On Sunday 29 July 2007, otsisto wrote: > I have not seen the sketch but does it say anywhere that there are loops at > all on this specific dress?
The fabric remnant did not have loops on it. However, it was buried with a pair of tortoise brooches, and the remains of blue linen loops were found in the tortoise brooches. The summary I read suggested that the loops found in the brooches were similar to the linen neckline area of the underdress. The location of the alleged loops was deduced from stitching holes in the surviving remnant. By the way, both the English summary and the original Russian report include the sketch, and the photos. > Why do you feel that all apron dresses at the > time had loops? Could there not have been an exception somewhere? I'd like to note here that I've been reporting in this thread what the summary of the archaeologists' report said, not my own theories. :-) That being said, I actually do believe that whatever their shape or cut, apron dresses did have loops of some kind. I think that for the same reason the archaeologists who have proposed the idea do, namely, that many, many pairs of tortoise brooches have been found, and the ones that have textile remains show loops. The loops are similar in size (about 1 cm wide) and where other fabric remains exist nearby, often match those remains. I also believe that apron dresses had loops because I have made apron dresses with wider straps, and they don't work nearly as well. They're harder to get into and out of, and they don't work as well with the tortoise brooch pins. Now, it's certainly true that not all women in the Viking period wore tortoise brooches. There were other options for overdresses. For instance, the woman in the grave at Eura, Finland, wore a peplos (which was discernible because part of the overfold survived). But the brooches associated with that find weren't tortoise brooches--they were flat, round brooches. I think the real question that should be asked about the Pskov find is "Was the large silk remnant that was found part of an apron dress or not?" Since the textile does not have loops on it, and the tortoise brooches were not found attached to the textile, but were merely "enclosed" in it, that suggests but does not prove that they were worn with it as an apron dress. The English summary also suggests, but is not clear about whether any blue linen pieces matching the loops in the brooches were found attached to the silk (the summary says, "The blue linen base fabric to which these silk borders were presumably appliqued has almost completely decayed...."). But it's not possible to have a meaningful debate on this question without at least the benefit of better photos of the large silk remnant, since the presence/location of stitching holes to attach loops and the presence or absence of linen backing are necessary clues to confirm or refute the apron dress theory. I really hope a detailed writeup on this find is done on this fascinating find. -- Cathy Raymond <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> "You've got to have the proper amount of disrespect for what you do." -- George Mabry _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
