Fig. 30.—Greek woman at work on a loom. From C. Robert Ἐφ ἀρχ 1892, pl. xiii., p. 247. It is not possible to say from this illustration whether this is a warp weighted loom or not.
Fig. 31.—Penelope at her loom. Illustration on an Athenian skyphos found in an Etruscan tomb at Chiusi, and at present in the museum there. The illustration is taken from Monumenti d. Inst. Archeologico, IX., pl. xlii.
It has been described by Mr. H. B. Walters in Jour. Hellenic Studies, XXXI., 1911, p. 15, who says: “In front of her, [Fig. 29a], is a white wool basket (Kalathos) and on her lap is a frame somewhat in the form of a lyre, being formed by two upright pieces with knobs at the top, diverging slightly towards the top, across between which are stretched two threads at the top and two at the bottom, seven vertical threads being also visible. Her hands are placed on the threads, which she is engaged in manipulating. This object can only be intended for a hand loom, though there is apparently no evidence for the use of such objects in ancient times or among Oriental races either in the past or the present day. The only other parallel to the representation on this vase is one published by Stackelberg, [Fig. 29b], where a woman holds a similar frame and is similarly occupied with her hands. The writers of the articles Sticken in Baumeister and Phrygium Opus in Daremberg and Saglio, misled by the likeness of the object to the modern crewel-frame, interpret the process as embroidery. But this kind of work implies cloth or other textile substance already woven, on which patterns are worked in, whereas in both vase paintings the textile is obviously in course of construction.” He is right in so far as he goes, but both representations are those of tapestry looms which fact is indicated by the warp threads in both cases, and by the design marked on the warp threads of [Fig. 29b]—a method of preparing their work in use to this day by tapestry weavers. Some authorities consider that tapestry weaving is more closely related to mat making than to true weaving. In other words, I take it tapestry is an early stage in the development of weaving. From this we get some idea as to how far the Greeks had progressed in the textile arts.
As pointed out by MM. Daremberg and Saglio, Dic. des Antiquités Grecques et Romaines pt. 46, p. 164, “illustrations of Greek or Roman methods of weaving are very rare, they are much reduced and in so far as the art is concerned purely diagrammatic.” On the other hand if there are numerous references in the texts of classic authors, these references seem rather to obscure than elucidate the method of working. However, there are three illustrations—the Penelope loom, [Fig. 31], and two Boeotian looms, one of which is illustrated in [Fig. 15]—quite sufficient to explain the principle of the upright loom as used with warp weights by the Greeks, and the discovery of numerous articles, considered to be the warp weights, confirm the illustration.
The principle is the same throughout, viz.: the looms are vertical, there is a warp beam on top, there are two cross rods one of which is a laze rod and possibly the other is a heddle; and the warp threads are all kept taut by means of attached weights. On one of the Boeotian looms a bobbin or spool is shown. Along the top of Penelope’s loom there are indications of nine pegs, on six of which balls of coloured thread have been placed, evidently for working out the designs, very much the same as shown on the rug loom in Bankfield Museum already referred to. The warp weights on this Athenian illustration are triangular in shape, and perhaps resemble the pyramidic weights found in Egypt and attributed to Roman times. Assuming these pyramids are Roman warp weights it would appear that both Greeks and Romans had vertical looms on which the warp threads were kept taut by means of weights. In one of the few clearly expressed technical classical references, Seneca speaks of the warp threads stretched by hanging weights.
In the above classical illustrations which are after all only rough diagrams, the warp weights appear to hang from a single thread only, but this can not have been correct. The warp threads must have been bunched, because a single suspended thread with a tension weight immediately begins to unravel, and so loses the advantage of its having been spun, as any one can ascertain for oneself. As regards the same point on the Lake Dwellers looms, Cohausen was the first to surmise that the warp threads were bunched to receive the weight, and Messikommer proved it by practical experiment.[G]
As can be surmised with this class of loom the weaving begins at the top, working downwards, and the beating-in of the weft is upwards—the exact opposite to the method adopted with other looms—for the pendant warp ends, although weighted to keep them taut, do not appear to have been further fixed in position, so that to commence weaving at the lower end made the operation so extremely difficult as to be almost impossible.