At 10:20 AM 2/6/2009, you wrote:
Hello everyone,
My elder brother, who is currently studying ethnic minorities in
Vietnam, came to me with a question about a loom he saw there.
Unfortunately I was unable to answer him, since my weaving knowledge
is very scarce, but I promised him to try and find more
knowleadgeable persons, and where else can I find them but here ? ;)
I'll try to be as clear as possible, although I have to translate
his words into English, and I must say I'm not very familiar with
French weaving terms to begin with.
Basically, he photographed this :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/19370...@n02/
and he's now wondering what type of loom it is, how best to describe
it and how elaborate or "modern" it could be. More specifically, he
saw similar looms in other works described as an "horizontal loom
with one row ("shaft" would be more appropriate, I believe ?) of
heddles", or sometimes as one "with two shafts" (the French words,
for those interested, were "rangs de lisses").
He tried to do his own research on the web, but living in Cambodia
he hasn't access to the best ressources, and he's not sure whether
this loom is of the first or the latter kind, or if, as he suspects,
it is a third, different type. Hopefully the pictures are good
enough for more experienced eyes than his to tell ?
You can reply privately or on the list if the subject does not seem
too off topic (though it's not "historical" per se). If some of you
are particularly interested, I can of course ask him more about the
pictures and where they were taken !
Thank you for your help,
Mathilde
The loom is a backstrap loom. It's been used in Southeast Asia and
China for millennia. The basic weaving is probably plain weave; the
patterned stripe is done with a pick-up technique. It's amazing that
such a simple loom can, in the hands of a skilled weaver, have a
product that is so complex. Just goes to show that it's the skilled
weaver rather than the loom that is key to beautiful
weaving. Another area where the backstrap loom has been used for
millennia (and for very complex weaving) is in the Andes.
Joan Jurancich
[email protected]
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