240 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

CHAPTER VIII BRAIDING AND

The precise difference between and braiding is a much discussed question, and one which is difficult to answer because the dividing line between the two is unclear. Indeed, in some cases it is virtually a matter of opinion which term to adopt. I would personally define weaving as an operation accomplished with two independent systems, one horizontal and one longitudinal, which intersect each other at right- angles. This is no condition when braiding. Here the same thread may be used as both a , and very frequently only one set of threads is worked in one direction only. The differences in braided textiles are made by the way the threads are manipulated accord- ing to various rules. The variations within each technique, as well as fresh patterns, are made by manipulating the threads or colour changes. Braiding techniques serve countless purposes and may be divided into several groups, but in the present book a division into two categories suffices: one where the warp is flat and the finished product is a flat band, kerchief, etc., and the other where the threads are wound round each other to make a round or angular cord. Among Danish prehistoric material are examples of three kinds of braiding, i.e. one type of whip-cording and two types of flat braiding as fol- lows:

WHIP-CORDING Among the Krogens M91lleMose material is a round thong made from four strips of leather plaited together in a technique which closely resembles the whip-cording made by Danish children until very recently. A whip-cord is plaited by tying four cords securely to some fixture so that they can with- stand a certain amount of pull without untying. Two cords are held in each hand, nos. I and 2 in the left hand, and 3 and 4 in the right (diagram Fig. 237a-e). The outer cord in the right hand, b4, is pulled down between I and 2 in the left hand, and back to the right hand where it is now the inner cord. The outer cord on the left side, no. I, is now passed down between the two cords in the right hand before returning to the left hand innermost. The plaiting continues in this manner, i.e. the outer cord on each side is alternately manipulated. The tension and position of the cords are kept even. However, only fairly short cords can be plaited solely by hand, and in are also used to enable greater lengths to be plaited, they are knebelstokke or knopstokke with which the women of North Schleswig used to make for the hems of their wide skirts. Four bobbins made up the set, each was about 20 cm in height and 7-9 cm in diameter at the thick end below (Fig. 238, page 237). CHAPTER VIII. BRAIDING AND SPRANG 241

a b

1 2. 3

Fig. 237 a-e. Diagrams of whip-cording. The method used for the leather thong from Krogens MfillleMose (0 1312). Skematisk fremstilling af piskefletning. Metoden anvendt til snor af lreder fra Krogens M~lIe Mose.

The easiest method is to wind the thread for the braid round the thinnest part of the bobbins, fastening it with a half-hitch immediately below the nob at the top. But by far the best way of fastening the thread is by a loop. This method means that a special thread is twisted round the below. A fairly coarse thread is used for this, the kind for fishing nets or similar . It is wound up with a series of half-hitches (Fig. 239a), i.e. five or six times, all according to the fineness of the thread. The twists have then to be fastened by a loop long enough to reach the top of the bobbin. The yarn for the braid can then be wound round the bobbin to the length needed; finally the thread ends are pulled through the loop (Fig. 239b). The four threads are tied to some fixed object, e.g. a window hook, a beam, or in the middle of a door frame, allowing the bobbins to swing freely. Both hands are used (Fig. 240). The threads of bobbins I 242 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

and 2 are over the left hand, and bobbins 3 and 4 are over the right hand. The position of the hands is practically horizontal. Threads 1 and 4 hang over the inner edges of the hands, i.e. over the base of the thumbs. Threads 2 and 3 are between the third and fourth fingers. The bobbins are set in motion with the hands so that they change places in pairs diagonally e.g. 2 changes places with 3, and 1 changes places with 4 (Fig. 241a-b). When the threads become too short to work, the thread wound round the bobbins is pulled over the knob of each bobbin, but still through the loop of cotton yarn. Fig. 242a shows a set of bobbins with lead weights for keeping the tension of the threads firm and even. This technique appears to be very widespread among primitive cultures, in any event ethno- graphical collections often have examples of braiding of this type. To name but two examples, the National Museum's Ethnographical Department has two slings for stone-throwing (Fig. 242b) from Persia and Palestine respectively. Evidently both men and women in Palestine still make these slings for boys to play with 1). But the whip-cording from Krogens M¢lle Mose in Denmark is ample proof that the technique has its roots in antiquity. This type of braiding, as we have seen, has also had other uses. But the method has its disad- vantages. It is difficult to work with more threads than four because a greater number of bob- bins cannot be manipulated properly, consequently variations developed from the more primi- tive technique without tools. The most logical method giving the best effects is to keep the number of threads divisible by four, e.g. 8, 12, 16, etc., in practice by dividing the threads into two groups, one in each hand, and dividing these again into two (see Figs. 243a-c and 244a-c giving the diagrams for working with 8 and 12 threads respectively). Cords of this kind are fairly usual among the products of folk , and in ethno- graphical material, and the uses to which they are put vary considerably. For example, Faroe Islanders use them as belts for daggers and call them "Tolvtottaband" because they are usually plaited with 12 threads (Fig. 245 a-e), tolv = twelve. A band plaited in the same technique is used in Persia as a strap for haversacks, and in Turkestan as part of the harness of a riding horse. I have not yet found cords plaited with as many threads as this among prehistoric Danish material, presumably due to chance, as the technique must be extremely old. A Finnish find seems to have an example, H. Appe1gren-Kival02) shows a photograph of a four- sided cord which looks as though it has been plaited by this method.

BRAIDED BANDS Some scraps of woollen band from the Mammen find are made in a diagonal braiding technique (Fig. 247) where the course of the threads corresponds with tabby weave (Fig. 248), a technique called "virkede blInd" in Denmark. One example of this kind of braided band has survived from the Viking Period, a braided leather strap from the Oseberg ship in Norway3) used to keep the side rudder in position. The technique, though, is again presumably much older. For example, several Danish textiles have fragments of a diagonally plaited 4 border where protruding warp threads have been plaited to close transverse edges ). There is also an example of medieval diagonal braiding in Sweden, it is part of a box in which a chalice cloth was kept prior to the ReformationS). The technique is very common as a folk . In Sweden its products are given various names: skackband, saxband, saxuddaband, vilkade band, hotjufeband or krokaband; 6 in it is calledflamband, fingrede band or klauveband ). CHAPTER VIII. BRAIDING AND SPRANG 243

Fig. 239 a-b. First and second step in the preparations for work with Fig. 240. Bobbins in use. bobbins. Slyngestokke i arbejde. F~rste og andet trin i forberedelseme til arbejdet med slyngestokke.

In Denmark until very recently old women were to be found whose knowledge of how to make these plaited bands had been passed down to them. Many primitive cultures make the bands, indeed the technique is so widespread that a geographical demarcation of it would be futile to attempt. In the past in Denmark plaited bands (virkede band) were worn as garters, but they also had other uses, for example straps, "kovsbaand", for carrying lugged vessels. The braiding was usually done in several colours, and there are two kinds of patterns, one arrow-shaped with the point of the arrow lengthwise in the band, the other zig-zag lines (Fig. 249a-b), both patterns are made by colour changes, not by changes in the technique. The following short description of the method illustrates how undemanding it is, the only requirement being that the threads are fastened to some fixture. It is a good idea to begin plaiting by making a shed through the warp, for example by arranging the threads over two needles as shown in Fig. 250, and at the same time arranging any pattern colours in the correct positions. It is also practical to start plaiting from the middle in order to avoid manipu- lating the full length of the threads. As shown in Fig. 250 the starting point is in the middle with the threads behind knitting needles a and b. First the front threads are plaited together, whereupon the whole arrangement is turned 1800 and the second half plaited. Before beginning the plaiting, the threads are picked up so that nos. I to 6 are in the left hand, and nos. 7 to 12 in the right (see Figs. 251a-c). One index finger (e.g. right index) is passed through the right half of the warp so that every other thread lies over the finger, and the alternate threads beneath, i.e. in the opposite order to that on the foremost (a) needle. With the index and thumb of the left hand the outermost thread, no. 12, is now pulled through the shed into the left section 244 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

.I'1Hotttt. Fig. 241 a-b. Diagram of the passage of bobbins. Plan over slyngestokkenes passage.

a

b Fig. 242 a. Bobbins in use, notice the extra lead weights below (Als, c Denmark). SIyngestokke i arbejde. Bemrerk at vregten Fig. 243. Whip-cords, a. braided by hand, b-c braided with bobbins. forl'lges ved pAhrengte blylodder. Tilhprer Piskesnore. a. flettet med h1ind, b-c udfprt p1i slyngestokke. Forfatterens forsl'lg. fru Anna Hald Terkelsen. where its position is innermost (Fig. 251). The three remaining fingers of the left hand still hold the left set of threads, if they let go of the threads, these easily become tangled. It is also far easier to keep the shed if both hands hold the warp fairly taut, rather than let the warp hang loose. When a thread has passed the right side, a similar manoeuvre is made from the left side. The left index now picks up a new shed, and the outer thread (no. I) is passed through, innermost on the right side. Work proceeds like this alternately from both sides. The thumb is used to press down the threads in a shed. When the second half of the band is plaited from the middle in the same manner, the colours make a symmetrical pattern, but a little slit forms down the middle of the band. A number of ways to arrange the mid-section are to be found in the folk tradition of diagonal plaiting, but these specialities cannot be fully described here, I will limit myself to the description of one method only. Fig. 252 shows that the centre of the mid-section can be plaited together but that two gaps are formed in the colour division beyond. In the Faroe Islands a different method is adopted to the one just described, in that the mid- dle of the yarn is attached to a hook or the like, and the threads are then pulled back on each side so that there is a bundle of threads in each hand which are then plaited together. In this way a loop or eyelet is formed at one end of the band. In other words, one has to work with threads which have the same length as that of the finished band, but the hole is kept and used when the band is wound round the leg as a garter?). In a on plaited bands in Estonia, H. Kurrik describes diagonally plaited bands or belts made with a warp that is fixed at the top and bottom edges, with the result that the band grows from the top and bottom during plaiting. This detail is particularly interesting because the method of fixing the warp at both ends is the same as that in sprang (see Figs. 254 and 258).

However, the phenomenon is not completely isolated, as R. D'Harcourt8) has established that CHAPTER VIII. BRAIDING AND SPRANG 245

Fig. 242b. Slings for stone-throwing from Persia and Palestine. The cords are plaited as indicated in Fig. 237. Slynger til stenkastning fra Persien og Palrestina. Snorene f1ettet som vist ved Fig. 244 a-c. Principle of whip-cording with 8 threads. fig. 237. Piskefletningens princip overflllrt til 8 trAde.

several kinds of braiding in were arranged in the same manner. And the method cor- responds to the weaving practised by the Lures in Persia with a primitive little loom shown in Fig. 221b.

SPRANG When the grave in Borum Esh¢j was opened in 1871, the National Museum came into possess- ion for the first time of an apparently complete costume from the early Bronze Age. Obvious- ly the costume in its entirety was of tremendous significance, but experts quickly realised that the various items of which it consisted were of special interest. For example, a pretty little cap of -like fabric (Fig. 253) particularly attracted the attention of handicraft specialists, because it had been made in a technique which was not known at the time, indeed nothing was known about how it could have been produced. A young pupil at Klein's Drawing Academy, Petra Godskesen, was allotted the difficult task offinding out how the ancient headdress was made. She noticed that the net was divided into two halves which were identical but a mirror- image of each other from the middle line. The pattern of each half was a reflection of the other to such a degree that an error in the interlinking repeated itself. Petra Godskesen started the experiment by laying a warp between two transverse rods, and she succeeded in producing a copy of the cap which was exhibited in the Danish archaeological section at the World Fair in in 18899). 246 MARGRETHE HALO: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

At the time no other museum circles in knew anything about this curious old tech- nique, but some braided work, mostly caps and bags, excavated in and acquired by the Imperial Museum of inspired experts in to study them more closely. In a small book entitled "Antike Handarbeiten" published in the 1890s, Luise Schinnerer describes the technique without knowing anything about the recently published study of the prehistoric net found in Denmark. But it is clear from her descriptions that the Egyptian caps and bags were made in the same technique as the Borum Esh¢j net. The key to the working method she found in Ruthenia, where peasant women still made an unusual kind of braiding with the help of a frame (Fig. 254a). "Antike Handarbeiten", therefore, was the pioneer work on a technique which was later to prove to be deeply rooted in much of the folk handicraft traditions of Europe. As a rule it is called "sprang" 10), and a closer description of the equipment and working methods are given below. Equipment. Women are sometimes depicted on Greek vases from the 5th century B.C. with a little trapezoid frame in their laps, these frames are often taken to be loom or frames. J. Six II) has pointed out that these are more likely to be braiding frames, and I agree with his opinion. Of the two painted vases upon which his theory is based, the one belonging to the British Museum is shown in Fig. 255, the other is in the Cabinet du PourtalesI2). A third vase is shown in Fig. 256 after A. BaumeisterI3), this gives a particularly clear impression of sprang in a frame, because the fabric can be seen both above and below in the frame. For larger pieces of sprang, free-standing frames on a base or with feet were undoubtedly used. These would stand on a table or on the floor according to the working conditions. The

a Fig. 245 a-d. Principle of whip-cording with 12 threads. b Piskefletningens princip benyttet ved f1etning med 12 trllde. CHAPTER VIII. BRAIDING AND SPRANG 247 oldest implement of this kind that I know of, was found in the Oseberg ship-burial in Norway, it is therefore from the Viking period. The frame (Fig. 257) is of beech wood, 1.19 m high, 0.66 m wide at the top and 0.86 wide at the bottom. The uprights have a series of holes in the lower ends where a lower beam could be adjusted up or down as needed (4). Another Norwegian example of much more recent date is found ind Dr. I. M. E. J. St\iiren's collection, other similar frames are known from Norwegian folks crafts. H. Dedekam (5) has written about a fairly high frame with base from Meldalen, and Maria Collin (6) mentions two frames of dif- ferent size in the collections in Maihaugen near Lillehammer. The specimen shown in Fig. 254a from Ruthenia and reproduced after Luise Schinnerer(7) corresponds fairly closely to the Norwegian frames. Technique. We will now see how the warp is laid when a frame is used. The more simple methods used here and there for braided work is discussed below, but in principle they are no different to the method described here. The warp is laid vertically between two thin horizontal rods or possibly between two taut cords (Fig. 258a). The distance between these should be a little greater than the length of the completed sprang. One of the horizontal rods or cords must be able to move towards the other because the tension of the threads increases as work progresses, and to relieve this the two horizontal rods have to be moved closer together. Two sticks are inserted between the threads to give a shed (8), this can be done as shown in Fig. 258b for example. The inserted sticks I and II by the upper and lower rods divide the warp into two layers because they are passed in front and behind each thread alternately. The threads are then twisted according to certain rules, and the result is an interlinking or which builds up to make a netlike fabric. The

c d 248 MARGRETHE HALO: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Fig. 245e. Work on a "tolvtottaband" (see Fig. 245a-d). Fig. 246. Cords from the Faroe Islands "tolvottaband" »Tolvtottaband« i arbejde (se fig. 245a-d). in different patterns. and bead. (The author's experiments). Frer~snore eller »tolvtottaband« med forskellige m~nstre. Uld og perler. Forfatterens fors~g. are pulled up with the hands, the plait row is begun in the warp to the right of the sprang worker. First insert the left hand into the warp so that the index, fourth and little fingers lie in the shed made by shed stick I, while the thumb holds the front layer of threads, and the third finger lies behind the back layerI9). The rule is that all the threads over the rod must behind, and all the back threads slip forwards when a row has been completed, but the change is made so that a front thread lies diagonally across two back threads before it passes into the lower shed face. The right hand manipulates the threads as follows: a) The right hand's thumb and third finger pick up the front thread to the extreme right, slipping it into the hand between the index and third finger. b) The thumb and third finger pick up the next front thread which is also slipped into the hand between the index and third finger. c) With the thumb and index the extreme right back thread is picked up so that it lies over the index. d) The thumb and third finger pick up the third front thread, and let this slip between the index and third finger. . e) The thumb and index pick up the second back thread, and let this thread lie over the index. This is continued for every other front and back thread until the row is completed. The CHAPTER VIII. BRAIDING AND SPRANG 249

Fig. 247. Diagonally plaited wool band from Mammen (C 136 c). Virket bl\nd af uld fra Mammen. interlinking of the last thread is different, but the diagram Fig. 258c shows its position. In the end all the threads are in the right hand and the index of this hand is in the shed. The latter is replaced by a stick or knitting needle III, which is pushed upwards towards the upper edge of the sprang. Obviously because the warp is secured at both ends the interlinking is repeated below. This is one of the advantages of the technique, therefore another stick IV, is pressed down into the lower edge to hold the meshes in position here, the interlinking of the bottom is a mirror-image of the top. The next row is also started at the right edge. The left hand is inserted into the warp as described above. Fig. 258c shows that two back threads now lie to the extreme right. a) The thumb and third finger of the right hand pick up the front thread to the extreme right, this is slipped between the index and third finger. b) The thumb and index pick up the back thread to the extreme right so that it lies over the index. c) The next front thread is passed by the thumb and third finger to lie between the index and third finger. d) The next back thread is picked up by the thumb and index and laid over the index. This is continued across the row.

a

b

Fig. 249 a-b. Diagonally plaited bands, a. zig-zag pattern, Fig. 248. Diagram of diagonally plaited band b. arrow pattern. (The author's experiments). corresponding to tabby weave. Virkede bl\nd. a. med zig-zag ml3nster, b. med kileml3nster. Analyse af virket bl\nd med toskaft. Forfatterens forsl3g. 250 MARGRETHE HALO: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Shed sticks I and II are then removed (see Fig. 258d), and the two rows are repeated. The mesh forms into two symmetrical halves, and after the last row a cord is passed through the shed to prevent the mesh from untwisting. However the finish is more attractive if the piece is locked with a row of chaining, which is easily done with a hook. Sometimes there is just one row of chaining, in the cap from Borum Esh¢j for example (Fig. 253), but sometimes several rows are made, sometimes even the threads of the lower shed face have their lock, and the front layer of threads have theirs. This makes two layers with a gap be- tween. A Danish example of this lock is seen in the Skrydstrup cap (Fig. 259), and several Egyptian sprang fabrics described later in this chapter. Variations. The diagrams in Fig. 258a-c only show the technique at its most basic. The simplest form of interlinking may be compared with a plain when knitting. But variations in the manipulation of the threads, the interlinking process, produce different kinds of meshes by which it is possible to vary the patterns. Double interlinked sprang is made by twisting the same pair of threads twice, i.e. the basic twist plus an extra twist (Fig. 258f). Open-work sprang (Fig. 258g). Here the interlinking is carried out so that gaps or holes are made by slipping twists in the previous row in a special manoeuvre. The interplay oflarge and small holes produces the pattern. To this type belong the patterns illustrated in Figs. 262, 266 and 269. Sand Z twist sprang (Fig. 258h). The patterns in this type are made by twisting each thread alternately to the left and right; the effect is shown in Figs. 263, 264 and corresponds roughly with purl and plain stitch (rib) in knitting. All the above methods produce fresh effects when a warp has more than one colour, simply the basic interlinking technique with two colours creates a quantity of patterns composed of spots, arrows, oblique stripes, and longitudinal or horizontal stripes in relation to the warp (see Figs. 280a-c). However, these types of colour pattern do not occur among archaeological finds in Scandinavia, but as we shall see, colour effects are widespread in Egyptian sprang fabrics .

.f 2 3 4 S , 7 8 q 10 11 12 a h I

Fig. 250. Laying the threads for diagonal plaiting with starting point in the middle. Opsretning til virket bAnd med udgangspunkt i midten. CHAPTER VIII. BRAIDING AND SPRANG 251

Fig. 251 a-c. Plaiting in progress, notice the working thread being passed into the shed after the right index. Tre stadier af arbejdet med virkede bi\nd. Bemrerk, at arbejdstri\den passerer ind i skellet efter h~jre pegefinger.

PREHISTORIC SPRANG FABRICS IN SCANDINAVIA The cap from Borum Esh¢j (Fig. 253) does not, though, fall directly into any of the above cate- gories; it is most closely related to double interlinked sprang, because between 2 to 7 twists are made with the same pair of threads, with the result that the product is very open-work. In the close-set transverse ridges which occasionally occur, one front thread passes across four neighbouring threads as opposed to the usual two threads. After the Borum Esh¢j find many years were to elapse before a sprang fabric was once again recovered from a Bronze Age oak coffin burial in Denmark, but in 1935 the Skrydstrup find yielded a fragment of a woman's cap in sprang which was clearly related to the Borum Esh¢j cap, although differing from it on several significant points. From the point of view of tech- nique, the Skrydstrup cap is of the Sand Z twist type, in that the ribbed effect of the pattern is solely the result of the threads being linked in sequences of S or Z twists. Two other Scandinavian examples of prehistoric sprang are closely related to the Skryd- strup cap, one of which - also a cap - was found in 1942in Arden Mose; this piece is described on p. 28 ff, and shown in Figs. 16, 17 and 260. The diagrams (Figs. 259, 260) bear out this resemblance between the two. No datable artefacts were recovered with the Arden find, but a pollen analysis and a comparison with other bog textiles indicate that the Arden cap is from the early Iron Age. Another example of prehistoric sprang in Scandinavia is the find from Tegle in Norway, which is of the same kind but presumably from a slightly later period. H. Dedekam dates it to the Roman Iron Age20). In this case the pattern is made by twisting the threads so that triangular sequences are formed (Fig. 261). A find from Bnende-Lydinge in Funen dated with certainty to the Roman Iron Age con- tained a little scrap of sprang. Another sprang fabric which is undoubtedly prehistoric is the beautiful net popularly called "Queen Gunhild's hairnet". It was kept for many years in a box at the National Museum with textiles recovered from the bog at Haraldsk

Fig. 252. A diagram showing how the centre may be arranged in a diagonally plaited band. The two crosses show where the divisions occur. Eksempel pA, hvorledes midtpartiet kan arrangeres pA virket bAnd. De to kryds viser, hvor spaltningeme indtrreder.

work type of sprang. The diagram of this pretty and delicate piece of work is shown in Fig. 262. Evidence of the sprang technique has also been found in Sweden at the Viking site of Birka. According to Agnes Geijer21) the surviving scraps are so small that it is not possible to establish to what they have belonged.

COPTIC SPRANG FABRICS As already mentioned, apart from the Scandinavian examples of sprang from prehistoric times, another group of ancient sprang textiles has survived in Egypt dating from the Coptic period22). I feel that a comparison between the sprang fabrics of the two regions would be of interest, and as I have had the opportunity of studying the collection of Egyptian braided tex- tiles in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London a selection of these is described in the fol- lowing. 1. Bag23), 4th-5th century A.D. from FaiyOm, made of red and purple woollen 2-ply yarn. The maximum complete length is 38 em, and the maximum width c. 30 em. The pattern is formed by changes between Z and S twists which make triangles and diagonal lines (Fig. 263). The fabric is locked in the middle by repeatedly taking in two threads in pairs. Tn the end there are four threads in each mesh. The principle is given in Fig. 268. After the sprang is locked the fabric is folded over along the transverse meeting line and sewn along the selvedge at each side, thus making a kind of bag. It is closed with a flap made of an unsually thick braid in a similar technique to diagonally plaited bands (Fig. 249a-b). 2. Bag or cap24), 4th-5th century A.D. from Akhmim, made of fairly fine Z 2-ply woollen yarn. The pattern (Figs. 264, 265), like that of the bag described above, is made in Sand Z CHAPTER Vlli. BRAIDING AND SPRANG 253

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~ lr /1 ,F"'/I "" II IF' // // II // 1,'// IT II II IF' // If II // 11-// "" 'II 1F' // /1 1, // 1,'// "'I Fig. 253. Analysis of the sprang cap from Borum Esh\2lj. Analyse af spranget hue fra Borum Esh\2lj. 254 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Fig. 254a. Ruthenian frame (after L. Schinnerer). Fig. 254b. Braiding frame with sprang work. The author's Ruthensk fletteramme. experiment. Fletteramme opsat med sprangearbejde. Forfatterens fors~g. twist. In the middle the twists of the mesh are taken in together in pairs so that the fabric tapers, and in this section the threads are all twisted in the same direction. The patterned area is 25-26 cm wide. From the lock in the middle to the lower edge on one side the sprang measures 20.5 cm, while the opposite side is only 18 cm. The mesh along one transverse edge has not been pressed back properly, the result is a loose row through which a drawstring passes to gather the edge together. Along the other transverse edge is sewn a dark brown band c. 0.5 cm wide. Its analysis is tabby and it trims the edge in a pleasant decorative way. As there is no evidence of a drawstring arrangement here the fabric was not presumably intended as a bag. It seems more likely to be a cap, the firm decorated band rested on the forehead of the wearer, while the drawstring gathered the edge by the neck so the width of the cap fitted the head. The meeting line of the sprang would therefore be over the top of the head, and the cord along this line could be drawn together to tighten the cap here making a rounded or pointed crown. 3. Cap. Fig. 266 gives the analysis of the fabric. The cap dates from the 4th-5th century A.D. and is from Ahnasiyah25). The yarn is purple wool and the sprang is patterned with bands of diagonal open-work sprang, either tightly or loosely twisted. Down each selvedge is a bor- der with coloured stripes: red, natural, two shades of yellow and red again. Thefabric was prob- ably used as a cap. In the middle the sprang is so severely tapered that there are eight threads in each bunch, and a kind of point is made, c. 5 cm long and 3 cm wide (Figs. 268, 269). The cap has a narrow band along one lower edge which appears to be braided. CHAPTER VIII. BRAIDING AND SPRANG 255

Fig. 255. Woman with braiding frame. Greek vase painting. (Journal of Hell. Stud.). Fig. 256. Woman with braiding Kvinde med tletteramme. Grresk vasebillede. frame. Greek vase painting (after Baumeister). Kvinde med tletteramme. Grresk vasebillede.

4. Piece of sprang. (Fig. 267). Probably a scrap from a cap made with a warp of several colours in Z two-ply woollen yarn. Colours: blackish-blue, yellow ochre, red coral and bottle green. The original length from the start- ing border to the middle is c. 22 cm. The fabric is very tapered to make a point. The threads are twisted together 2, 4, 8, and presumably ]6 at a time26). 5. Bag, (Fig. 268), 4th-5th century A.D.

from FaiyOm27), only the analysis of the closing in the lock is given here. The technique occurs in a number of other examples, first two threads are twisted together, then four and later eight. Likewise, the actual lock is typical in that there are two rows of chaining along each side, and a passage like a tube is formed between the two layers of thread in the middle of the fabric. The Danish net from Skrydstrup (Fig. 259) has the same detail. 6. Cap, (Fig. 269), 4th-5th century A.D. from Akhmlm28). It is c. ]8 cm wide, and half its height, i.e. from the point to the lower trans- Fig. 257. Braiding frame from the Oseberg ship (after Osebergfundet II). verse edge is 29 cm. The yarn is fine but Fletteramme fra Osebergskibet. down the selvedges a red woollen yarn is in- 256 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

,'\. I m

:II:

d

g Fig. 258 a-e. First stages of sprang, f: double twists, g: open-work sprang, h: Sand Z twist. a-e: de fl'Jrste stadier af sprangearbejdet, f: dobbeltslag, g: gennembrudt sprang, h: vrang og ret fletning.

Fig. 258 i-k. Positions of the hands at the first stages of sprang; i: Z-twist, j and k: S-twist. Hiindstillinger ved begyndelsesstadiet af sprang; i: vrang fletning, j og k: ret fletning.

k CHAPTER VIII. BRAIDING AND SPRANG 257

Fig. 259. Diagram of the cap from the Skrydstrup burial. Analyse af huen fra Skrydstrupgraven. 258 MARGRETHE HALO: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

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M.!H!,((JJld. Fig. 260. Analysis of the cap from Arden. (Figs. 15-17). Analyse af huen fra Arden. fig. 15-17.

corporated. Along one starting border is sewn a band c. 3/4 cm wide woven in tabby with a little pattern in colour. The pattern made in sprang consists of diagonal lines and cruciform figures in the basic technique (single twists), while the background is open-work sprang. The diagram in Fig. 270 gives a detail of the pattern, and the photograph (Fig. 269) shows how the meeting line formed the point of the cap; in the end there are 16 threads in each mesh and the width does not exceed 2 cm. CHAPTER VIII. BRAIDING AND SPRANG 259

Fig. 261. Detail of sprang fabric from Tegle (after Dedekam). Fig. 262. Analysis of sprang net from Haraldskrer Detalje af hoseskaft fra Tegle-fundet. Mose. (Fig. 41). Analyse af net fra Haraldskrer Mose, fig. 41.

The Coptic fabrics have a profusion of patterns, but in the present book only the types which have parallels in Scandinavia will be discussed. The Copts had a strong predilection for adding variety to their twined designs by slipping extra twining threads into the sprang. These threads twist in pairs round each other and twine round the threads on the surface of the fabric, they are usually a different colour to the basic mesh. We have already mentioned that the warp was often a variety of colours, sometimes extremely beautiful ones. The Coptic sprang fabrics are undoubtedly far more varied in pattern and of more refined workmanship than the Scandinavian specimens, and it is not surprising that the largest selec- tion should provide the greatest number of variations. On the other hand, the striking simi- larity between them is understandable, as the technique is based on certain fundamental rules which have to be followed wherever this form of braiding is done. All Danish Bronze Age fabrics are woven in tabby, yet nowadays this ancient simple type of weave still plays an important role in the textile , and likewise the sprang fabrics from antiquity correspond closely with those offar more recent periods. Because of this, then, one has to be extremely cautious in any attempt at dating from the basic types of technique. The products of more recent times for which we have to thank indigenous folk handicraft traditions will be discussed ind the following.

SOUTH-EAST EUROPE, NORTH AFRICA, PERSIA AND PERU It is still far from clear to what extent sprang has survived until the present day. Even though many textile experts have occasionally come across the technique, become interested in it, and published the examples of sprang known to them, little is otherwise known about it as far as Europe is concerned. No comprehensive investigation of the incidence of sprang has been undertaken, and as far as we know the only research into sprang to be carried out is in South- East Europe and Scandinavia. Luise Schinnerer, as we have seen, identified the sprang tech- nique in textiles from Galicia and Croatia, she also mentions examples from Siebenbiirgen, 260 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BUR1ALS

Fig. 263. Coptic sprang fabric. Faiyfim 4th-5th century A.D. 2/1 (Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 476/1889). Koptisk sprangearbejde. FaiyGm, 4.-5. Arh. e.Kr. 2/ •. CHAPTER VIII. BRAIDING AND SPRANG 261

Fig. 264. Coptic sprang from Akhmim 4th-6th century A.D. (Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 762/1886). Koptisk sprangearbejde fra Akhmlm. 4.-6. i\rh. e.Kr.

namely three woman's caps made of and thread which she takes to be the products of the upper-class. When Luise Schinnerer became acquainted with East European sprang in the 1890s she found it used for caps, men's belts, and trimming on bed and towels. When visiting 262 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Fig. 265. Diagram of Fig. 264. Analyse til fig. 264.

Vienna in 1937 I saw five woman's caps in the Museum fur Volkerkunde which were undoubt- edly of the same kind as those studied by Luise Schinnerer. This conclusion is drawn from the shapes of the caps which in many cases resemble that depicted in Fig. 272. The pieces have a notch at each of the four corners exactly like the fabric in the Ruthenian frame shown in Fig. 254a. And as the sprang technique was widely used for caps in Scandinavia and Egypt, a description is given below of the East European caps I had an opportunity to study. 1. Sprang cap29) (Fig. 273). The crown of the cap consists of haifa sprang fabric with open- work pattern. After the completion of the warp it has been halved so that the two identical halves could be separately used. Curiously, the warp was at its longest in the middle, and somewhat shorter at the sides, where there are two notches, about 4 cm deep in each direction. When sewn together the shape of the crown is improved by these notches. A strip of white linen is sewn round it, and the edge of the linen piece is pulled over a wooden ring that is covered outside with a woollen floral fabric. The material is secured in the middle in front with CHAPTER VIII. BRAIDING AND SPRANG 263

mHo-Lei. Fig. 266. Diagram of sprang from Ahnasiyah, 4th-5th century A. D. (Victoria and Albert Museum, No. 1196/1904). Analyse af sprangearbejde fra Ahnasiyah. 4.-5. l\rh. e.Kr. decorative pins, and at the back are three and a pin. The falling lappets are bright red and green, c. 86 cm long and cut off below. The cap is said to be early 19th century. 2. Sprang cap crownfrom the 30)(Fig. 274c) is actually the loose crown of a cap like the one shown in Fig. 273. The two pieces correspond exactly in shape, and technically speak- ing the patterns belong to the same group. 3. Unfinished woman's caps31). Fig. 274b illustrates a piece of sprang as it looks when removed from its frame. A comparison with Fig. 254a shows that its shape is the same as that of the sprang fabric in the frame. The piece is clearly intended to be divided across the middle and used as two caps like Fig. 274a in shape. This cap32) when unfolded would correspond to half of the cap shown in Fig. 274b. The narrow section where the warp is fulliength is therefore at the back of the head by the neck. The middle section (where the sprang is taken in slightly) rests across the forehead of the wearer. 4. Woman's cap33) (Fig. 275). The cap has a crown consisting of white sprang in an open- work pattern with Z and S twists (Fig. 276). The textile is taken in on the same principle as a number of the Coptic caps mentioned above; it decreases towards the middle, in that the first two meshes are twisted together, then four, etc., until a narrow strip remains where the fabric is very thick (see Figs. 269-271). After the completion of the sprang the selvedges are sewn 264 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Fig. 267. Diagram of Coptic sprang. (Victoria and Albert Museum, T. 236/1923). Analyse af koptisk sprangearbejde.

together. The thick narrow piece forms a fairly stiff point yet it is not worn at the top of the head but folded back instead towards the neck behind, and partially hidden by a falling lappet as shown in the photograph. The transverse edge of the sprang fabric is pressed down over a wooden ring 44-45 cm in diameter. The ring is covered with a silk floral band, this is fastened in the middle at the forehead with decorative coloured pins. Long falling lappets are pinned to the band at the back, four red and two green. Three variegated buttons are fixed to the floral band, while the cap itself is folded and arranged with the help of a collection of decorative pins. The curious feature of this cap is that it bears such a clear resemblance to the Coptic caps, both the pattern and the characteristic pointed crown. Moreover, the technique of the sprang has something in common with the prehistoric sprang caps in Denmark, those from Skryd- strop and Arden, as well as with workdonein the presentdayby the Berbers (Figs. 277-278). The open-work pattern is the same as "Queen Gundhild's net" and a number of Coptic sprang fabrics. Whether the manner in which the cap is worn corresponds to that of the Coptic caps is unlikely to be established, as I do not believe that there is evidence to show how the latter were worn. But the use of a wooden ring34) over which to arrange the cap is a characteristic that CHAPTER VIII. BRAIDING AND SPRANG 265

Fig. 268. Diagram of the middle of a sprang fabric. Note the lock which consists of two transverse rows of chaining on each side with a gap between, and the meshes taken in in pairs. Analyse fra midlparli afsprangearbejde. Bem:rrk lukningen besl1\ende aflo modsalvendle Iv:rrg1\ende masker:rkker p1\hverside. Herimellem er hulrum.

gives one the feeling of being confronted by a relic rooted in ancient tradition. The Iliad tells how Andromache fainted at the sight of Hector's corpse: "She cast her shining headdress far from her, both the frontlet and the cap, its braided , and the fine which the golden goddess Aphrodite had given her on the very day that Hector, the radiant hero, brought her home from Eetion's house in return for a multitude of gifts. "35) Even in the 20th century, both South-East Europe and North Africa appear to be produc- tive areas for research into old braiding techniques, and two different scholars have described curiously primitive working methods when making sprang bands in these regions. In the East Caucasus A. van Gennep saw women sitting on the floor or earth making bands in small free- standing frames with a movable rod at the top. Numerous sticks were inserted in the warp. Later, he found belts or tie cords made in the same technique in Algiers. He records that they had a tendency to twist corkscrew-like when they were removed from the frame - this is a characteristic of sprang bands when the twists are all in one direction36). In 1914 R. Vuia37) wrote that in Rumania women braided bands with the primitive aid of two 266 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS sticks between which they laid the vertical warp. One of the sticks was fastened to a beam under the ceiling, while the other was held in position on the floor under the women's feet. They inserted not 2 to 4 sticks in the warp but 30 to 40. The product was a belt 2-3 m in length worn with their furs in the winter. Vuia also pointed out that he could differentiate between two techniques: one with a frame and one without. He knew of examples of the latter method in Algiers and Siebenbiirgen, and of the former method in the Caucasus, Galicia, and Buko- vina, it was also used by the Hungarian Slovaks. In the following discussion we will find that both techniques were also known in Scandinavia, but first should be mentioned a large sprang textile from North Africa. It is owned by the Museum fUr Volkerkunde in Hamburg. The piece (Fig. 277) is 55 cm wide and 230 cm long, worked in natural, fairly coarse S-spun yarn. According to the records it comes from Djerba, and is of Jewish origin, intended, as a head- veil, but also worn by Berber women38). J. van Gennep has proposed that the sprang technique was known by certain tribes in South Africa, and by the Japanese. I have not been able to verify this; on the other hand, there is a very simple sprang band in the Ethnographic Department of the National Museum, Copen- hagen, which has been braided by the Lures in Persia as recently as 1935. The collection has, in addition, a few pieces of white sprang ascribed to the Pathans. R. D'Harcourt39) relates that in ancient Peru braiding was carried out with a warp secured at each end, i.e. corresponding to the sprang method. No less than three different types of braid- ing are made by this method: diagonal braiding similar to plaited bands (virkede band) in Scan- dinavia, sprang, and a still more complicated kind of double braiding worked with four sets of thread (Plate 57,2 in D'Harcourt's "Les Textiles Anciens de Perou et leurs Techniques" depicts a piece of sprang).

EAST EUROPE AND SCANDINAVIA We will now turn to Scandinavia and ask how widespread the art of making sprang has been, and at the same time draw a line from East Europe to the North, in order to keep some degree of geographical continuity. K. Moszynski40) writes that the sprang technique is called "branie" in some Slav countries, and the finished product' 'brane". It appears that the Slavs only made belts and headgear by this method. It is also found in Poland and Little Russia - in any event in the northern and southern region of the Russian Carpathians. The technique is also known in Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.

H. Kurrik41) has carried out investigations into the diffusion of braiding techniques nowadays in Estonia. She has published a photograph in one of her which shows a large piece of sprang in the making. The method is fairly primitive, in that the warp is laid between two sticks that can evidently be tied up and secured anywhere. Most of the products have pat- terns in several colours. Kurrik also mentions a variation of the technique, and diagonal braid- ing which is likewise carried out with a warp fastened at each end.

The woman's cap shown in Fig. 279 has been made by the Syrjans42), a Finnish-Ugrian peo- ple who Live in North-East Russia. The cap is c. 28 cm tall, 18 cm wide at the top, and executed in an open-work pattern. Its shape is not unlike some of the Coptic examples which have been described as bags.

There is also evidence that sprang has existed in Finland. U. T. Sirelius43) records that bands were made in a primitive simply by stretching the warp over some pegs ham- CHAPTER VIII. BRAIDING AND SPRANG 267

Fig. 270. Diagram of detail of Fig. 269. Coptic sprang. Analyse af detalje af fig. 269. 268 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Fig. 27 I. Part of a Coptic cap in sprang with symmetrical decreasing of the crown (after L. Schinnerer). Parti af koptisk hue, hvor den trinvise indtagning g\lr sig greldende i toppen.

.• i'•••• J

Fig. 272. Pattern of the crown in Fig. 273. Fig. 273. Bridal headgear from Tuchla. (Museum fUr Volkskundf Form pi\. det sprangede stykke i pulden pi\. fig. Vienna, No. 17321). 273. Brudehovedt\lj fra Tuchla. CHAPTER VIII. BRAIDING AND SPRANG 269

abc Fig. 274. Sprang caps. (Museum fUr Volkskunde, Vienna, a. No. 34642, b. marked Netzhaube 34643, c. marked 35812.) All from c. 1914. Sprangede huestykker. Aile fra ca. 1914.

Fig. 276. Diagram of cap in Fig. 275. The pattern is partly open-work hole design, partly Fig. 275. Bridal headgear, early 19th century. (Lavocne). (Mus. f. Sand Z twist. Volkskunde, Vienna). Analyse til hue, fig. 275. Ml'lnstret er dels Hovedtl'lj for en brud, beg. af 19. t1rh. (Lavocne). »gennembrudt«, dels udfwt i ret- og vrangfletning. 270 MARGRETHE HALO: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Fig. 277. Sprang head-veil from Djerba. (Mus. f. Volkerkunde, Hamburg, No. 13:19:66). Sprangel l\

Our knowledge of recent Swedish material comes from Maria Collin4S), who has published a number of papers on various types of sprang, for example two fabrics made with white linen thread: a woman's cap which was part ofa folk costume from Halland, and a "sprang cloth or baldachin from Ostergotland". She also mentions that the Nordiska Museet, Stockholm, has in its collections some fabrics in sprang from the 18th century; for example, a pair of elegant, long silk gloves. However, perhaps the most interesting examples are the garters from Scania called "pinnband" or "spedaband" made by an extremely undemanding method. The warp was laid between two chair backs, the threads were picked up with the fingers, two sticks were inserted between the two layers of threads for each row and passed to each end of the warp. In North Sweden Maria Collin reported seeing a special implement for the technique, a 2.10 m long wooden pole, in one end of which was a peg, and in the other a series of holes with one CHAPTER VIII. BRAIDING AND SPRANG 271

Fig. 278. Diagram of Fig. 277. M. Halo/,. Analyse til fig. 277. matching movable peg. The warp was laid over these two pegs, and when the tension of the warp increased during the progress of the work, it could be slackened by moving a peg inwards. The method appears to be closely related to that described by U. T. Sirelius in Finland. Large pieces of sprang fabric of recent origin are relatively few and far between in Denmark, 46 although some examples are to be found. For example, a collection of officers' sashes ) in the Royal Arsenal Museum, Copenhagen, which comprises no less than fourteen fairly well pre- served examples. The sashes measure between 1.42 m - 2.60 m in length, with long tufts at the ends. They all have identical stripes in the Oldenburg colours: gold and dark red; the number of stripes varies between six and nineteen, obviously the sashes are of different width. They date from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and evidently fell out of use after 182047). These military sashes were presumably made by military outfitters responsible for officers' uniforms, but they were undoubtedly based on a foreign model. In a book on German uni- forms48) it is mentioned that officers under King Friederich Wilhelm I had sashes of silver net with black stripes, and from two photographs showing 18th century sashes it can be seen that 272 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

these have been braided in sprang. Military sashes of this kind may have been fairly widespread in Europe. Luise Schinnerer mentions49) having read about a sprang belt of red silk, called "faja" in , a national emblem, and one sometimes worn by officers. There is a fine piece of sprang50) in the Danish Folk Museum (a department of the National Museum). It is of dark red silk, c. 2.40 m long, with tassels. It is known to have belonged to the wife of a shipowner from Holmstnilm in Norway (died 1781), with the result that it is considered to be a Norwegian piece. However, I think it isjust as likely to have been brought home to Denmark from a journey abroad, in any event the technique and quality, as well as the colour and size seem to be akin to the sashes just described. However, the Danish Folk Museum owns one piece of white sprang (Fig. 280d)51).It comes from Kirke Hvals~ in Zealand, and measures 180 cm in length and 47 cm in width, measure- ments which indicate that it was made on a frame, dating is no problem as the year 1707is braided in the fabric. Not long ago, though, primitive braiding techniques have been observed in Denmark which correspond to those described from South-East Europe, Finland and Swe- den. In 1935 an old woman called Ane Jakobsen, who lived near St~vring, North Jutland, braided garters in the sprang technique52). Her equipment was a door-handle and a stick tied to a chair back, and between these she laid the warp. She called this to "strinte" the yarn, while the braiding itself was called "linkning" (verb: to linke). The terms "slyng" and "slyn- gede baand" have also been used in Danish dialects for the technique and its products. I have also heard that in the area west of Horsens a similar, primitive method of braiding garters in sprang was done; one Ane Kirstine Pedersen, born in Tneden, has told me that she learnt the method in T~nning from her paternal aunt c. 1887. Here, too, the warp was laid between two fixed points, and four bone pegs were inserted between the threads. Thus in two instances there is evidence that braiding in the sprang technique had been passed down by direct transmission to the present century in Denmark. To judge from the specimens owned by the Danish Folk Museum, it looks as though the latest stages of sprang are primarily represented by garters, items for which sprang like this is excellently suited because it is elastic and ties securely without discomfort (Fig. 280b-c). On the other hand, it is curious that the latest products, bands, produced during this cen- tury, should have been braided with so few implements, fewer evidently than were used·to produce the prehistoric sprang fabrics. But there is no doubt that the tradition has survived unbroken in Denmark from the Bronze Age to the present day, a phenomenon which, through the skill of two women in Jutland, bears witness to the persistence and tenacity of a tradition handed down, to survive far into the industrial age.

NORTH AMERICA We have now seen that sprang in Europe was not only a folk handicraft but also a technique used to make products for the upper-classes. Perhaps in this context, then, we should refer to particularly interesting circumstances surrounding braided fabrics popular during the 18th and 19th centuries in Canada: sashes which are apparently related to the braided and sprang bands described in the preceding pages. Several scholars53) seem to support the theory that the techniques for braiding sashes have prehistoric roots in America, and it could well appear that this was a revival of an ancient Amerindian handicraft. M. Barbeau54), however, does not exclude the possibility that the sash fashion was introduced by European settlers, and that it became so widespread that both home and imported products had to be supplied to meet the CHAPTER VIII. BRAIDING AND SPRANG 273

Fig. 279. Syrjan cap. (Mus. f. Volkerkunde, Hamburg. NO.II :45: 185). Syrjansk hue.

Fig. 280a. Sprang bands with patterns in colour. (The author's experiments). Sprangede bAnd. Fors~g med m~nstre i farvevirkning, udf~rt af forfatteren.

Fig. 280b. Sprang carrying strap. (Heming Museum). Fig. 280c. Sprang garter. (Danish Folk Museum). Spranget krukkebAnd. Spranget hosebAnd. 274 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS demand. Although sashes in sprang were part of the Danish and German military uniform, other uses for them are not inconceivable outside military circles. The possibility of a Euro- pean influence cannot be ignored; yet on the other hand, it is hardly likely that such a comprehensive domestic production could have sprung up without some knowledge of the working methods it was based upon. Unfortunately a fully satisfactory technical description of the details has not yet been published by American specialists, but a braided sash from the Huron tribe in the ethnographical collections of the National Museum, Copenhagen55), has certain finesses which I have not yet found among the bands of European origin. Not until the European and American material is published in greater detail than today, will we be able to solve the problem. As far as the present book is concerned, it would be of the greatest interest to learn if the braiding techniques described are as old in the continent of as they are in Denmark and Peru.

THE ORIGIN OF SPRANG Existing material cannot answer the question of when and where the art of sprang originated, and though the earliest evidence of sprang are the woman's caps from the early Bronze Age in Denmark (c. 1400-1200 B.C.), we dare not assume that the technique has its origins in our part of the world. Moreover, not enough is known about the development of textile skills at that time in neighbouring regions. We cannot even assume that the sprang technique followed after weaving because in Egypt, where a particularly rich collection of sprang fabrics has been excavated, it is from a relatively late period, while woven textiles of high quality from far earlier epochs have survived in large numbers. Coptic sprang fabrics from Egypt mentioned in this chapter were dated by A. F. Kendrick to the 4th and 5th centuries A.D., but even though it does not follow that all the Coptic sprang in various museums is to be dated within such a narrow time span, we may assume that Coptic sprang is about two thousand years younger than the oldest Danish examples. Therefore, we are perhaps justified in saying that, at any rate, the Egyptians did not invent sprang. It is true that a Dutch scholar, Elizabeth van Reesema56) published a paper in 1926in which she tried to prove, with the help of a number of reconstructions, that the art of sprang had inspired the making of bands and borders as depicted in carvings from the early periods of Ancient Egypt (4th-5th dynasties). The sprang reconstructions she presents are extremely interesting and beautiful, and leave a strong impression of her considerable technical skill, but any proof of the accuracy of her hypothesis is not sustained by these experiments. J. Six is also aware of this, and in his concluding remarks to Elizabeth van Reesema's paper, which appeared posthumously, he draws attention to the fact. Many scholars are captivated by the florescence of textile art during the period of late clas- sical antiquity in Egypt, and attempts have been made to find the impetus for this in the foreign influences to which Egypt was subjected during many political changes. This is perhaps pos- sible as far as the woven textiles are concerned, for example decorative details may reveal stylistic trends which indicate one of the countries that held a leading political and cultural position at the time. The art of sprang, however, seems to me to lack the prerequisites which would enable conclusions of the same nature to be drawn. I have carefully pointed out the strong resemblance between sprang fabrics from antiquity and the present day in the North and in the South, as well as the fact that the very technique lays down fairly rigid rules for pattern making. And as long as archaeological excavations in Egypt's neighbouring countries fail to CHAPTER VIII. BRAIDING AND SPRANG 275 yield sprang fabrics with special types of pattern, I do not feel that there are sufficient grounds for drawing definite conclusions as to the sources of influence. The only trace I can discern at present is on the Greek vase paintings from the 5th century B.C. which depict Greek women working at what appear to be frames with sprang. It is possible, then, that the Egyptians learnt the art of sprang from the Greeks, but the question still remains open as far as Scandinavia is concerned because the Greek vase paintings are far later than the Danish Bronze Age caps in sprang. Admittedly, the Greeks may have known of the technique long before the vase paintings, but the material fails completely in this respect, just as we have no idea whether Scandinavia and have been influenced by a common source further east. Neither should we forget that nothing is known about the survival of the sprang technique in the folk cultures of Russia and Asia.

Fig. 280d. Danish sprang fabric from Kirke Hvals~ (Danish Folk Museum, No. 143/1916). Spranget arbejde fra Kirke Hvals~. 276 MARGRETHE HALD: ANCIENT DANISH TEXTILES FROM BOGS AND BURIALS

Notes

I) Margrethe Hald: V

33) Marked: Kopfschmuck der Braut. Lavocne. 34) H. Appelgren-Kivalo: Finnische Trachten aus der jtingeren Eisenzeit (1907). Appelgren-Kivalo mentions here that fragments of branches or bark were found in women's caps recovered from graves - possibly stif- feners. The custom of using wood in headgear seems widespread. Fillets or frontlets of birch bark were fairly common in the more recent folk costumes in Sweden. This is discussed in connection with the "hI ad", P. 323 ff. 35) The Iliad XXII, V. (468 ff. after Gertz's Danish translation). 36) A. van Gennep: Brettchenweberei oder Flechterei. Zeitschr. f. Ethnologie 1912, P. 624, and: Neueres tiber Brettchenweberei, P. 61. 37) Romulus Vuia: Flechterei mit Stiibchen bei den Rumiinen. Zeitschr. f. Ethnologie XLVI, 1914, P. 824. App.3. 38) Berber head-veil owned by Hamburgisches Museum fUr V6Ikerkunde, marked 13:29:66. 39) R. D'Harcourt: Textiles of Ancient Peru and their Techniques. Washington, 1962. PI. 56 B. Diagram Fig. 53. On P. 82 the basic Z twists of a sprang mesh are described. - Erland Nordenskiold in "An Ethno- geographical Analysis of the Material Culture of Two Indian Tribes", 1919, P. 197, Fig. 7, and P. 202, gives the analysis of a technique of netting which has the same kind of mesh as sprang. 40) K. Moszynski: Kultura Ludowa Slowian. Fig. 293. Swedish translation, P. 172. 41) H. Kurrik. Villased meestevood. Eesti Rahva Muuseumi Aastaraamat XI, 1935, P. 121. 42) Syrjiin cap. Hamburgisches Museum ftir Volkerkunde. Marked: 11.45.185. Kindly brought to my atten- tion by the Hamburgisches Museum. 43) U. T. Sirelius: Suomen Kansanomaista Kulttuuria II, P. 118, Fig. 135. Swedish translation, II, P. 50. 44) Hans Dedekam: Hvits\?lm fra Nordm\?lr. 1914, and Stavanger Mus. Aarsh. 1921-24. The literature about sprang in Norway is otherwise given in Aarb\?lger 1935, Pp, 30-31. 45) Maria Collin: Gammalski'mska band. I-II. Fataburen, 1915, Pp. 14and 214. Den iildsta kiinda Flatningen. Fataburen, 1922, P. 53. 46) Mus. no. e 1434-1445 and B. K. (57) 98/02, 103,2. A sash of the same type is owned by the Danish Folk Mu- seum. Mus. no. 555/1934. 47) Preben Kannik has kindly informed me that an early officers' sash was abolished in 1788, and a new type introduced in 1795- presumably those described here. In 1806a regulation was passed requiring officers to acquire a sash which could be wound twice round the waist; the shade of yellow should be lemon yellow, as the shade used previously faded. In 1812 the sash was discontinued except by the cavalry. The wide examples are considered to be the oldest. Sashes with three red stripes are from King Frederik VI's reign. In 1842 striped sashes in the same colours were again used, but of . 48) Geschichte der Bekleidung, Bewaffnung und Ausrtistung des Konigl. Preussischen Heeres. Editor: von C. Kling, 1906, P. 157,Figs.!5 and 6. In Stockholm I saw an officer wearing a yellow and blue sash which, seen from a distance, appeared to resemble the Danish and German examples. 49) Luise Schinnerer: Ibid, P. 15. 50) Mus. no. 319/1928, c. 1780. 51) Mus. no. 143/1916, Hvals\?l, Voldborg herred, Copenhagen county. Acquired by Elna Mygdal and pub- lished for the first time in "Vore Darner", 10.5.1917. 52) Information from Povl Lorenzen, state forester. 53) Frances Densmore: Chippewa Customs. Smithsonian Inst. Bur. of Amer. Ethnology, Bull. 86, 1929, P. 160, PI. 69-71. 54) Marius Barbeau: Assumption Sash. Nat. Mus. of Canada. Anthrop. S. No. 24. 55) Etnographical Collection, National Museum, Copenhagen. No. H. c. 146e. Huron tribe. 56) Elizabeth Siewertsz van Reesema: Contribution to the Early History of Textile Techniques. Verhandelin- gen der Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen te Amsterdam. Afdl. Letterkunde. Nieuwe Reeks Deel XXVI, No.2, P. 26. The idea that decorative bands on ancient Egyptian were modelled on textiles was originally suggested by A. van Gennep and C. Jequier, but applied to tablet-woven bands, this is also without any real foundation. There are examples in which a technique is difficult to determine when the fabric is preserved, but it is even more uncertain when there is no fabric to analyse.