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).
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The Nazca were masters of figural nalbinding. Today’s Nalbound Object of the Week is a fragment of a brightly colored band with birds alternating with flowers coming out of it and flowers growing out of both sides as well. I had the honor of examining this one in person in October of 2019.
Description: Starting with a red band worked in the round that is approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide, with the tails and wings of the bird integral on both sides, the breast, head, and beaks of the birds are worked out of the center of one side. There is a flower worked out of the center of the band for each bird to sip from between each bird. Flowers also extend from both sides of the band making the total width just under 3 inches (just under 8 cm) on average. Putting the pieces together, I measured the central band as 37 cm long.1
Material: 2 ply Z-spun S-plied Camelid wool.4 Further investigation may reveal that some of the yarns or plies of yarns come from other sources as they do not have the same texture as the majority.
Stitch(es) used: Z-crossed Cross-knit Looping5 (specific crossing determined by Anne Marie Decker during examination in October 2019)
Gauge: Approximately 19 stitches to the inch and 28 rows to the inch (approx 8 stitches and 11 rows per cm)
The fragment in the British Museum may have been part of a larger piece similar to this 2nd century BCE Nazca Border Fragment Accession Number: 31.20.1 Photo credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Public Domain
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Sometimes nalbinding is combined with other techniques to make a artifact. My sincere thanks to Niina-Hannele Nuutinen for bringing this particular artifact to my attention. Generally the four-cornered hats of the Wari, from 8th-10th c. Peru, are knotted. This one is knotted with pile sides, but the top is Simple Looping. So this week’s Nalbound Object of the week is actually only partially nalbound.
1983.497.7 Wari four-cornered hat with Simple Looping top. Credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Public Domain CC0
Object: Wari Four-cornered Hat with Simple Looping top
Description: A four-cornered brightly colored hat made with knotted pile in a lozenge pattern. The four corners have colored tassels. The top is Simple Looping worked in four differently colored bands from the sides of the hat to the top. The hat is 5 1/2 inches high and 5 3/4 inches wide (14 × 14.6 cm).1
Find location: The Wari culture was centered in the central Peruvian highland valley of Ayacucho. Wari pile hats with provenance come from the south or central coast of Peru.3 The exact provenance of this hat is unspecified.
Stitch(es) used: Larkshead Knotting with supplementary pile sides5 with Z-crossed Simple Looping, F1 O, in for the top (Top stitch determination by Anne Marie Decker from photographs)
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Continuing the purple theme, this week’s Nalbound Object of the Week returns to Peru with another figural topped hat. This time we have a single bird topping a purple and white/natural striped child’s cap made of wool and cotton.
One of five photos, and an omnidirectional option, available on the Krzysztof Babraj (Archaeological Museum in Kraków‘s online catalog entry for this cap. Photo: Małopolski Instytut Kultury w Krakowie – Public Domain
Object: Purple & White cap with Bird
Description: A small purple cap with two white/cream stripes of equal thickness that has a bird worked also in Simple Looping perched on top.
Photographs (if permissions allow): There is an omnidirectional view on the museum’s website where you can rotate the hat.
ECHO Historical Textile posted some beautiful photos of the cap (conserved? reconstructed?) on display that is clearly visibly purple and has less damage to the bird.
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Since the purple fragment went over so well last week, I thought that I would share this purple Roman Era Egyptian sock as this week’s Nalbound Object of the Week. It was excavated from the Christian burial grounds of Oxyrhynchus, present-day al-Bahnasa, by the Egypt Exploration Fund in the 1896-71 excavation season.
Description: A piece dyed2 purple (red and blue) split-toed sock for the left foot with a tongue and lacing loops closure, currently sewn through the tongue, and knit/purl ribbed patterning on the upper ankle cuff. Measurements on the online catalog record, length approximately 21.5cm, width approximately 8.4cm, and height approximately 10cm,3 reflect a sock that would fit a US Children’s size 3, Women’s 4.5.
Find location: The Christian burial grounds of Late Roman Era Oxyrhynchus.5 The present-day city of al-Bahnasa in Egypt.
Material: S2Z plied wool.6 Originally a light natural color, the sock was piece dyed red and blue, resulting in a purple sock.
Stitch(es) used: S-crossed Cross-knit Looping variant of nalbinding.7 Gauge is reported as 9 stitches per inch by 12 rows per inch8 or 3-4 stitches by 5 rows to the centimeter.9
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.
Photographs:
There are a few additional photos in the museum’s online catalog entry.
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Kendrick, Catalogue of Textiles From Burying-Grounds in Egypt: Vol. II. Period of Transition and of Christian Emblems. 1921. pg. 88. ↩︎
The sock appears to have been dyed after it was created instead of dying the wool and then nalbinding the sock. The interior of the yarn is still a light natural color and the red and blue appear to be on the surface only. ↩︎
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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 2019A 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.
De Moor et. al. “Radiocarbon dating of Late Roman woolen socks from Egypt,” 2015. Pg. 136 ↩︎
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. ↩︎
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. ↩︎
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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Anne Marie Decker with the Tarim beret as it was taken out of the display case for her to examine in order to determine the stitch used. 21 June 2000.
The Tarim Beret is a beautifully fine example of what kinds of designs are possible using even the simplest variants of nalbinding. This hat was on display in 2000.
Object: Tarim Beret
Description: A finely nalbound brown wool beret stretched over a felt roll. The stitch patterning leaves a visual impression of four striped quarters, but it is worked in the round.
Dated to: ca. 1000 BC (wood of the tomb calibrated C14 results date to 2960 ±115 years Before Present* (published 1999))
Find location: Zaghunluq Cemetery, Chärchän/Qiemo County, Tarim Basin (central southern edge thereof), Xinjiang, China
Material: Wool
Stitch(es) used: Space patterned Z-crossed Simple Looping, F1 O (as determined by Anne Marie Decker 2000)
Current location: 新疆维吾尔自治区博物馆 Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Museum, 581 Xibei Rd, Saybag District, Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China, 830000
*王炳华 = Wang, Binghua. 新疆古尸 : 古代新疆居民及其文化 = Xinjiang gu shi: gu dai Xinjiang ju min ji qi wen hua = The ancient corpses of Xinjiang : the peoples of ancient Xinjiang and their cvlture [i.e. culture]. Wulumuqi-shi: Xinjiang ren min chu ban she, 2001. ISBN 7-228-05161-0
