PORTIONS OF LOOMS WHICH HAVE COME DOWN TO US.
In so far as I know, not many loom parts have yet been discovered, and those which I have had an opportunity of studying do not assist us to much knowledge beyond that which we have gained by a study of the wall paintings. We have the article from Kahun already mentioned, which may possibly be a warp weight, as it somewhat resembles the later warp weights found elsewhere. It is of hardened mud with a perforation at the thin end through which a piece of string has been passed and knotted ([Fig. 17]), but so far no illustration of a loom with weights has been found, either for the period to which this article belongs or to any other period. On the other hand the material is not suitable for a net-sinker, nor is it intended to be made to stand up. As mentioned above it is probably Ægean.
Fig. 17.—Piece of perforated hardened mud. Possibly a warp weight, 10 cm. × 8·7 × 4·2 (315/16 in. × 27/16 in. × 15/8 in.) Weight 470 gramms (1 lb. ½ oz.) Probably of Ægean origin. Kahun. Manchester Museum.
Fig. 18.—Burnt-clay warp weight. Height 11·4 cm. (4¼ in.) Weight 260 gramms (9¼ oz.) Probably Roman. Bankfield Museum. (Received from Prof. Flinders Petrie).
Another form of warp weight, of burnt clay, is somewhat frequently met with, [Fig. 18], but it is described as appertaining to Roman times, and may therefore be either a Greek or Roman article. Similar weights from Cyprus and North Africa, &c., can be seen in the British Museum.
Wooden pegs have been found at Gurob, which may possibly have been used for holding the warp and breast beams in position, [Fig. 19]. These pegs may appear to be rather short for the purpose, but in very primitive looms the warp is not kept so taut as might and should be, and hence there is not the same heavy strain on the pegs as we should deem necessary. The way to settle their use would be to fix them in solid ground and test them.
Fig. 19.—Wooden Peg, possibly used for holding the warp and breast beams. Length 13·5 to 10·2 cm. (513/16 in. to 4 in.) Gurob XVIII.-XIX. Dyn. (about 1580-1205 B.C.) Manchester Museum.
Fig. 20.—Long straight lath with notches at each end, probably a laze rod. Length 1 m. 24 (4 ft. 13/16 in.) Breadth 5·2 cm. (2 in.) Thickness 2·2 cm. (7/8 in.) Kahun. Manchester Museum.
| ½ size section of [Fig. 20]. | ½ size section of [Fig. 21]. |
Fig. 21.—Long curved lath. Probably a “beater-in.” Length 1 m. 20 (3 ft. 11¼ in.) Breadth 6·5 cm. (111/32 in.). Thickness 1 cm. (3/8 in.) Kahun. XII. Dynasty about 2000-1788 B.C. Manchester Museum.
At Kahun a long straight lath, [Fig. 20], was found which is probably a laze rod, the notches being apparently for a nooze to slip into and so prevent the rod working towards the weaver which it has a tendency to do.
Another long but curved lath, [Fig. 21], also found at Kahun is probably a beater-in.
Most large Egyptian collections contain one or more specimens of wooden combs, which are generally called weavers combs, and ascribed to Roman times. But one at least, [Fig. 22], has been found with XVIIIth to XIXth Dynasty articles at Gurob, that is belonging to the period 1580-1150 B.C., which is long before Rome existed. None of these so-called combs, for they are really embryo reeds, are shown on the wall illustrations so that they no doubt belong to a later date than that of the XIIth Dynasty. If, as I take it, these “combs” are the forerunners of the reed and were used to drive the weft threads home, and if also the Romans had upright looms provided with warp weights instead of the breast beam, then I think the “comb” may not be Roman but may be a late Egyptian invention. For, on trying to use such a comb on a replica of a Scandinavian upright loom provided with warp weights (instead of with the breast beam) I can get no good result, in fact rather the opposite, but tried on a primitive horizontal loom provided with a breast beam the comb is found to be of some assistance, especially if the warp is not very taut as is generally the case with primitive looms. At Bankfield we have an Indian rug loom, already referred to, with warp and breast beam on which a somewhat similar instrument, but of iron, was used.[D]
Fig. 22.—Weaver’s Comb—a Beater-in. 19·5 cm. × 9·8 × 4·2 (7¾ in. × 37/8 in. × 15/8 in.) Gurob. Manchester Museum.
Fig. 23.—Possibly a warp spacer, somewhat similar in object to the raddle of modern hand loom weaving. Height 2·8 cm. Width 2·5 cm. (11/8 in. × 1 in.) The slots are 6 mm. (¼ in.) apart, 3 mm. (1/16 in.) wide, and about 10 mm. (3/8 in.) deep. From Gurob but probably Roman. Bankfield Museum. (Received from Prof. Flinders Petrie).
An article which Prof. Flinders Petrie describes as a “warp spacer” is shown in [Fig. 23]. From fragments in the Egyptian Collection, University College, London, it would appear to have been originally more than a meter (three feet) long. It may have been used as a sort of a “raddle,” a tool used for assisting to keep the warp threads in position when being beamed, i.e. put on to the loom. At Bankfield we have an old local hand loom the warp beam of which is provided with a series of holes in which pegs were once inserted to keep the coloured warp threads in position.
Fig. 24.
½ size of end of [Fig. 24].
½ size section of [Fig. 24].
A long piece of perforated wood described by Prof. Flinders Petrie, Kahun, p. 29, as a Weaver’s Beam for making rush mats. Length 96·8 cm. × 8·0 × 3·0 (3 ft. 1¼ in. × 3¼ in. × 13/16 in.) From Manchester Museum.
A piece of frame, [Fig. 24], has been described as a “weaver’s beam” for making rush mats like the modern hasira. It is provided with 28 holes which are arranged about 27 to 40 mm. apart. The holes may have been more or less circular originally, and worn into present shape by threads, etc., and look more irregular inside than they really are, as the inside surface of the holes is fairly smooth; the holes are slightly larger, on an average about 4 mm., on the face shown than on the other face. Prof. Flinders Petrie seems to think it resembles the frame on which the modern Egyptian mat is made.
We now come to the two reeds in the Museum of the Liverpool Institute of Archæology, which Dr. John Garstang discovered near Abu Kirkas, tomb No. 693, of which he tells us: “They are 27 and 29 inches (68·6 and 73·7 cm.) in length respectively, and are precisely similar in general form. They are constructed on a system of nineteen or twenty reeds to the inch, and they may be seen to be exactly similar to the modern reed taken from a loom in the village of Abu Kirkas. It is not possible, unfortunately, to assign a precise date to these objects. They were found in a tomb which contained no other remains; this tomb was surrounded by others, all of them likewise very much disturbed, but equally characteristic of the general nature of the Middle Empire tombs, and containing nothing but Middle Empire objects. Since, in general, few tombs of this site show signs of intrusive burial of a later age, there is no reason to suppose that these objects are of any date later than the XII. Dynasty (The Burial Customs of Ancient Egypt, London, 1907, pp. 134-136).”
The horizontal looms we have been describing belong to this period, and the artists have not shown any reeds with them. My studies of primitive looms lead me to think that these Egyptian looms are of a date far anterior to the invention or the application of a reed. It has also, I believe, been remarked by those who have examined cloths of this date, that the irregular array of the warp threads is good proof that reeds could not have been in use. I have already pointed out that in the evolution of the loom the reed puts in a late appearance, but apart from this fact, I do not think the artist would have omitted such an important tool had it been in use in his time.
Fig. 25.—Reed in Cairo Museum. Length 66 cm. (26 in.) It consists of two wooden frames fitted with flat iron wires. String is wound round the frames binding them together. Then a kind of canvas(?) cover in placed over the frames to cover up the projecting ends of the wires, but this has disappeared in places.
Dr. Garstang points out that although the surrounding tombs contained Middle Empire objects, the reeds were found in a tomb without any other remains. This can hardly be considered evidence tending to prove that they belonged to the period named, and it is certainly weakened by the accompanying statement that the reeds are exactly similar to the modern reed, for that is almost sufficient to prove that they are not 3900-3700 years old. To me they seem comparatively modern and very similar to one in the Cairo Museum which MM. Brugsch and Quibell are inclined to think is Coptic with this difference, that in Dr. Garstang’s reeds the divisions appear to be of cane or wood, while in the Cairo reed they are of iron (?steel). The sketch of this Coptic reed, [Fig. 25], has been drawn specially for me, and Miss W. M. Crompton, Assistant Keeper in Egyptology in the Manchester University Museum, has kindly examined the sketch with the article and pronounced it correct. We may, I think, safely conclude that the reed found by Dr. Garstang is Coptic and not Ancient Egyptian.
As regards the actual work of weaving, balls of thread have been found and so have very flat bobbins and pieces of stick with thread wound round which may have been spools as indicated in the drawing, [Fig. 7]. There is no reason why balls of thread should not have been used as they are in uncivilised countries at the present day, as, for instance, in Tibet, as reported by W. W. Rockhill in Diary of a Journey through Mongolia and Thibet, Washington, 1894, p. 41.