The silk.
Sheer plain white silk. Soft and delicate. The very essence of luxury.
But that shimmery soft appearance disguises the fact that silk is the strongest natural fibre, stronger than a steel filament of the same diameter.
Sericulture - the process of making silk - has been around since about 6000 BC.
Legend tells how the Chinese Empress Xi Ling-Shi sat under a tree in the Emperor's garden drinking tea, when a cocoon fell into her cup. Instead of throwing away the object, she pulled out a strand of filament and decided it would be possible to make it into a cloth. Even if this is only a charming story, it was indeed the Chinese who invented the process and they still make a lot of the world's supply now. For years they tried very hard to keep to themselves the way that the fibre was made, a special cloth fit only for the emperor and his court. Anyone who revealed the secrets of silk making was punished by certain death.
The fabric eventually became a staple part of the Chinese economy. It became the standard for valuing items, much as our gold standard is today, used as currency, for payment by farmers for their taxes, by the state to their civil servants and courtiers. Silk found its way into the Chinese language, so that 230 characters of Mandarin are based on the word silk. Eventually the secret leaked out. Monks went into China intending to smuggle silk cocoons out. Their staffs were hollowed out so that the cocoons and some baby mulberry trees could be transported without anyone knowing. They took them back to the court of Justinian in Constantinople.
They were equally secretive, but eventually the processes spread to the west and Sericulture as the business is known, after the sericin gum that the little worm excretes, is now worldwide.
Silk has been used for many things other than clothing. Paper, strings for musical instruments, surgical sutures, parachutes - all manner of items exploit the strength of the fibre. Silk maps don't disintegrate in jungle conditions, make no rustling noise in enemy territory. The Mongol hordes even used silk vests under their armour. An arrow might pierce the armour, pushing the silk into the wound instead of allowing the shaft to enter the skin. Pulling gently on the cloth would remove the silk covered arrow out on the same path it entered, leaving a smaller injury, easier to heal.
The silk is spun by a tiny silk worm - actually the caterpillar of the moth Bombyx mori. Each cocoon contains about a mile of filament, but not all of this is used for the silk fibre. The first part is known as throwster's waste and the last bit is the cocoon strippings, with only the middle being suitable to spin - about 1,000 yards of filament.
Silk is absorbent and comfortable to wear against the skin. That fine but solid looking fibre is actually hollow, so as well as being able to keep you warm, it can also keep you cool. For painting purposes, we use a light or medium weight silk called Pongee or Habotai. It takes up the paints and dyes easily, allowing the light to diffuse even the most vivid of colours.
But that shimmery soft appearance disguises the fact that silk is the strongest natural fibre, stronger than a steel filament of the same diameter.
Sericulture - the process of making silk - has been around since about 6000 BC.
Legend tells how the Chinese Empress Xi Ling-Shi sat under a tree in the Emperor's garden drinking tea, when a cocoon fell into her cup. Instead of throwing away the object, she pulled out a strand of filament and decided it would be possible to make it into a cloth. Even if this is only a charming story, it was indeed the Chinese who invented the process and they still make a lot of the world's supply now. For years they tried very hard to keep to themselves the way that the fibre was made, a special cloth fit only for the emperor and his court. Anyone who revealed the secrets of silk making was punished by certain death.
The fabric eventually became a staple part of the Chinese economy. It became the standard for valuing items, much as our gold standard is today, used as currency, for payment by farmers for their taxes, by the state to their civil servants and courtiers. Silk found its way into the Chinese language, so that 230 characters of Mandarin are based on the word silk. Eventually the secret leaked out. Monks went into China intending to smuggle silk cocoons out. Their staffs were hollowed out so that the cocoons and some baby mulberry trees could be transported without anyone knowing. They took them back to the court of Justinian in Constantinople.
They were equally secretive, but eventually the processes spread to the west and Sericulture as the business is known, after the sericin gum that the little worm excretes, is now worldwide.
Silk has been used for many things other than clothing. Paper, strings for musical instruments, surgical sutures, parachutes - all manner of items exploit the strength of the fibre. Silk maps don't disintegrate in jungle conditions, make no rustling noise in enemy territory. The Mongol hordes even used silk vests under their armour. An arrow might pierce the armour, pushing the silk into the wound instead of allowing the shaft to enter the skin. Pulling gently on the cloth would remove the silk covered arrow out on the same path it entered, leaving a smaller injury, easier to heal.
The silk is spun by a tiny silk worm - actually the caterpillar of the moth Bombyx mori. Each cocoon contains about a mile of filament, but not all of this is used for the silk fibre. The first part is known as throwster's waste and the last bit is the cocoon strippings, with only the middle being suitable to spin - about 1,000 yards of filament.
Silk is absorbent and comfortable to wear against the skin. That fine but solid looking fibre is actually hollow, so as well as being able to keep you warm, it can also keep you cool. For painting purposes, we use a light or medium weight silk called Pongee or Habotai. It takes up the paints and dyes easily, allowing the light to diffuse even the most vivid of colours.