Museum – Page 3

NOW: Arnheiðarstöðum Iceland mitten Þjms. 3405

The shape of the cuff of this week’s Nalbound Object of the Week never really fit with the 10th century dating assigned to it when it was found in the late 19th century. Recent radiocarbon dating reveals that the mitten from Iceland is dated to between the late 15th to early 17th centuries CE which makes much more sense given its shaping. As more research is conducted on nalbinding, we begin to get a clearer picture of its usage, distribution, and dating.

Arnheiðarstöðum Iceland mitten Þjms. 3405 back on display after I examined it.
Photo credit: Anne Marie Decker – 1 Sept 2022

Object: Iceland Mitten

Description: The mitten is densely nalbound of a two ply yarn made of wool fibers of two colors and crimps. Overall the mitten is currently a lovely reddish brown, but close examination shows that there are some darker smoother fibers intermittently mixed with lighter brown crimpier fibers bringing to mind the two coated sheep of Iceland. There is some damage to the cuff and a bit near the base of the pinky finger, but overall the mitten is in good condition. The thumb is rather large in comparison to the size of the fingers and lays flat with an extremely neatly worked connection. It is worked from the tip to the cuff. The direction of work spirals in an S slant fashion which gives the appearance of a right to left working direction when observing the current exterior. However, the stitch itself belies the thought that it might have been worked left handed and more likely it has been turned inside out leaving the technical front currently inside.

Dated to: Recently radiocarbon dated to 1480-1640 CE.¹ The original dating of the 10th century had been estimated when the mitten was found in the late 19th century and was based on jewelry found nearby.²

Find location: The mitten was found in 1889 when they were digging to build a new house at the farm at Arnheiðarstaðir in the east of Fljótsdalshérað, Iceland.³

Material: Wool⁴ Two-ply with a diameter of just under 1/8th inch (3mm).⁵

Stitch(es) used: Oslo F1, F1 UO/UOO⁶ (Stitch determination by Margrethe Hald. Confirmed by Anne Marie Decker during her examination of the mitten on 1 September 2022)

Gauge: 6 stitches to the inch. 1 and 3/4 rows to the inch.⁷

Inventory number: Þjms. 3405

Current location: Þjóðminjasafn Íslands (National Museum of Iceland)

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://sarpur.is/Adfang.aspx?AdfangID=323304

Some sources in which more information can be found:

Eldjárn, Kristján. “Að sauma síl og sía mjólk.” Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags 1960. Reykjavík 1960, pgs. 48-63.

Eldjárn, Kristján. “Vattarsaumur.” Hugur og hönd. 1. tbl. 1974, bls. 40-42.

Eldjárn, Kristján. “Vöttur frá Arnheiðarstöðum.” Hundrað ár í Þjóðminjasafni. Reykjavík 1962, pg. 27.

Hald, Margrethe. “Vötturin fra Arnheidar-Stödum” in Arbok Hins islenzka fornleifafélags, 50. årgang, 1949-1950, Island, pgs. 73-78 ISSN 0256-8462.

Lehmann-Filhés, Margarethe. “Zwei Isländische Handschuhe” in Zeitschrift für Ethnologie. pgs. 29-30.

Lucas, Rebecca. Two Icelandic Mittens (1896). https://www.medieval-baltic.us/lehmann-filhes-palsson.html Accessed 24 June 2024. Provides an English translation of Margarethe Lehmann-Filhés’ “Zwei Isländische Handschuhe.”

Pálsson, Pálmi. 4. Tveir hanzkar in “Um myndir af gripum í forngripa-safninu.” Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags 10. Reykjavik 1895. pgs. 34-35.

Rimstad, Charlotte, Ulla Mannering, Joe Wallace Walser III, and Susanne Mueller. “ICELANDIC MITTENS” Oral Presentation at the European Association of Archaeologists 29th EAA Annual Meeting in Belfast, Northern Ireland,
30 August – 2 September 2023 https://www.e-a-a.org/EAA2023/Programme.aspx?Program=3 click on the Abstract Book (30 Aug) link to find the abstract.

Photographs:

Arnheiðarstöðum Iceland mitten Þjms. 3405
Photo credit: Anne Marie Decker – 24 Jan 2019

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The museum made the decision to post the recent radiocarbon dating in the online catalog entry for the mitten https://sarpur.is/Adfang.aspx?AdfangID=323304 Accessed 27 May 2024. The online catalog entry also contains a link to the testing laboratory’s Report of Radiocarbon Dating Analyses: https://sarpur.is/Uploads/Files/2290209.pdf (Accessed 23 June 2024). The dating was presented in the Icelandic Mittens presentation given by Charlotte Rimstad et. al. at the European Association of Archaeologists 29th annual meeting in Belfast in 2023 which was apparently not recorded, but the dating is noted in the Abstract for the presentation (pg. 1079 of linked pdf). Apparently an article will be forthcoming in an issue of the Norwegian Textile Review this summer or fall. ↩︎
Hald, Margrethe. “Vötturin fra Arnheidar-Stödum” in Arbok Hins islenzka fornleifafélags, 50. årgang, 1949-1950, Island, pgs. 73-78 ↩︎
https://sarpur.is/Adfang.aspx?AdfangID=323304 Accessed 27 May 2024 ↩︎
https://sarpur.is/Adfang.aspx?AdfangID=323304 Accessed 27 May 2024 ↩︎
Wool diameter determined by Anne Marie Decker during her examination on 1 Sept 2022. ↩︎
Hald, Margrethe. “Vötturin fra Arnheidar-Stödum” in Arbok Hins islenzka fornleifafélags, 50. årgang, 1949-1950, Island, pg. 75. ISSN 0256-8462. ↩︎
Stitch gauge determined by Anne Marie Decker during her examination on 1 Sept 2022. ↩︎

NOW: Namur Reliquary Purse 229F

After a brief hiatus due to surgery, I bring you another Nalbound Object of the Week. This artifact was mentioned as an aside in an article about Pierre de Courpalay’s gloves (which will be a later post) and for the longest time I could find no more information about it other than it was supposedly an early 14th century green silk reliquary pouch from Namur, Belgium worked in space patterned Simple Looping with a carried thread. There was a stitch diagram, but no picture. My friend Ann Moreau took up the quest to track down more information and was able to provide me with a photograph and a couple of very interesting sources: a master’s thesis and the conservation report.

Object: Namur Reliquary Purse

Description: The purse measures approximately 6.5 inches by 6.3 inches (16.5 x 16cm) not inclusive of the tassels or ties.¹ The main body is worked in a pattern of diamonds enclosing four smaller diamonds that is regular on the face, but shows an error in the pattern at the top of the reverse turning it into chevrons.² There’s a strip of plain green on each side and a green eyelet band at the opening.

The pictures show that the main body of the purse was not worked in the round. Had it been worked around the purse, the slits in the space patterned Simple Looping would have been horizontal like those seen making eyelets on the green eyelet band. However, the slits in the main body are vertical, indicating that the fabric orientation has the base row along the right side of the face (left side of the reverse) and the fabric was built up to the left side. There is no noticeable seam showing at the bottom. All of which may indicate that the face and reverse were worked as one rectangle, sewn up the sides, and then the eyelet band worked around the opening.

The relic purse was classified as a Treasure by the Commission consultative du Patrimoine culturel mobilier [Consultative Commission for Movable Cultural Heritage] on October 4, 2021.³

Dated to: radiocarbon dated to ca 1260-1390 CE⁴ (77.4% certainty between 1260 and 1310)⁵

Find location: prieuré de Hastière [Priory of Hastière], Belgium.⁶ Donated in 1885 by M. Perpète Sarton and recorded as register number 16166 along with another purse.⁷

Material: Silk. The tassels include gilded silver metallic threads.⁸ “The beige and pink threads of the lining are colored with safflower and a dye containing traces of flavonoids, the green thread of the fringes with woad or indigo, and the beige thread of the boucle network with red wood.”⁹

Stitch(es) used: le réseau bouclé simple¹⁰ The opening is worked horizontally in Z-crossed Simple Looping, F1 O, with a carried thread leaving holes for the drawstring. The main body is worked vertically, also in Z-crossed Simple Looping, F1 O, with a carried thread worked with space patterning to make the diamond/chevron pattern of holes. (Stitch determination verified via photograph by Anne Marie Decker)

Inventory number: 229F

Current location: Owned by the Société Archéologique de Namur (SAN). Exhibited in the Musée Provincial des Arts Anciens Namurois (TreM.a).¹¹

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://balat.kikirpa.be/object/11045822

Some sources in which more information can be found:

Damen, Emma, Griet Kockelkoren, Judith Goris, Ina Vanden Berghe, Marina Van Bos, and Mathieu Boudin. “Étude technico-matérielle et traitement de conservation, préservation et présentation de 7 bourses à reliques de la Société Archéologique de Namur (SAN).” Report on IRPS dossier 2017.13760 dated 9 September 2021.

De Ceuninck, Emmeline. “Étude historique, artistique et technologique de sept bourses conservées à la Société archéologique de Namur (SAN) et récemment restaurées à l’Institut royal du Patrimoine artistique (IRPA). Volume 1 et 2.”Master en Histoire de l’Art et Archéologie Mémoire [Master’s thesis], Université Libre de Bruxelles, Année académique 2022-2023.

Desrosiers, Sophie, Patricia Dal-Pra, and Isabelle Bédat. “On medieval pontifical gloves and glove medallions and wristbands found in France,” In [Archäologische Textilfunde/Archaeological Textiles] NESAT IX. ed. Antoinette Rast-Eicher and Renata Windler, p. 159-165. Ennenda: Archeo Tex, 2007. ISBN 978-3-033-01267-7.

Gagneux-Granade, Marguerite. L’Homme et les Mailles: histoire critique des mailles textiles : filets, réseaux, tricot, crochet. Bordeaux: Éditions INsensées, 2016. ISBN 978-2-9558095-0-1.

Photographs:

Cropped close up of eyelet band and body.
Photo credit: Bazzo, Stéphane, IRPA
CC BY 4.0 KIK-IRPA, Brussels (Belgium), **cliché X142949**

Desrosiers’ “On medieval pontifical gloves and glove medallions and wristbands found in France” has a diagram of the stitches making the pattern of a portion of the diamond in Fig. 2b on page 160. The diagram is flawed as it shows a whip stitch instead of the Z-crossed Simple Looping. It is showing a B1 O which makes a whip stitch instead of the F1 O that makes Z-crossed Simple Looping. The loops have also been regularized to the top which does not match the direction of work.

De Ceuninck’s “Étude historique, artistique et technologique de sept bourses conservées à la Société archéologique de Namur (SAN) et récemment restaurées à l’Institut royal du Patrimoine artistique (IRPA). Volume 2.” includes some lovely photos and schematics of the purse in Figs. 11, 12, 80 & Schéma 33, 34, 35, 36, 37.

Emmeline De Ceuninck,”Étude historique, artistique et technologique de sept bourses conservées à la Société archéologique de Namur (SAN) et récemment restaurées à l’Institut royal du Patrimoine artistique (IRPA). Volume 2.” (Master en Histoire de l’Art et Archéologie Mémoire [Master’s thesis], Université Libre de Bruxelles, Année académique 2022-2023), pg. 1. and Damen, Emma, et al. “Étude technico-matérielle et traitement de conservation, préservation et présentation de 7 bourses à reliques de la Société Archéologique de Namur (SAN).” Report on IRPS dossier 2017.13760 dated 9 September 2021. Pg. 10. ↩︎
De Ceuninck, “Étude historique, artistique et technologique de sept bourses conservées à la Société archéologique de Namur (SAN) et récemment restaurées à l’Institut royal du Patrimoine artistique (IRPA). Volume 1,” pg. 76. and Damen, Emma, et al. “Étude technico-matérielle et traitement de conservation, préservation et présentation de 7 bourses à reliques de la Société Archéologique de Namur (SAN).” Report on IRPS dossier 2017.13760 dated 9 September 2021. Pg. 10. ↩︎
https://www.museedesartsanciens.be/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/TreM.a-MAAN_Rapport_Activites_2021.pdf III.5. Accessed 16 September 2024. ↩︎
De Ceuninck, “Étude historique, artistique et technologique de sept bourses conservées à la Société archéologique de Namur (SAN) et récemment restaurées à l’Institut royal du Patrimoine artistique (IRPA). Volume 2,” pg. 108. ↩︎
De Ceuninck, “Étude historique, artistique et technologique de sept bourses conservées à la Société archéologique de Namur (SAN) et récemment restaurées à l’Institut royal du Patrimoine artistique (IRPA). Volume 1,” pg. 74. ↩︎
De Ceuninck, “Étude historique, artistique et technologique de sept bourses conservées à la Société archéologique de Namur (SAN) et récemment restaurées à l’Institut royal du Patrimoine artistique (IRPA). Volume 1,” pg. 28. See also page 79. ↩︎
De Ceuninck, “Étude historique, artistique et technologique de sept bourses conservées à la Société archéologique de Namur (SAN) et récemment restaurées à l’Institut royal du Patrimoine artistique (IRPA). Volume 1,” pg. 28. ↩︎
De Ceuninck, “Étude historique, artistique et technologique de sept bourses conservées à la Société archéologique de Namur (SAN) et récemment restaurées à l’Institut royal du Patrimoine artistique (IRPA). Volume 1,” pg. 76. ↩︎
Translated from De Ceuninck, “Étude historique, artistique et technologique de sept bourses conservées à la Société archéologique de Namur (SAN) et récemment restaurées à l’Institut royal du Patrimoine artistique (IRPA). Volume 1,” pg. 74. See also pages 78-79. ↩︎
De Ceuninck, “Étude historique, artistique et technologique de sept bourses conservées à la Société archéologique de Namur (SAN) et récemment restaurées à l’Institut royal du Patrimoine artistique (IRPA). Volume 1,” pg. 75. and Damen, Emma, et al. “Étude technico-matérielle et traitement de conservation, préservation et présentation de 7 bourses à reliques de la Société Archéologique de Namur (SAN).” Report on IRPS dossier 2017.13760 dated 9 September 2021. Pg. 10. ↩︎
Damen, Emma, et al. “Étude technico-matérielle et traitement de conservation, préservation et présentation de 7 bourses à reliques de la Société Archéologique de Namur (SAN).” Report on IRPS dossier 2017.13760 dated 9 September 2021. Pg. 3. ↩︎

NOW: Australian String Bag

For the Nalbound Object of the Week, we head to Australia where there is a strong nalbinding tradition amongst the aboriginal peoples. Most commonly we see this in their string bags. This bag was collected in 1896 and is now in the Ethnographic collections of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.

Object Number: 96-25-70/49494
Courtesy of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and
Ethnology, Harvard University. https://peabody.harvard.edu/ Request reproduction rights from https://peabody.harvard.edu/rights-and-reproductions

Object: Australian String Bag

Description: A rectangular bag with alternating light and darker brown stripes. Not quite 11 1/2 inches tall and 6 1/2 inches wide (29 x 16.5 cm)¹ The body of the bag and string around the mouth are both Z twist. The carrying string is S-twist.

Dated to: Collected in 1896²

Find location: Queensland, Australia

Material: Plant Fiber³

Stitch(es) used: Hourglass (As determined by Anne Marie Decker from photograph)

Inventory number: Object Number 96-25-70/49494

Current location: Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, Harvard University

Link to museum catalog or other data:

https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/objects/86397

Some sources in which more information can be found:

This first source includes a photo of one, very similar to the bag above, being worked.

Australian Indigenous Tools – Nets, baskets and bags

Aboriginal string bags, nets and cordage by Alan West https://search.worldcat.org/title/225344552

Dilly bags

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dillybag

https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/objects/86397 Accessed 3 September 2024 ↩︎
https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/objects/86397 Accessed 3 September 2024 ↩︎
https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/objects/86397 Accessed 3 September 2024 ↩︎

Research brings new insights

One of the best things about researching any topic is that continued research will always bring further insights; be that greater clarity on a particular detail, proof of a particular theory, proof that a particular hypothesis was wrong, correcting a technique misidentification, new design details, new stitches, new dating, and more artifacts to examine. Hypotheses get developed and sometimes they are supported and possibly proven. Sometimes they are disproved and new hypotheses are born.

Add to that, things that are true of our modern esthetics in the craft may prove to be constant throughout the historical record, or they may prove to be recent inventions. Care should always be taken to ensure that we are not making assumptions, even based on our prior knowledge, and allowing our biases to hide the new data. Insights may come from the most unexpected sources and even experts can be proven wrong. I have had thousands of theories that have been made or dashed with arrival of new data. It’s exciting!

I’ve discussed several examples of this process on this blog previously,¹ but today, I’d like to add a few additional examples.

Direction of work:

Nalbinding is predominately worked left to right, regardless of whether the work is dependent from the working row or hung above. Both of which leave telltale, but different, signs in the resultant fabric. Obviously, there are exceptions: lefthanded people often work in the opposite direction, and of course, there is the option of an esthetic choice to work in the non-dominant direction for a variety of reasons; including opposing spirals or flat work for example.

So the question becomes, how often do we see nalbinding worked in the non-dominant direction, when, where, and can we tell why? This is not an easy question to answer as so little research published has included this important detail about the artifacts.

Several of the artifacts that initially appeared to be worked in the non-dominant direction have turned out to be more likely found with the technical back to the outside. For example the Egyptian sock now in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.² This could be accomplished by working in the non-dominant direction, but is more likely simply a case of the creator or wearer deciding that they preferred the texture of the technical back to the outside. In the case of the sock in Edinburgh, it seems a common trait of socks made in that particular stitch. In the case of the pair of socks from Sudan,³ only one is “inside out.” This could be a case of the wearer not noticing, the person dressing the dead not noticing, or some cultural reason of which I am not aware.

In both cases, and in fact in all of the 115 or so known Egyptian socks, the socks are worked from the toe up to the ankle. The hats from the tip down. Up until very recently, all of the pre-17th century handcoverings I’ve examined have been worked from the tip of the fingers to the wrist. And yet, last year I had the opportunity to examine a beautiful glove from medieval Kalmar that surprised me in several ways. One was the particular stitch used as I had never seen its like before. And the other, was that it was clearly worked from the wrist towards the fingers. More research as to the direction of work of thumbs (and fingers on gloves), especially in relation to the associated handcovering, is desperately needed.

Wrist Bumps:

17th century mitten with a tar stain from Copenhagen . National Museum of Denmark
Photo credit: Anne Marie Decker

I once had a idea that wrists that showed a prominent bump in the spiral might have been started at the wrist. Examinations of artifacts has consistently proven me wrong so far on that hypothesis. It was my modern esthetics that had given the the incorrect impression that the maker would always smooth out the final spiral.

Now, we do have examples where the final spiral ending is rather smooth. The Oslo mitten gives the appearance of a smooth ending. However, looking at the rows above it, one can see that it has been pulled and distorted such that the result is the edge currently looks like it was smoothly finished, but in fact it was a rather short transition that now significantly distorts the row to which it connects.

Oslo Mitten C28155 on display at the Historical Museum in Oslo
Photo credit: Anne Marie Decker

Lace:

Another example. In 2004, I was approached by someone with a lace shawl they had that they wanted to know if it could be nalbound or not. The pictures they sent showed that an individual row had a structure we know can be produced by a particular nalbinding stitch, but the connections between rows were unclear, so we were missing important secondary construction details that can be vital to understand which particular technique produced the particular structure fabric.

I allowed as how it was possible that it might be nalbound, but that if it was that brought up many additional questions that would have to be answered. Such as, how would the connections be made in such an openwork structure without falling apart? In 2005, another was brought to my attention. My friend, Virginia Miller, became quite interested in the lace shawls and set about trying to find their source.

Around this time, many other examples of this particular type of shawl were apparently being examined at a variety of locations. Others were recognizing the structure of the chain as being a possible nalbound structure, but the specifics of the secondary constructions details that would reveal their true construction technique would not be recognized until the details of a related structural cross-over were discussed.⁴ These details show that there are a significant number of miss-identified examples in museums around the world.

Crocheted chain lace shawl from Turkey gifted to me by Virginia Miller in 2012.
Photo credit: Anne Marie Decker

Virginia, having tracked down the origin of at least some of the shawls, kindly managed to procure one for me. Being able to examine one in detail up close has led to an understanding that allows me to understand details that while I had seen them before, had not revealed their relevance. Now, given sufficiently clear photos, it is easy to determine that these shawls are a form of crocheted chain lace. Rather similar in structure to the earliest forms of crochet that been identified.⁵

Another example of this structure’s construction technique being misidentified is a lovely pair of baby booties in the V&A Collection. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O136095/pair-of-bootees-unknown/ The Simple Looping in cream on the ball at the top of the tassel at the ankles is a form of nalbinding (and also a form of needlelace), but the green lace are these open worked crocheted chains. Once again, it’s the connections between the chains that reveal the technique used.

Hypotheses come and go, but that is in many ways the fun part of research. We are always learning new things. Theories become proven. Hypotheses are dashed and formed again. All of which leads to a better understanding of the entire corpus of both nalbound textiles and related looped textiles, their origins, transmission, development, traditional uses, and influences on the modern craft.

Speaking of exciting new opportunities and artifacts to examine, I have recently learned of new excavated socks to add to the corpus of nalbinding that have never been examined before.
Unfortunately, my travel budget to go see them is rather dry. If you’ve enjoyed my research and would like to be a part of my support team, I sincerely appreciate any assistance you are willing to send my way. You can use the one time donation link in the menu or become a monthly Patron.
Patrons on Patreon receive priority requests, early access previews, and occasional extra details.

https://nalbound.com/2021/11/09/tracking-down-a-nalbound-sweater-spoiler-not-entirely/ and https://nalbound.com/2021/09/03/but-it-looks-like/ and https://nalbound.com/2021/02/21/coole_socke/ ↩︎
https://nalbound.com/2020/05/10/egyptian-sock-in-edinburgh/ ↩︎
https://nalbound.com/2020/01/02/medieval-nubian-nalbinding-in-sudan/ ↩︎
Collaboration with Cary Karp to better understand the structure of the slip-stitch crochet artifacts from Egypt in Basel led to our article in ATR, https://nalbound.com/2023/01/31/newest-issue-of-atr-contains-our-article/, and influenced my presentation to NESAT: https://nalbound.com/2021/09/03/but-it-looks-like/ ↩︎
https://loopholes.blog/2019/12/diamond-mesh/ Accessed 30 March 2024 ↩︎

NOW: Peruvian Feathered Cap 1994.35.136

The Nalbound Object of the Week this week takes us back to Peru with another Simple Looping cap. However, this one is topped with feathers! With stripes reminiscent of the Omani Sand Socks and feathers like those seen on hats from Cameroon, this 10th-15th century CE Peruvian hat reminds me of both the similarities and differences of nalbinding around the world.

Peruvian Feathered Cap, Accession number 1994.35.136
Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Public Domain

Object: Feathered Cap

Description: A stunning cap worked from the top in alternating three rows of cream camelid yarn with three rows of dark brown yarn. Brown feathers have been attached to the top; splaying in a bouquet like fashion.

Dated to: 900–1470 CE¹

Find location: Peru²

Material: Camelid hair and feathers³

Stitch(es) used: Z-crossed Simple Looping (stitch determination by Anne Marie Decker based on photographs)

Accession number: 1994.35.136

Current location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/50009628?rpp=20&pg=1&ft=%2A&what=Feathers&pos=4

Photographs:

https://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/50009628?rpp=20&pg=1&ft=%2A&what=Feathers&pos=4 Accessed 25 August 2024 ↩︎
https://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/50009628?rpp=20&pg=1&ft=%2A&what=Feathers&pos=4 Accessed 25 August 2024 ↩︎
https://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/50009628?rpp=20&pg=1&ft=%2A&what=Feathers&pos=4 Accessed 25 August 2024 ↩︎

NOW: Skolt Sámi hat 19278

I’ve been hoping to find Sámi nalbinding as there is so much nalbinding in the region, but finding Sámi specific nalbinding has been a bit of a challenge. Today’s Nalbound Object of the Week is a Skolt Sámi hat collected in 1933 that was brought to my attention by Ingela Lindberg Anderson after her trip to the National Museum of Denmark. As she was trying to find more information about some of the objects she had seen on display, she ran across this hat in the online catalog.

Skolt Sámi hat ObjectId 19278 Item number K.782
Photo credit: Mads Kildegaard Nielsen – Nationalmuseet, Danmark CC-BY-SA

Object: Skolt Sámi hat

Description: A light brown, natural colored, nalbound hat. The National Museum of Denmark provides the following measurements: Largest measurement 22 cm, Diameter 18 cm, Height 18 cm.¹

Dated to: collected in 1933

Find location: The museum lists the location as “Samer – Suonikylä. Petsamo
Lapps, Finland.”² This reflects the terminology of 1933 when the hat was collected. This region of the larger Sápmi is no longer within the borders of Finland as it was ceded to Russia in the Second World War.³

Material: wool⁴

Stitch(es) used: According to Margrethe Hald, the hat is worked in Långaryd stitch⁵, UOOOO/UUUUOO F1. However, the surface texture does not match that stitch determination. Further research should follow the Ethical Guidelines for Research Involving the Sámi People in Finland.

Inventory number: ObjectId 19278 Item number K.782

Current location: Nationalmuseet, Danmark, Ethnographic Collection

Link to museum catalog or other data:

https://samlinger.natmus.dk/es/object/19278

Some sources in which more information can be found:

Hald, Margrethe. Ancient Danish Textiles from Bogs And Burials: A Comparative Study of Costume and Iron Age Textiles. Publications of The National Museum of Denmark; Archaeological Historical Series XXI. Translated by Jean Olsen. Copenhagen: Fyens Stiftsbogtrykkeri, Copenhagen, 1980. ISBN 87-480-0312-3. Pg. 298.

https://samlinger.natmus.dk/es/object/19278 Accessed 13 August 2024 ↩︎
https://samlinger.natmus.dk/es/object/19278 Accessed 13 August 2024 ↩︎
My thanks to Niina-Hannele Nuutinen for assistance with placing this location on a map and an introduction to the relocations that occurred in the region https://www.samimuseum.fi/saamjiellem/english/kolttaalue.html, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skolt_S%C3%A1mi and https://sv.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suonikyl%C3%A4 Accessed 18 August 2024 ↩︎
https://samlinger.natmus.dk/es/object/19278 Accessed 13 August 2024 ↩︎
Hald, Margrethe. Ancient Danish Textiles from Bogs And Burials: A Comparative Study of Costume and Iron Age Textiles. Publications of The National Museum of Denmark; Archaeological Historical Series XXI. Translated by Jean Olsen. Copenhagen: Fyens Stiftsbogtrykkeri, Copenhagen, 1980. ISBN 87-480-0312-3. Pg. 298. ↩︎

NOW: Inca Wig Cap 1983.491.2

This week’s Nalbound Object of the Week is another Incan wig Cap from Peru. Similar to the cap posted in late July, this is a stunning example with a beautiful set of braid wrapped ends that together make a zigzag pattern.

Cap Woven with Human Hair, 1983.491.2
Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Public Domain

Object: Inca Wig Cap with zigzag braid wraps

Description: A cream colored cap with a broad brown stripe around the middle from which many brown human hair braids are hung. The braid ends are wrapped tightly in brightly colored wraps that form a zigzag pattern across the braids. This cap with braids is 28 inches long.¹

Dated to: 14th – 16th century CE, Inca²

Find location: Peru

Material: Camelid & human hair³

Stitch(es) used: Z-crossed Simple Looping (Stitch determination by Anne Marie Decker based on photographs)

Inventory number: 1983.491.2

Current location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/314614

Photographs:

A black and white photo of the Cap Woven with Human Hair, 1983.491.2, laid out flat.
Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Public Domain

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/314614 Accessed 13 August 2024 ↩︎
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/314614 Accessed 13 August 2024 ↩︎
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/314614 Accessed 13 August 2024 ↩︎

NOW: Omani Sand Socks زرابيل TRC 2018.2807a-b

Peru and Egypt have both excellent preservation characteristics and extensive excavation histories, so I often return to these locations for nalbound artifacts. However, for this week’s Nalbound Object of the Week, I’d like to explore an item that reflects a different tradition. While we don’t know much about archeological examples, the Arabian Peninsula has evidence of a very strong traditional usage of nalbinding. زرابيل zarbool,¹ or sand socks and camel muzzles² seem to be the predominant items made with nalbinding there. This particular pair of Omani Sand Socks, I had the pleasure of seeing while they were on display in the Socks & Stockings exhibition at the Textile Research Centre in Leiden, Netherlands in 2019.

Omani Sand Socks as on display in the Socks & Stockings exhibition at the Textile Research Centre, Leiden in October 2019. Photo: Anne Marie Decker

Object: Sand socks زرابيل

Description: The socks are worked from the toe up in alternating stripes of white and black. The stripes are two rows deep and the color is carried from one row up to the next color change. The heel is a wedge heel. There is a slit in the ankle with ties at the top to close it. The bottom showing in this image shows the pads that are worked onto the sock starting from the mid-foot and sewn down on three sides. The socks are 12.6 inches long by 5.5 inches wide (32 cm long by 14 cm wide³).

Dated to: late 20th century CE⁴

Find location: Oman⁵

Material: goat hair⁶

Stitch(es) used: Mammen, F2 UOO/UUOO (Stitch determination based on examination by Anne Marie Decker on 28 October 2019)

Gauge: 8-9 stitches to the inch and 2-2.5 rows to the inch. 4 stitches per cm and 0.75-1 row per cm.⁷

Inventory number: TRC 2018.2807a-b

Current location: Textile Research Centre, Leiden

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://trc-leiden.nl/collection/?trc=&zoek=sock&cat=&subcat=&g=&s=24&f=0&id=32565

Some sources in which more information can be found:

If you scroll down, there is one of the few images of sand socks being worn at http://turathalarab.blogfa.com/post/405

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rachael MacIver (@rachael_maciver)

Another image of sand socks being worn.

Photographs (if permissions allow):

Heel and toe pads sewn on TRC 2018.2807a-b
Photo credit: Anne Marie Decker 2019

Acknowledgements: My thanks to Diana Lankhof and Lies van de Wege for making it possible for me to visit the Socks & Stockings exhibition at TRC. My timing was soo very tight and they graciously arranged to open an hour early so that I could have time to examine the nalbound sand socks and see the displays.

Also transliterated Zarbul ↩︎
The Arabic term for camel muzzles or mouth coverings is possibly transliterated as lisama or lasama according to this video brought to my attention by Susan Elizabeth Aiken: https://youtu.be/YcKxQ0sGpr4?si=G5uO28Y9AR1lD9RY Accessed 7 June 2024 ↩︎
https://trc-leiden.nl/collection/?trc=&zoek=sock&cat=&subcat=&g=&s=24&f=0&id=32565 Accessed 9 June 2024 ↩︎
https://trc-leiden.nl/collection/?trc=&zoek=sock&cat=&subcat=&g=&s=24&f=0&id=32565 Accessed 9 June 2024 ↩︎
https://trc-leiden.nl/collection/?trc=&zoek=sock&cat=&subcat=&g=&s=24&f=0&id=32565 Accessed 9 June 2024 ↩︎
https://trc-leiden.nl/collection/?trc=&zoek=sock&cat=&subcat=&g=&s=24&f=0&id=32565 Accessed 9 June 2024 ↩︎
Gauge determination based on examination by Anne Marie Decker on 28 October 2019 ↩︎

NOW: Leicester sock L.A63.1914.0.0

In 2019, my mother and I were able to travel to Leicester for a chance to see this week’s Nalbound Object of the Week; a small child’s sock from 3rd-5th century CE Antinoë/Antinoupolis. It was one of nearly a dozen found during John de Monins Johnson‘s excavations for the Egypt Exploration Fund¹ in the 1913-14 season.

Leicester sock L.A63.1914.0.0
Photo credit: Anne Marie Decker 2019

Object: Leicester child’s sock

Description: Small child’s left split toed sock in many colors: green, red, purple, yellow, and blue. Comparables can be seen in my Charting the Nalbinding of the Nile presentation from 2019. At 9:39 in the recording linked in https://nalbound.com/2019/04/06/charting-the-nalbinding-of-the-nile /

Note: At the time of the excavations, the socks were presumed to be knitted as the differences between the crossed knitting and cross-knit nalbinding techniques had not yet been described.

Dated to: 300-500 CE² (possibly earlier around the 3rd-4th centuries based on the radiocarbon dating of other socks found during the same excavation³)

Find location: Excavated from a rubbish pit at Sheikh Abada (ancient Antinoopolis), Egypt⁴

Material: wool⁵

Stitch(es) used: S-crossed Cross-knit Looping⁶

Inventory number: L.A63.1914.0.0

Current location: Leicester Museum and Art Gallery (formerly New Walk)

Link to museum catalog or other data:

Leicester Museum and Art Gallery does not have an online catalog. The sock is noted in their Collections Development Policy 2019-2024, section 3.5.2. “Although intended to be a representative selection, it includes at least one rarity, a Coptic knitted sock from Antinoe, the only example in this country outside of London.” This unfortunately reflects out of date information; the technique having been recognized as nalbinding, not knitting, in the last quarter of the last century and several examples from the same excavation are located in Britain, but outside of London. This does not, however, in any way negate its rarity and importance.

Some sources in which more information can be found:

Köstner, Barbara. “Roman and Late Roman nalbinding socks from Egypt: Bringing ‘Egyptian fashion’ to the North” in Excavating, analysing, reconstructing Textiles of the 1st millennium AD from Egypt and neighbouring countries: Proceeding of the 9th conference of the research group ‘Textiles from the Nile Valley’ Antwerp, 27-29 November 2015, edited by Antoine De Moor, Cäcilia Fluck, and Petra Linscheid. Tielt, Belgium: Lannoo Publishers, 2017. ISBN 978 94 014 4399 9.

O’Connell, Elisabeth R. “John de Monins Johnson’s 1913/14 Egypt Exploration Fund expedition to Antinoupolis (Antinoë)” In Antinoupolis II: Scavi e materiali III, ed. R. Pintaudi, 415–66. Florence: Istituto Papirologico G. Vitelli, 2014.

Pritchard, Frances. “A survey of textiles in the UK from the 1913-14 Egypt Exploration Fund season at Antinoupolis” in Drawing the Threads Together: Textiles and Footwear of the 1st Millenium AD from Egypt. Proceedings of the 7th Meeting of the Study Group ‘Textiles from the Nile Valley”, Antwerp, 7-9 October 2011, edited by Antoine De Moor, Cäcilia Fluck, and Petra Linscheid, 34-55. Tielt: Lannoo, 2013. ISBN 9789401410830.

Rutt, Richard. A History of Hand Knitting. London: B T Batsford Ltd, 1987 ISBN 0713451181

Photographs (if permissions allow):

A photo of the bottom of the sock was published illustrating everyday life of The Nile Valley AD 395-642 Coptic when The British Museum partnered with other British museums to share Worldtimelines.org.uk which placed 2,000 artifacts from museums around the British Isles in their geographical and chronological context. Unfortunately, Worldtimelines.org.uk is no longer active, but you can see it in the Wayback Machine of the Internet Archive. https://web.archive.org/web/20101228003015/http://worldtimelines.org.uk/world/africa/nile_valley/AD395-642/everyday

A similar photo can be seen in Richard Rutt’s A History of Hand Knitting Fig. 23 on page 32 in the 1987 edition.

The Leicester sock was one of 4 included in the original excavation photographs taken in 1914. I was granted permission by the Griffith Institute to share a modified version of that photo in https://nalbound.com/2019/06/21/have-you-seen-this-sock-part-2/. The Leicester sock is the one on the left, number 1.

The photo from the John de Monins Johnson’s excavation is also included in Elisabeth O’Connell’s article “John de Monins Johnson’s 1913/14 Egypt Exploration Fund expedition to Antinoupolis (Antinoë)” along with the photographs of other finds and a sketch of the dig sites.

Anne Marie Decker taking pictures of the Leicester sock.
Photo credit: Ruth Decker 2019

Now the Egypt Exploration Society https://www.ees.ac.uk/ ↩︎
https://web.archive.org/web/20101228003015/http://worldtimelines.org.uk/world/africa/nile_valley/AD395-642/everyday ↩︎
British Museum EA53913 was radiocarbon dated to between 100-350 CE. EA53913 was radiocarbon dated to 200-400 CE. ACO Tx2497 in the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels was dated to 240-400 CE. See 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. ↩︎
https://web.archive.org/web/20101228003015/http://worldtimelines.org.uk/world/africa/nile_valley/AD395-642/everyday ↩︎
Köstner, Table 1, Pgs. 190-191. ↩︎
Köstner, Table 1, Pgs. 190-191. ↩︎

NOW: Inca Wig Cap 41-52-30/2948

Inca Wig Cap. Object number: 41-52-30/2948
Courtesy of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University. https://peabody.harvard.edu/
Request reproduction rights from https://peabody.harvard.edu/rights-and-reproductions

Another type of nalbound objects we see quite frequently in museums are wig caps from Inca era Peru. Thus, this week’s Nalbound Object of the Week is an Inca wig cap. The skull cap portion is made using S-crossed Simple Looping.

Object: Inca Wig Cap

Description: A light colored skull cap with a narrower dark brown and a larger brown stripe around it with around 120 braids hanging from the lower edge. These 3 strand braids have multicolored, red, green, blue, white, brown, wrappings on their bottom half. Overall dimensions are 37 x 9 7/16 in. (94 x 24 cm).

Dated to: Late Horizon (1476-1532 CE), Inca¹

Find location: South Coast of Nazca Province, Ica Region, Peru²

Material: The cap is made of three colors of z-2s cotton. The braids of dark colored human hair. The wraps around the braids are camelid yarn.³

Stitch(es) used: S-crossed Simple Looping⁴

Inventory number: Object Number 41-52-30/2948

Current location: Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, Harvard University

Link to museum catalog or other data: https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/objects/details/80239?ctx=ea4365b61d31e770c135b438be9348327e400170&idx=0#

Inca Wig Cap. Object number: 41-52-30/2948
Courtesy of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University. https://peabody.harvard.edu/
Request reproduction rights from https://peabody.harvard.edu/rights-and-reproductions

https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/objects/details/80239?ctx=ea4365b61d31e770c135b438be9348327e400170&idx=0# Accessed 22 July 2024 ↩︎
https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/objects/details/80239?ctx=ea4365b61d31e770c135b438be9348327e400170&idx=0# Accessed 22 July 2024 ↩︎
https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/objects/details/80239?ctx=ea4365b61d31e770c135b438be9348327e400170&idx=0# Accessed 22 July 2024 ↩︎
Peabody Museum identifies this as Simple Looping https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/objects/details/80239?ctx=ea4365b61d31e770c135b438be9348327e400170&idx=0# Accessed 22 July 2024. That the Simple Looping is S-crossed was determined by Anne Marie Decker based on the photograph provided. ↩︎

Category: Museum

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