With the chlamys and tunic were worn boots of red leather, such as only the emperors of Rome and Persia were allowed to wear.
St. Basil mentions with admiration “the golden fleece” of the Pinna, which no artificial dye could imitate. Πόθεν τὸ χρυσοῦν ἔριον αἱ πίνναι τρέφουσιν, ὅπερ οὐδεὶς τῶν ἀνθοβάφων ἐμιμήσατο.—Hexaem. vii.
Whether the tuft of the Pinna was used for weaving before the time of the authors, who have now been cited, seems doubtful. As the Pinna is frequently mentioned by earlier writers, both Greek and Latin[190], but without any reference to the use of its tuft, it may be regarded as probable, that this kind of cloth was not invented before the time of Tertullian.
[190] The passages are collected in Stephani Thesaurus L. Græcæ, ed. Valpy, p. 7579.
It is a no less curious question, Whence did the ancients obtain the fibres of the Pinna, and where was the manufacture of them carried on?
It has been commonly said at Tarentum, but apparently for no other reason than that the Pinna is obtained and the manufacture principally carried on at Taranto in modern times. By referring to the authorities above quoted, it will be seen that none of them makes any allusion to Tarentum. Consequently we have no direct evidence, that this was the seat of the ancient manufacture. On the contrary, we have testimony, that fine cloths of this substance were made in India, and thence imported into Greece and other countries.
The author of the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, a document of an age at least as late as the time of Tertullian, states that the business of diving for the wool of the Pinna was prosecuted near the city called Colchi in the south of India. Different species of Pinna with tufts of fine silk are now no less abundant in the Indian than the Mediterranean Sea. The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea presents a sufficient proof, that this beautiful substance was spun and woven by the Indians, whereas we can only suppose from analogy that the manufacture was carried on in ancient times by the Tarentines.
CHAPTER XI
FIBRES, OR SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE PINE-APPLE.
Fibres of the Pine-Apple—Facility of dyeing—Manner of preparing the fibres for weaving—Easy cultivation of the plant—Thrives where no other plant will live—Mr. Frederick Burt Zincke’s patent process of manufacturing cloth from the fibres of this plant—Its comparative want of strength—Silken material procured from the Papyfera—Spun and woven into cloth—Cloth of this description manufactured generally by the Otaheiteans, and other inhabitants of the South Sea Islands—Great strength (supposed) of ropes made from the fibres of the aloe—Exaggerated statements.
This plant, which has hitherto been valued solely as ministering to the luxuries of the table, has lately had a new interest attached to it from the discovery of a fibre contained in its leaves, possessing such valuable properties, that it will, in all probability, soon form a new and important article of commerce.