Silk fragment

Part of a silk garment, ornamented with tablet-woven bands with silver weft. The garment is woven using the samite technique, three fragments having been preserved. The three tablet-woven bands which were sewn on had different patterns and were woven using different numbers of tablets. The narrowest was woven using 21 tablets and the widest using 32 tablets. But there are some variations even within the fragments. The bands have a clear border on each side and a patterned area in the centre. The majority of the bands have borders woven using three tablets on the edge where the silver weft is turned under so that it is not visible at the edges. Some of the bands are, however, woven using two tablets where the silver thread always goes over the warp threads and then one tablet where the silver goes under. The border is the same throughout the process while the pattern is picked so that to threads from the tablet where the warp covers the pattern weft goes over the silver thread. The tablets are applied from the same direction, but there are variations The weaving is done using alternately base weft of (approximately 60/2) and alternately pattern weft which is done with double continuous silver thread 0.3 mm in diameter. Some of the bands are sewn on with throw stitches, while others use blanket stitches. Grave find, Birka, Bj 735, Adelsö Parish, Uppland.

Image rights: Ola Myrin, Historiska museet/SHM (CC BY 4.0)

Object number: 617959_HST

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