nice zoomable photos. The two color photos are of one side and the black and white of the other.

Oslo Mitten. Photo: Anne Marie Decker 18 April 2024
Detail of the thumb of the Oslo Mitten. Photo: Anne Marie Decker 18 April 2024
The display case in which the Oslo mitten is currently located in the NOREGR – Medieval Stories exhibition. Photo: Anne Marie Decker 18 April 2024
Detail of the cuff of the Oslo Mitten. Photo: Anne Marie Decker 18 April 2024

Photo taken during previous exhibition: https://images.app.goo.gl/jji31ErrTx8A1o739

Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog.
Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.

  1. Nordland 1961, pg 43. ↩︎
  2. Dating listed on the item description for the mitten as on display in the NOREGR exhibition in the Historical Museum. ↩︎
  3. Nordland 1961, pg 43 and https://www.unimus.no/portal/#/things/fbbd3006-2407-498e-a527-a18f62fadb2a Accessed 29 April 2024. ↩︎
  4. Nordland 1961, pg. 43. ↩︎
  5. Nordland 1961, pgs 42 & 43. ↩︎

NOW: Cap with Lizard T 10298

While preparing last week’s Nalbound Object of the Week, I discovered another fascinating piece of nalbinding in the MAK. This week brings us a new (to me) Peruvian cap with figural work on it. In this case, it’s a lizard! You will need to go to the MAK’s online catalog to see a photo, https://sammlung.mak.at/sammlung_online?id=collect-100216, as the MAK’s photos are not CC or public domain.

Object: Cap with Lizard

Description: A brown cap with a row and the central top in cream and brown lizard with cream highlights standing on top.

Dated to: 1400-1532 CE1

Find location: Peru2

Material: Camelid, plant fiber, cotton3

Stitch(es) used: S-Crossed Simple Looping,4 B1 U (stitch determined from photograph by Anne Marie Decker)

Inventory number: T 10298

Current location: Museum für angewandte Kunst MAK (Museum of Applied Arts)

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://sammlung.mak.at/sammlung_online?id=collect-100216

Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog.
Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.

  1. https://sammlung.mak.at/sammlung_online?id=collect-100216 Accessed 31 March 2024. ↩︎
  2. https://sammlung.mak.at/sammlung_online?id=collect-100216 Accessed 31 March 2024. ↩︎
  3. https://sammlung.mak.at/sammlung_online?id=collect-100216 Accessed 31 March 2024. ↩︎
  4. The MAK specifies the technique used as “Schlingtechnik” [looping technique], but does not specify which particular variant. https://sammlung.mak.at/sammlung_online?id=collect-100216 Accessed 31 March 2024. ↩︎

NOW: Saqqâra sock T 564

For this week’s Nalbound Object of the Week we get to get to see what is thought to be the earliest archaeological artifact to have its stitch analyzed, a sock from Egypt. Photos of nalbinding from the late 1800’s are rather rare. In this case, we also have the opportunity to see a more recent photo in the online catalog of the MAK in Vienna.

Fig. 28 from Antike Handarbeiten published in 1895.

Object: Sock from Saqqâra, Egypt

Description: A white wool sock with a black/dark brown toe and over the arch worked in a finer black/dark brown wool and a row of red wool at the cuff. The sock has a single wedge style heel and stops at the ankle. Current photos show that it has taken some damage since 1895 as the dark toe is nearly entirely missing and several rows near the cuff also show damage. Otherwise, it is in apparently the same position as it was when the first photograph was taken.

Dated to: 6th century

Find location: Saqqâra, Egypt

Earliest diagrams of nalbinding as analyzed from an artifact. Figs. 30-32 from Antike Handarbeiten published in 1895. Highlights by Anne Marie Decker

Material: Wool

Stitch(es) used: Mammen, F2 UOO/UUOO. Luise Schinnerer diagrammed the stitch found in this sock, but did so in a manner that while it produces the correct final structure, is opposite the direction in which we work this stitch today.

Inventory number: T 564

Current location: Museum für angewandte Kunst MAK (Museum of Applied Arts)

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://sammlung.mak.at/sammlung_online?id=collect-107622

Some sources in which more information can be found:

Schinnerer, Luise. Antike Handarbeiten. Mit einer histor. Einleitung von Alois Riegl. Wien: Waldheim, 1895. [No ISBN]

Collin, Maria; ‘Sydda vantar’ in Fataburen; 1917; pgs. 71-78.

Noever, Peter ed. Verletzliche Beute: spätantike und frühislamische Textilien aus Ägypten = Fragile remnants : Egyptian textiles of late antiquity and early Islam. on the occasion of the “Verletzliche Beute/Fragile remnants exhibition” MAK Vienna, 07.12.2005-05.06.2006 Ostfildern-Ruit: Hatje Cantz, 2005. ISBN 3-7757-1699-8.

Gagneux-Granade, Marguerite, and Anastasia Ozoline. “Quelques objets surprenants en textile non tissé dans les réserves du musée Bénaki” in ΜΟΥΣΕΙΟ ΜΠΕΝΑΚΗ 9, 2009 (Athens 2010): 99-111. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.12681/benaki.13

Photographs: You can see a much more recent photo of the sock in the MAK’s online catalog: https://sammlung.mak.at/sammlung_online?id=collect-107622

Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog.
Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.

NOW: Kransen sock fragments 34821

The famous sock from Uppsala is not the only nalbinding found in Uppsala. This week’s Nalbound Object of the Week are the fragments of what is believed to be another sock. This one found in the Kransen quarter of Uppsala. I was graciously allowed access to examine these fragments at the Statens Historiska Museet in May of 2023. Some of what you see in the box is moss.

Image of the fragments of 34821, cropped to remove excess background.
Upphov: Rosengren, Helena, Historiska museet/SHM (CC BY 4.0)

Object: Kransen sock fragments

Description: Nine fragments of what is believed to be a sock.1

Dated to: end of the 1300’s2 (late 14th century)

Find location: Kransen quarter, Uppsala, in the block between Svartbacksgatan, St Persgatan, Dragarbrunnsgatan, and Vaksalagatan3 https://www.uppsala.se/contentassets/97d6ed912b5047a0aed22a7ceea06de0/plankarta.pdf (Thank you Ingela Andersson Lindberg for finding the plans)

Material: Wool4

Stitch(es) used: unknown

Inventory number: 34821

Current location: Historiska Museet, Stockholm

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://samlingar.shm.se/object/7216C35F-20E1-45BC-89FC-392CD84EBB34

Some sources in which more information can be found:

Gustafsson, Jan Helmer, and Ola Ehn. Kransen: ett medeltida kvarter i Uppsala. Uppsala: Upplands fornminnesfören, 1984. ISBN 91-85618-21-7.

Photographs (if permissions allow):

Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog.
Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.

  1. https://samlingar.shm.se/object/7216C35F-20E1-45BC-89FC-392CD84EBB34 ↩︎
  2. Gustafsson, Jan Helmer, and Ola Ehn. Kransen: ett medeltida kvarter i Uppsala. Uppsala: Upplands fornminnesfören, 1984. Pg. 76. ISBN 91-85618-21-7. ↩︎
  3. Gustafsson, Jan Helmer, and Ola Ehn. Kransen: ett medeltida kvarter i Uppsala. Uppsala: Upplands fornminnesfören, 1984. Pg. 8. ISBN 91-85618-21-7. ↩︎
  4. https://samlingar.shm.se/object/7216C35F-20E1-45BC-89FC-392CD84EBB34 ↩︎

NOW: Fragment from شهر سوخته Shahr-e-Sookhteh, Iran’s “Burnt City”

Sometimes I know very little about an object. This week’s Nalbound Object of the Week appeared in news articles about شهر سوخته Shahr-e-Sookhteh, Iran’s “Burnt City” published in January of 2022. I also discovered that in 2018 there was a multidisciplinary project run by the Iranian Archaeological team during which there was conservation and micro analysis of the textile collection in Shahr i Sokhta. I’d be very interested in learning about the results of those examinations. Periodically I do another search on these fragments to see if more information pops up. Last July a new article turned up on the web with some very interesting references to try to track down.

Object: Fragment from شهر سوخته Shahr-e-Sookhteh

Description: There are apparently several fragments of Simple Looping with large multi-row bands of alternating color, light (cream) and dark (brown). The third & fourth articles linked below show the one fragment that first brought my attention to this artifact. The first and second links, one from the multidisciplinary project, include a photo that looks to be different fragments and a larger section of the same textile. These are some of around 47 fabrics (techniques unspecified but clearly including more than just the nalbound fragments), consisting of 265 fragments, that were found in Shahr-e-Sookhteh.1

Dated to: Shahr-e-Sookhteh was occupied between 3200-1700 BCE (early articles indicated the city was abandoned in 2100 BCE2, but later articles indicate the city was last occupied in 1700 BCE3)

Find location: شهر سوخته Shahr-e-Sookhteh, Iran’s “Burnt City.” شهر سوخته is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.4

Material: unspecified

Stitch(es) used: Z-crossed Simple Looping (analysis based on photograph by AnneMarieDecker), F1 O

Inventory number: unspecified

Current location: likely at the Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) multi-disciplinary Base at Shahr-i Sokhta

Link to museum catalog or other data: unknown

Some sources in which more information can be found:

1. https://amordadnews.com/172355 This is the most recent article released and it lists several references that look to be very interesting.

2. https://shahresokhta.ir/Home with links to information regarding publications from the Multidisciplinary Project. A .com version of the site that is no longer active contains the larger photo of the nalbound fabric: https://web.archive.org/web/20200528141811/http://shahresokhteh.com/Explain/3/

The web pages on which the earlier news articles were published are no longer live. The Internet Archive did save copies as part of their Wayback Machine project.

3. https://web.archive.org/web/20210131185910/http://www.iranreview.org/content/Documents/Iran_s_Burnt_City.htm

4. https://web.archive.org/web/20220127184251/https://tarikhema.org/ancient/iran/jiroft-aratta/61067/%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%A7%D9%88%DB%8C%D8%B1-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%AE%D8%AA%D9%87-%D9%88-%D8%A7%D8%B4%DB%8C%D8%A7-%D9%85%DA%A9%D8%B4%D9%88%D9%81%D9%87/

Photographs: There are a couple of interesting photos that were published, but as I don’t have contacts to request permissions, you’ll need to explore the links above to see them.

Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog.
Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.

  1. https://amordadnews.com/172355/ Accessed 22 March 2024. ↩︎
  2. The abandonment date of 2100 BCE comes from this article https://web.archive.org/web/20210131185910/http://www.iranreview.org/content/Documents/Iran_s_Burnt_City.htm Accessed 22 March 2024. ↩︎
  3. https://amordadnews.com/172355/ Accessed 22 March 2024. Occupied up to 1800 BCE according to https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1456 Accessed 22 March 2024. ↩︎
  4. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1456 Accessed 22 Mar 2024. ↩︎

NOW: Setesdal Mittens NF.1913-0863AB

The Nalbound Object of the Week features a pair of mittens from Valle, Setesdal, Norway, dated pre-1913, and currently located in the Norsk Folkemuseum. The mittens are decorated in the typical Valle style and are made of wool. They are recognizable from their use as the cover illustration on Nordland’s Primitive Scandinavian Textiles in Knotless Netting. For more information, visit the museum’s catalog.

Today’s Nalbound Object of the Week comes from Valle in Setesdal, Norway. This pair of mittens was apparently accessioned into the Norsk Folkemuseum’s inventory in 1913. They are more broadly recognized in the nalbinding community because one of them appears on the cover of Odd Nordland’s book “Primitive Scandinavian Textiles in Knotless Netting”1 which is the source of the second specific attempt at a classification system for nalbound structures.

NF.1913-0863AB mittens from Valle in Setesdal in Norway.
Photo: Norsk Folkemuseum CC BY-SA

Object: Pair of mittens decorated with a nalbound strip and embroidery in the style typical of Valle in Setesdal, Norway.

Description: White mittens with red, and possibly light green based on related mittens, embroidery on the cuffs and thumb.2 The decoration also includes a separate chain of nalbinding that is attached with embroidery in a wavy pattern. The mittens are 27.5 cm long and 16 cm wide3 (10 21/64 inches by 6 19/64 inches.

Dated to: pre-19134

Find location: Valle5 in the Setesdal valley in Norway

Material: Wool6

Stitch(es) used: 632 in Nordland’s classification system.7 More recognizably F1 UOOO/UUUOO in modified Hansen’s classification.8

Inventory number: NF.1913-0863AB9

Current location: Norsk Folkemuseum

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023139001/vott

Some sources in which more information can be found:

Nordland, Odd. Primitive Scandinavian Textiles in Knotless Netting. Studia Norvegica no. 10. Oslo: Oslo University Press, 1961. No ISBN listed in Book.

Photographs:

NF.1913-0863A mitten from Valle in Setesdal in Norway. This is most likely the specific mitten used for the image on the from of Nordland’s “Primitive Scandinavian Textiles in Knotless Netting.”
Photo: Norsk Folkemuseum CC BY-SA

Related mittens from Valle in Setesdal:
NF.1911-0928AB https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023136087/vott
NF.1950-0696AB https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023181433/vott
NF.1992-1720AB https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023223523/vott
NBF2012-1018 https://digitaltmuseum.no/011024089933/vott

NF.1911-0928AB https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023136087/vott
Photo: Norsk Folkemuseum CC BY-SA
NF.1911-0928AB https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023136087/vott
Photo: Norsk Folkemuseum CC BY-SA
NF.1950-0696AB https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023181433/vott
Photo: Norsk Folkemuseum CC BY-SA

NF.1992-1720AB https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023223523/vott
Photo: Norsk Folkemuseum CC BY-SA
NF.1992-1720AB https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023223523/vott
Photo: Norsk Folkemuseum CC BY-SA
Several other nalbound mittens from Valle in Setesdal Norway.
NF.1911-0665AB
Photo: Norsk Folkemuseum CC-BY-SA https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023135826/vott
Annlaug K. Haugen sitting with her nalbinding in 1939. Identifier: NF.13609-020
Photo: Grostøl, Anna / Norsk Folkemuseum Public Domain https://digitaltmuseum.no/011013438128/valle-setesdal-aust-agder-1939-portrett-av-annlaug-k-haugen-som-sitter
Nalbinding by Annlaug K. Haugen taken in 1939. Identifier: NF.13609-036
Photo: Grostøl, Anna / Norsk Folkemuseum Public Domain https://digitaltmuseum.no/011013438154/valle-setesdal-aust-agder-1939-nalebinding-annlaug-k-haugen
Many thanks to Ingela Andersson Lindberg for finding these additional Valle mitten images. It looks like there’s an interesting unpublished study in Anna Grostøl’s notes to be investigated and another reference to track down: Fossnes, Heidi: Håndplagg til bunader og folkedrakter. Oslo 2003. ISBN 82-496-0187-4. s. 17.

Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog.
Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.

  1. Knotless Netting is an older term used to describe nalbound structures prior to the borrowing of the term Nalbinding into English. It was used to differentiate nalbound structures from netted structures. However, it did not apparently recognize that nalbound structures are also types of knots; just loose knots compared to the hard knots used in netting. ↩︎
  2. Color based on data and color pictures of related objects as neither Nordland nor the museum’s online record specify the colors of this particular pair of mittens. ↩︎
  3. Dimensions Value: https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023139001/vott Accessed 17 Mar 2024 ↩︎
  4. No dating was provided, but the inventory number implies accession in 1913. ↩︎
  5. Bruk: https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023139001/vott Accessed 17 Mar 2024 and Nordland 1961, Pgs. 70 & 71. ↩︎
  6. Material: https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023139001/vott Accessed 17 Mar 2024 ↩︎
  7. Nordland 1961, Pgs. 70 & 71. ↩︎
  8. Larry Schmitt initially used a modified Hansen’s classification moving the connection stitch to the front to recognize that the connection to the previous row occurs prior to the intralacing of most stitches. I have continued this practice in my translations between classification systems. Technically Nordland’s 632 could be either F1 UOOO/UUUOO or F1 OUUU/OOOUU as it only describes the number of loops before a change in intralacement, not the order of intralacement, but the first is more likely given the predominant intralacing patterns. ↩︎
  9. Identifier: https://digitaltmuseum.no/011023139001/vott Accessed 17 Mar 2024 ↩︎

NOW: Pair of Red Socks from Oxryhyncus 2085&A-1900

Our next Nalbound Object of the Week can be found on display in the V&A Museum in London. A rare example of a complete pair of Late Roman Era1 (formerly dated to the Coptic Era2) nalbound socks from the burial grounds of the Greek colony of Oxryhyncus in Egypt. By the 5th century, Oxryhyncus was a notable monastic center.3

The socks after being placed on conservation mounts to support the fabric. (Conservation mounts are not intended to be the equivalent shape as the feet upon which they were intended to be worn as that would strain the fabric.) © Victoria and Albert Museum, London use of Content is permitted up to 5 years from first day of publication as per V&A Websites Terms & Conditions.

Object: Pair of Red socks from Oxryhyncus

Pre-conservation showing standard proportions. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London use of Content is permitted up to 5 years from first day of publication as per V&A Websites Terms & Conditions.

Description: A complete pair of red socks on red conservation mounts. The socks have split toes to accommodate wearing with thonged sandals. The ankles have an overlapping slit and the remains of attached ties for closure.

The conservation mounts and foreshortening of photographs tend to cause these socks to look much thinner and longer than they actually are. The conservation mounts are rounder than a foot which narrows the profile. They are intended to be supportive of the fabric more than providing a foot shape that would stress the fabric. As can be seen in the photographs prior to conservation, the proportions are well within the average ratios for this type of sock and would have fit a normal human foot quite nicely.

Dated to: 250-420 CE4 Cal. years (95.4%)5

Find location: Oxryhyncus (modern Behneseh), Egypt6

Material: S3Z 3-ply Wool7

Nalbinding Stitch(es) used: S-crossed8 Cross-knit Looping, F1B1 U (specific determination confirmed by Anne Marie Decker)

A pair of madder red socks confirming a theory regarding a particular construction detail on the Oxryhyncus socks. Completed by Anne Maire Decker on 17 August 2020. Not to gauge.

Inventory number: Accession number 2085&A-19009

Current location: V&A South Kensington, UK

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O107787/pair-of-socks-unknown/

Some sources in which more information can be found:

Burnham, Dorothy K. “Coptic Knitting: An Ancient Technique” in Textile History, Vol. 3 December 1972. edited by K. G. Ponting and Dr S. D. Chapman. The Pasold Research Fund LTD, England, 1972; pgs. 116-124. No ISBN/ISSN provided. DOI: 10.1179/004049672793692237

De Moor, Antoine, Cäcilia Fluck, M. Van Strydonck, and M. Boudin. “Radiocarbon dating of Late Roman woolen socks from Egypt,” In Textiles, tools and techniques of the 1st millennium AD from Egypt and neighbouring countries. Proceedings of the 8th conference of the research group ‘Textiles from the Nile Valley,’ Antwerp, 4-6 October 2013, ed. Antoine De Moor, Cäcilia Fluck, and Petra Linscheid, p. 131-136. Tielt: Lannoo Publishers, 2015. ISBN 9789401432405.

Kendrick, A. F. Catalogue of Textiles From Burying-Grounds in Egypt: Vol. II. Period of Transition and of Christian Emblems. Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Textiles. London: Publ. under the Authority of His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1921. No ISBN.

Köstner, Barbara. “Roman and Late Roman nalbinding socks from Egypt: Bringing ‘Egyptian fashion’ to the North” in Excavating, analysing, reconstructing: Textiles of the first millennium AD from Egypt and neighbouring countries. Proceedings of the 9th conference of the research group ‘Textiles from the Nile Valley’, Antwerp, 27-29 November 2015. ed. by Antoine De Moor, Cäcilia Fluck, and Petra Linscheid. Tielt: Lannoo Publishers, 2017. ISBN 9789401443999.

Köstner, Barbara. “Wearing socks in sandals: The height of Roman fashion?” in Small Finds & Ancient Social Practices in the Northwest Provinces of the Roman Empire edited by Stefanie Hoss and Alissa Whitmore. Oxford & Philadelphia: Oxbow Books, 2016. Pages 16-27. ISBN 978-1-78570-256-3.

Levey, S. M. “Illustrations of the History of Knitting Selected from the Collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum” in Textile History, Vol. I No. 2 (December 1969): pgs. 183-205. ed. by K. G. Ponting. Great Britain: David & Charles Ltd., 1969. Also available in the combined Vol 1. Nos 1-3 set published in 1971 as ISBN 0-7153-5166-4.

Turnau, Irena. History of Knitting Before Mass Production. Translated by and Agnieszka Szonert. Warsaw: Institute of the Archaeology and Ethnology Polish Academy of Sciences, 1991. ISBN 83-900213-2-3.

Photographs:

The socks on display in the V&A. Photo credit: Anne Marie Decker 15 October 2019
A view of the toes and slits. Also note how the angle at which the photos are taken affects the perception of length. Photo credit: Anne Marie Decker 15 October 2019.
A side view showing better proportions. Photo credit: Anne Marie Decker 15 October 2019.
Anne Marie Decker taking photographs of the pair of red socks. Photo credit: Ruth Decker 15 October 2019.

Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog.
Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.

  1. De Moor et. al. “Radiocarbon dating of Late Roman woolen socks from Egypt,” 2015. Pg. 136 ↩︎
  2. The dating to Coptic Era was based on older art historical dating methods. It generally referred to what are now defined as Late Roman Egypt (3rd−4th centuries) and Byzantine Egypt (4th−7th centuries), but differed in exact dating by author. While still used colloquially, the term has lost favor in academia in large part due to its imprecision. ↩︎
  3. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O107787/pair-of-socks-unknown/ Accessed 21 January 2024. ↩︎
  4. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O107787/pair-of-socks-unknown/ Accessed 21 January 2024. ↩︎
  5. De Moor et. al. “Radiocarbon dating of Late Roman woolen socks from Egypt,” 2015. Pg. 134. ↩︎
  6. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O107787/pair-of-socks-unknown/ Accessed 21 January 2024. ↩︎
  7. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O107787/pair-of-socks-unknown/ Accessed 21 January 2024 specifies 3-ply wool. Barbara Köstner lists S3Z in “Roman and Late Roman nalbinding socks from Egypt: Bringing ‘Egyptian fashion’ to the North” 2017, pg. 192. ↩︎
  8. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O107787/pair-of-socks-unknown/ Accessed 21 January 2024. The museum record only states “Nålbindning (sewing stitches)” “sometimes called knotless netting or single needle knitting.” It does not specify the specific stitch variant used. Barbara Köstner does specify S crossed in “Roman and Late Roman nalbinding socks from Egypt: Bringing ‘Egyptian fashion’ to the North” 2017, pg. 193. ↩︎
  9. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O107787/pair-of-socks-unknown/ Accessed 21 January 2024. ↩︎

NOW: Singlad Ball – NM.0010083

From 1872 CE we get this week’s Nalbound Object sewn by P. Nilsson’s daughter in Äspö in Skåne Sweden:1 the remains of a beautifully colored singlad ball.

Photo: Nordiska museet – License Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)

Object: Multi-colored Singlad Ball from 1872

Description: Not much of the nalbound exterior remains, but what does remain shows colorwork in multiple patterns involving two colors being used in the same row in several places. The ball is 6.5 cm in diameter2; divided into 8 sections, each worked from the edges into the center. The center is presumed to be cork, wrapped with possibly flax cord.3 It was then covered in course cloth, partitioned into eights and then the Simple Looping outer layer was applied.

Dated to: 1872 CE4

Find location:

Material: The nalbinding was worked in multiple colors of wool.5

Stitch(es) used: Z-crossed Simple Looping, F1 O (determination from photo by Anne Marie Decker) called “langettstygn”6 [langett stitch] in Swedish

Singlade balls are very similar in concept and style to Temari balls from Japan. However, Temari balls primarily use wrapped patterns, while Singlade balls are worked in the Simple Looping structure that can be considered a variant of Nalbinding when creating a fabric, but embroidery when worked into the ball base as seen in some of the more complicated modern designs.

Inventory number: Identifier – NM.0010083

Current location: Nordiska museet

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023087899/boll

Some sources in which more information can be found:

The Nordiska museet has multiple other examples of singlade balls ranging in date from the 19th century through the 20th century:

From the 1800’s (accessioned in 1909), three balls. 2 wool and 1 silk. Only two are pictured as one apparently is missing: https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023589117/boll

A solid dark red ball from the 1880’s: https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023784557/boll

A beautiful, but unfinished (with needle still in the work) ball from the early 1880s (accessioned in 1884): https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023409730/boll

Another silk one in tiny stitches from around 1907: https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023576833/boll

Two balls split in eights from the early 1900’s (accessioned in 1908): https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023582265/boll

This one was made in 1964 by a woman that had been making singlad balls since she was 7 (in 1892): https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023772563/boll

Six balls, and two unfinished, from the 1970’s:
https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023812642/boll
https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023811401/boll
https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023811402/boll
https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023785506/boll
https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023812643/boll
https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023785507/boll

One accessioned in 1889 into the Russian collection of Vänersborgs museum https://digitaltmuseum.se/011025086402/boll

In 1932 Mina Lundberg of Gävle, Uppland, Sweden gave this ball she used in her childhood in the 2nd half of the 19th century to the Upplandsmuseet. It is made with a center made of a broken celluloid ball with peas in it. It otherwise made in the same way as the old catalogue records that peas would be put in a goose’s throat, one end stuck in the other, that was then wrapped in yarn and the singlade cover worked over it in buttonhole stitches. https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023861906/boll

One in Kalmar läns museum: https://digitaltmuseum.se/021028363860/boll

Some of the wide variety of patterns that can be worked in Simple Looping on Singlade balls. Photo from a class that was taught at Brodericaféet på Regionmuseet i Skåne in 2018.
Additional videos on Singlade balls: https://www.youtube.com/c/SingladeBalls/about

Instructions with pictures for making a ball in the style of this Nalbound Object of the Week: https://www.instructables.com/Singlade-Balls-From-Yarn-Scraps/

There is a Facebook group dedicated to Singlade Bollar: https://www.facebook.com/groups/277741892435866/

Photographs:

A pair of Singlad boll by Zadig Art purchased in the Kulturen gift shop while I was in Lund in 2023 to examine the mitten. I was so excited to find traditional nalbinding available. I had heard of the Skånsk tradition of singlad balls, but hadn’t seen them in person. The yellow and brown one on the left rattles. Photo: Anne Marie Decker

Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog.
Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.

  1. About: https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023087899/boll Accessed 26 Feb 2024 ↩︎
  2. About: https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023087899/boll Accessed 26 Feb 2024 ↩︎
  3. About: https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023087899/boll Accessed 26 Feb 2024 ↩︎
  4. About & Production: https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023087899/boll Accessed 26 Feb 2024 ↩︎
  5. About & Materials: https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023087899/boll Accessed 26 Feb 2024 ↩︎
  6. About: https://digitaltmuseum.se/011023087899/boll Accessed 26 Feb 2024 ↩︎

NOW: Dura-Europos Patterned Fragment 1933.483

The patterned fragment from Dura-Europos has always fascinated me, so today it too joins the Nalbound Object of the Week collection. The fragment was excavated by the Yale-French Excavations at Dura-Europos sometime between 1928–37. It is only 5 7/8 by 6 11/16 in. (15 × 17 cm). Given the standard ratios of socks of this type and analysis of the fragment itself, what remains is 3/4 of the original circumference of the sock ankle.

Anne Marie Decker’s theoretical reconstruction of what the Dura-Europos patterned fragment may have looked like when the sock was whole based on standard ratios found in examinations of socks worked in Cross-knit Looping found in Egypt and surrounding regions. The fragment itself is in the background.

Object: Patterned fragment from Dura-Europos

Description: The patterned heel cup and ankle of a fancy Cross-knit Looping sock. The pattern consists of a vertical column of knit wales followed by a purl background with two pomegranate shapes placed one over the other (one is missing). Then another vertical column, a tree of life pattern that goes up the center back of the sock, and another vertical column. This is followed by another purl background with two pomegranates and ending with a final vertical column. The fragment has a few perpendicular stitches on the bottom right that are the remains of the mid-foot section. On the same side, a few lacing loops are preserved indicating that this sock likely had a tongue flap and lacing closure similar to that seen in the contemporaneous sock from Egypt currently in the V&A collections in London.

Dated to: pre-256 CE1

Find location: Dura-Europos, in modern day Syria

Material: Wool

Stitch(es) used: Z-crossed Cross-knit Looping,  F1B1 O & B1F1 O, knit & purl stitch patterned

Inventory number: Accession Number 1933.483

Current location: Yale University Art Gallery

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/5962

Some sources in which more information can be found:

Dura-Europos Fragments
Examining the Dura-Europos fragments

Rutt, Richard. A History of Hand Knitting. London: B T Batsford Ltd, 1987 ISBN 0713451181; reprinted Loveland, Colorado: Interweave Press, 1989 ISBN 0-934026-35-1, Library of Congress Catalog Number 87-46353; pgs. 28-30.

Pfister, Rudolf and Bellinger, Louisa. “The textiles: Knitting,” Rostovtzeff, M.I., et al. The excavations at Dura-Europos Final Report IV, Part II. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1945, 54-5.

Photograph:

1933.483 Patterned fragment from Dura Europos. Cropped and rotated to show original orientation. Original Photo Credit: The Yale University Art Gallery – Public Domain CC0 1.0 Deed

Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog.
Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.

  1. The Yale Univeristy Art Gallery dates the fragment to c. AD 200-256 https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/5962. Dura Europos was sacked and never reoccupied, so we are fairly certain the sock pre-dates 256 CE when that occurred. The only other example of a sock with lacing loops in the corpus has been carbon dated to a very similar timeframe. ↩︎