Monday 15th July, 10.00 - 13.00: Workshop by Eric Boudot (Beijing), ‘Analysing ancient textile fragments with affordable equipment.’ Location: TRC, Hogewoerd 164, Leiden.

We will use:

• Dentist tools (to lightly separate the threads)
• Mobile phone camera
• Small textile magnifying glass
• Digital microscopes: Dinolite AM4115ZTL (magnification x10 to x150
• Dinolite AM4515T8 (magnification x700 to x900)
• Microtome (Y172 Hartz), Collodion, viscose fibres and razor blades
• Child loom or even simple self-made frame for reconstruction

What will we be able to see and measure?

• Thread count
• Calibres of threads and fibres
• Pattern steps
• Disposition of complementary warps and weft sequences: straight or reverse
• Determine if a the repetition of a motif structure has been produced manually or with the assistance of a patterning system
• Determine the nature of fibres by microscope observation in longitudinal position Produce transversal section of silk fibres
• Determine if silk is degummed or not by microscope observation of fibre transversal sections

Weave structure reconstruction:

In order to understand concretely how a woven structure (on which type of loom) is produced, textile researchers need to reproduce the structures that they have observed and analysed.

Participation

The number of participants is limited. Please register in advance at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . For non-ICAS participants there is a fee of €25.