Re: More Ethiopian TW found

[Sally Schoenberg]

Sponsored by TWIST - Tablet Weavers International Studies & Techniques

Many apologies if the Trier City Museum (in Germany) Coptic textiles have 
already been covered on the TW list, but I've always been curious about them 
and the Ethiopian topic has revived my curiosity.  My visit was a few years 
ago.  I don't remember much English and, alas, I don't know any German, so I 
didn't get much information from the exhibit other than that the textiles 
were Coptic.  Also, I wasn't a weaver then.  I've just gotten out the notes 
I made at the time and I've written that some of the Coptic textiles were 
definitely tablet woven.  I remember there were some big pieces, and all of 
the textiles looked very old to me.  I couldn't tell how the big pieces were 
woven.  How did they end up in Trier?  Where exactly did they come from? 
Have they been examined lately by anyone who has some tabletweaving 
expertise?

I remember the Trier City Museum was close to the Roman Gate.  If you are 
facing the Gate and on the south side of it, the museum was located to the 
left of the Gate.  In my notes I called it the Trier City Museum.  Wish I 
could run over and check things out again.  My visit to Trier was 
delightful.

Sally Schoenberg

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "peter collingwood" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <tabletweaving@crafter.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 07, 2006 12:53 AM
Subject: More Ethiopian TW found


Sponsored by TWIST - Tablet Weavers International Studies & Techniques


My Christmas card from Michael Gervers was sent from Ethiopia. It
contained the amazing news that he has found TWO more panelled
tablet-woven curtains in churches there! This brings the total of those
found to 13. And still no hint of where or by whom they made.
A conservator from Canada is out there working on the only curtain made
of silk, the one found in Abba Garima monastery.

From slides and photos he sent me I was able to analyse earlier finds.
Except for the silk one, they are all woven from thick cotton, each
tablet holding two white, two brown threads. These are turned to make
various oblique stripe patterns and, more interestingly, images of
people, animals. The skill is obvious when they move without effort from
one type to another. Up to 300 tablets were required for each panel.

It is strange that the largest pieces of TW known have such a mysterious
origin.
I still have a few copies of the article Gervers wrote about the finds
up to 2004. I think I was asking £1.50 to cover its cost + postage, if
anyone wants one.

Peter Collingwood

Send private reply to "peter collingwood" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
-----------------------------------------------------------
To stop receiving tabletweaving (not tabletweaving-digest), send email
to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: unsubscribe tabletweaving.
To stop receiving tabletweaving-digest, see the end of a digest.



Send private reply to Sally Schoenberg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
-----------------------------------------------------------
To stop receiving tabletweaving (not tabletweaving-digest), send email
to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: unsubscribe tabletweaving.
To stop receiving tabletweaving-digest, see the end of a digest.