Women, Warps & Words: A Textile Project��Tara Ligon�Walnut Hills HS,�Cincinnati OH��Lekythos attributed to the “Amasis” painter, @550-530 BCE. Metropolitan Museum of Art
This work was made possible �by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities �and the NEH Institute �held at Monmouth College �in July of 2024 �under the direction of �Prof. Robert Holschuh Simmons and Ms. Nathalie Roy.
Primary target audience: �Grades 8-10, Latin students��This project addresses student skills in reading and comprehending ancient Latin, understanding the artistic representations of ancient Roman and other ancient Mediterranean cultures, and especially the omnipresence of textile production in the lives of underrepresented peoples- primarily women, including enslaved women. ��It also includes critical thinking and quantitative concepts and well as allowing for student creativity in an academic framework. Science content can be increased if growing/harvesting, processing, dyeing.��English renderings (not translations!) of Latin and Greek texts are included.
Working in the “women’s quarters,” �Detail from an Attic black-figure epinetron�by the Diosphos painter @500 BCE, in the Louvre
Women were often depicted in ancient art cleaning fiber, spinning and weaving.��Why?��*Hand each student one cotton ball; �instruct them to try to make the longest possible �piece of continuous string with the other. �Candy prize or bragging rights?
texo, texere, texui, tectus�third conjugation verb�construct with care,�weave;�tell a story ��*end day 1/ begin day 2
While fabric could be purchased or traded, particularly in larger settlement areas, the expectation was that the women of the household– “proper” women- would spend much (most?) of their time producing the material for the family’s clothing. This holds true for both Greek and Roman women, free and enslaved.
�Hendrik Golzius �@1578 �engraving �Lucretia spinning with the women of her household��*Give students another cotton ball, and a spindle to try making better string with their second cotton ball
Background: a group of Roman men are having a party and discussing whose wife was “best” or most virtuous; Collatinus’ argument that his wife surpassed all others led them to investigate this claim. ��sed nocte serā, �deditam lanae �inter lucubrantes ancillas �in medio aedium �sedentem inveniunt ���The modest Roman wife Lucretia is observed “working wool” with slave women,�late at night, in the middle of her own home, as a contrast to the Roman elite �and Etruscan royal women who were behaving inappropriately and dining in public �(not even at home!!!) with men who were not family members. �Livy AUC I.57���serus ͌ tardus lana ͌ crines / capilli ovum lucubro ͌ laboro nocte luminibus�
Intro to spinning��drawing of a young Roman woman spinning, with photos of archaeologically-recovered “spindle whorl” artifacts �and reconstructed distaff. ���Materials needed: �cotton balls�spindles��*end day 2 / begin day 3
Elamite woman spinning, �8th century BCE relief �from the Near Eastern city �of Sousa / Susa, �now in the Louvre
Ex grandiore vermiculo gemina protendens sui generis cornuum urica fit, dein quod vocatur bombylis, ex ea necydallus, ex hoc in sex mensibus bombyx. Telas araneorum modo texunt ad vestem luxumque feminarum, quae bombycina appellatur. Prima eas redordiri rursusque texere invenit in Coö mulier Pamphile, Plateae filia, non fraudanda gloriā excogitatae rationis, ut denudet feminas vestis. ��Pliny the Elder 11.26-27��The life-cycle of silk worms: grub to larva to caterpillar; their silk, “bombycina,” is similar to spider silk and was discovered by Pamphile of Cos to be a valuable for weaving luxury material which simultaneously covers a woman’s body and reveals it, as the fabric is so thin and light as to be nearly transparent.�
Nec Coae referunt iam tibi purpurae� nec cari lapides tempora, quae semel� notis condita fastis � inclusit volucris dies.�Horace IV. 13, 13-16��The most expensive couture and jewelry- not even Coan silk, purple garments or costly precious stones! can bring back the times everybody can read / know about, when you were attractive.
Funerary monument of Ulpia Epigone, Rome; early 2nd century C.E.
Ulpia is using a wool basket as a footrest, indicating perhaps
that she was always at her spinning and was therefore a good and virtuous wife.
Image from Eve D’Ambra, ed. Roman Art in Context
Obtaining fiber materials, �already prepared for spinning �is far easier for us!��Please note very different product weights!�wool- ASIN B08T8JDDJZ or B0CHKKR1XS�flax- ASIN B0714187S6�cotton- ASIN B0CDGRHXCT�silk- ASIN B07FD45H4L
FYI:�Romae tunicas, togas, saga, centones, sculponeas; Calibus et Minturnis cuculliones, ferramenta, falces, palas, ligones, secures, ornamenta, murices, catellas; Venafri palas. Suessae et in Lucanis plostra, treblae Albae, Romae dolia, labra; tegulae ex Venafro. Aratra in terram validam Romanica bona erunt; in terram pullam Campanica; iuga Romanica optima erunt; vomeris indutilis optimus erit. Trapeti Pompeis, Nolae ad Rufri maceriam; claves, clostra Romae; hamae oleariae, urcei aquarii, urnae vinariae, alia vasa ahenea Capuae, Nolae; fiscinae Campanicae Capuae utiles sunt. Funes subductarios, spartum omne Capuae; fiscinas Romanicas Suessae, Casino+ *** optimae erunt Romae.��Cato, de agri cultura 135���Having given a long list of where various things (not limited to fiber) are made, Cato the Elder asserts that Capua and Nola make pretty good pottery and rope (etc.), but the best tunics, togas, cloaks, blankets, and even wooden shoes are {made / found} at Rome. � (Also heavy plows, yokes, nails. . .)
Bronze figurine �identified as �a slave-woman �spinning wool
Thread / yarn created by women �was not only used as clothing �by the family; ��what else was made from spun fibers?��*end day 3 / begin day 4
�The peplos (gown) offered to the goddess Athena�Block V, east frieze of the Parthenon (447-433 BCE)
According to Postrel in The Fabric of Civilization, it could have taken a Roman 114 8-hour days to spin thread for a toga from already prepared wool fiber (not including the weaving, or wastage); note the amount of thread, 25mi/40km at a rate of 44 meters per hour. A toga would have been much larger �for most of Roman history! Averaging a 5’5” tall man, 2H x 3H = 132”x198”, and would have needed much more than a 60”x80” queen sheet calculated by Postrel as taking 171 days to spin its thread!
So how did they actually make cloth �from all this thread / yarn?�
Reconstruction of �warp-weighted loom, �Museo Nazionale Romano,�Terme di Diocleziani.�TL, July 14, 2016���*Students choose to weave individually on @8x11” cardboard, plastic or wooden looms, �as pairs on larger @14x20” “tapestry” looms, �or as a trio on a @2x3”�warp-weighted loom. ��Individuals may also choose to spin yarn for a pair or trio.�Otherwise, modern yarn is used for exigency’s sake!
Low-budget, portable warp-weighted loom?��In the Early Thinking Stages right now, but possibly an inexpensive loom may be constructed from over-the-door hanger holders, dowel rods and paracord. . . ?�� Lash a dowel rod at least 2” wider than the width of the “loom” � to the extended hanger bracket. Make sure the dowel is � evenly distributed.� � Attach the usual tablet-woven or braided border to the dowel� “header,” with the warp threads already attached.� � Tie the weights (heavy washers?) to the shed bundles.�� Use warp chains to keep the two sheds separate while weaving.�� ROLL UP the whole shebang carefully between groups / classes, if needed.
ἐγὼ δὲ δόλους τολυπεύω. I am winding a skein from tricks. Odyssey, 19.89
Discuss Penelope’s trick.
How do they make the pictures�in the cloth?
BOTH of these �are tapestries- woven, not embroidered!
A different type of vertical loom:�detail of a fresco from the Hypogeum of the Aurelii, Rome
a. warp-weighted vertical loom��b. vertical two-beam loom��c. ground loom
So what’s the big deal �with the weaving?
What are �the first three needs �for all humans?
��Remember this?��
Consider the real cost of your own clothing- not only the time needed for the sewer to put the seams etc. together, but to make the fabric itself, to create the fiber for the fabric, the environmental resources and costs of that clothing. . . ��How green are your jeans?
�Reduce�Reuse�Recycle���This fragment of fabric, apparently the lower part of a tunic, dates from the late antique period (rather than the Classical period) but shows clearly how precious clothing was to pre-industrialized people. It shows several visible mends, patches and darns and was definitely not an example of short-lived “fast fashion.”
General plan for time (for my kiddos); long-term, @1 month + / -�1-Introduction and cotton ball #1; slides 1-6, 15-20 minutes��2-Spindle and cotton ball #2; slides 6-10, 15-20 minutes��3-Time investment in spinning; slides 10-19, 15-20 minutes��4-Thread and loom; slides 21-24, 10 minutes; assign Sally video for HW. ��5- Discussion of which option (more spinning; individual / pair / trio weaving) to select for remainder of project. *One trio only, because one warp-weighted loom (max) per class!��6- -Slides 26-28; discussion of Penelope’s trick��7-Slides 29-37, very leisurely; weaving in class, @20 minutes most days for @3 weeks. Weekly or more frequent written quick check-ins. ��De-looming and finishing hems, 20 minutes.��Class feedback on products; individual reflection (English or Latin) on project; display.��Use of fabrics created- to make a crazy class quilt (etc) for donation
Physical Materials�Purchased:�Likely single-use cardboard “tapestry” looms. This item includes some blunt plastic yarn needles.��Multiple-use wooden “tapestry” looms. ��Much larger KISSBUTY beginner tapestry loom.��Yarn needles. This pack contains different sizes which your students may need, based on age and manual dexterity. ��DIY:�Sturdier loom option, DIY from picture frame. Consider thrifting frames or repurposing some for pictures you no longer love. ��DIY picture frame loom with no tools needed.� �DIY cardboard loom. Plasticore / plastic cardboard works well and lasts longer, if you can upcycle some! ��DIY spindle. 5 options.� �DIY an historically-accurate warp-weighted loom. Not for the faint of heart! Multi=part series by professional heritage educator Sally Pointer. Mrs Pointer has a massive list of archaeology-based ancient fiber arts videos, using a variety of fibers from those the Greeks and Romans used (mostly wool and linen) to American options like yucca fiber.��Use: many of the above resources, and�Using a warp-weighted loom, by a fiber artist. ��Yarn can be sourced relatively inexpensively in many places, but consider reaching out to your school community and wider community; families may have Grandma’s stash (or just need to pare down their own) and need to give it a useful life. Also look for a weavers’ or other fiber arts studio or guild in your community; the members may be willing to help demonstrate, and / or have tools to loan and yarn to donate.
Resources (more for students)��Costumes of the Greeks and Romans. Hope, Thomas. Dover Fashion and Costumes, 1962.��Dressmaking the Roman Way- Lucius’ Romans. A written description of the creation of the VERY slow fashion of the ancient Romans (and largely also the ancient Greeks), from the rearing of sheep through the basic shaped fabrics created for Roman clothing. ��Four Sisters in Ancient Rome. Laurence, Ray. TedED, 2012. Includes extended content and comprehension questions, but somewhat limited one weaving (2:32-3:07 in video). Note that the loom pictured is a two-beam loom, not a warp-weighted loom used in Greece and many other cultures.��Greek and Roman Fashions Coloring Book. Tierney, Tom. Dover Fashion Coloring Book, 2001.��Greek and Roman Garb. Bucknell University, nd.��Making a Tapestry- How Did They Do That? Metropolitan Museum of Art, February 2014.��Roman Clothing. Barbara McManus, revised 2003.��Spinning and Weaving. Britannica Kids. Includes video on terry-cloth towel manufacture.��Spinning Yarns, Telling tales about Textiles. Smithsonian Learning Lab, nd.
Resources��Ancient Textiles: Production, Craft and Society. Oxbow Books, 2007, multiple articles.��The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World. Postrel, Virginia. Basic Books, 2020.��Greek and Roman Textiles and Dress: an Interdisciplinary Anthology. Harlow, Mary and Marie-Louise Nosch. Oxbow Books, 2014. Esp. Dixon, “Dressing the Adulteress,” Larsson Loven, “Roman Art: What can It Tell Us About Textiles? A Discussion on The Use of Visual Evidence as Sources for textile Research,” Bogensparger, “The Multiple Functions and Lives of a Textile: The Reuse of a Garment.”��History and Principles of Weaving by Hand and by Power. Reprinted, with Considerable Additions, from “Engineering,” with a Chapter on Lace-Making Machinery, reprinted from the “Journal of the Society of the Arts.” Barlow, Alfred. Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, 1878.��Making a Warp-Weighted Loom. Multiple parts. Pointer, Sally. 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzZBHSB0DFs ��Published by: Oxbow Books“Spinning and Weaving in Ancient Greece,” mblight in Women in Antiquity, April 2017.��Voices at Work: Women, Performance and Labor in Ancient Greece. Karanika, Andromache. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014.��“The Warp and Woof of the Universe in Lucretius' "De Rerum Natura,“ Snyder, Jane McIntosh. Illinois Classical Studies Vol 8, No.1 (1983).��Warp-weighted Looms Then And Now. Petty, Christina. Thesis submitted to of Manchester, 2014.��Weaving Experiments on A Warp-weighted Loom. Verberg, Roland. https://www.academia.edu/38828658/Weaving_Experiments_on_a_Warp_Weighted_Loom ��Women’s Work: The First 20,000 Years. Women, Cloth, and Society in Early Times. Barber, Elizabeth Wayland. WW Norton, 1994. ��Work in Ancient Greece and Rome. Taylor, David. George Allen & Unwin, 1979.��Worn: A People’s History of Clothing. Thanhauser, Sofie. Vintage, 2023.