CLASSIFICATION OF TYPES

of the primitive fabrics of Egypt and Peru which merit inclusion fortheir historic importance and interest) as beyond the scope of thepresent inquiry, and to treat only of the smaller patterned fabrics,such as Brocades and Damasks; a chapter on Printed, Dyed, andStencilled Fabrics is also given.

In the consideration of patterned fabrics, the classification intospecific periods or types, each with their characteristics of design,rather than a classification according to materials or technique ofweaving, is undoubtedly the most convenient and instructive to thecraftsman and the general reader; and further, patterned fabrics maybe broadly divided into woven and printed patterns, each of whichis in this manual treated separately.

Ancient and Medieval patterned fabrics are clearly differentiatedby marked characteristics corresponding to racial and religiouscustoms, yet there is no doubt that woven fabrics, more than anyother of the products of the industrial arts, were largely influencedby the persistency of Eastern tradition of material and design dueto the migratory habits of the weavers.

This is shown by the marked similarity of the early Sicilianfabrics to the Lucchese examples of the 14th century (plate 1),and undoubtedly due to the importation of many skilled Sicilianweavers into Lucca.

It is perhaps singular that the Eastern tradition of significantand sumptuous fabrics, with their distinctive patterning, shouldhave so largely influenced European textiles during the 15 thand 16th centuries, especially in Italy, where the Acanthus wassuch a dominant feature of the painted and relief ornament of theRenaissance; yet at this period, and even later, the magnificentvelvets and brocades, the product of the Florentine, Venetian, andGenoese looms, were richly patterned with variants of the EasternArtichoke and Pomegranate (plates 2, 38-41).

Some knowledge of the technique of weaving is requisite tothose who desire to understand the structure of the fabric, with itspossibilities and its limitations for the production of pattern; thereader is therefore referred for further information upon the scienceof weaving to such technical manuals as are given in the Appendix.The reader is also referred for a fuller and more comprehensiveknowledge of the subject to the list of books and portfolios ofpatterned fabrics given in the Appendix.

A short chapter upon the Elements of Weaving, with a descriptivenote upon the loom and its history, together with one on thetechnique of the printed fabric, will no doubt prove interesting andinstructive to the general reader.

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