Chinese ornamental gold silk

Chinese ornamental gold silk is a special type of expensive silk fabric which have a long history in ancient China.[1] Gold and silk were both considered as precious and beautiful goods in ancient China; therefore the combination of both in textile became one of the most precious commodities in ancient China. When combined with gold, this form of silk became even more valuable and expensive.[1] In China, there are several gold-ornamental techniques which can be summarized in at least 3 categories: gold foil (gold leaf) technique, gold powder technique, and gold thread technique.[1]

History

Silk originated in China approximately 2000 years ago prior to the use of gold in China.[1] The use of gold in making items in China can be found in the Lower Xiajiadian culture and the Siba Culture, which can be dated about 3600 years ago. However, the combination of both gold and silk appeared relatively late, and depends on the craft making development of gold, especially that of the gold wire craft making techniques.[1] Prior to the Western Han dynasty, only the Emperor and the members of the aristocracy could enjoy silk textiles.[1]

Gold foil technique

Due its material properties, gold can be turned into very thin gold foils (or gold leaf) and wires.[1] Techniques which involved applying adhesive and gold leaf on the surface of a silk foundation fabric existed before the Tang dynasty.[2]: 79  It is proposed in a 2016 study the use of gold foil and threads in silk textile appeared as early as the Shang dynasty due to the presence of unearthed gold foil of 0.010 mm on the micrometer scale in the Yin Ruins in Anyang.[1] Other unearthed items which involves the addition of gold foil to a silk foundation can found in Eastern Han dynasty tomb, which provide archeological evidence that adding gold foil to silk can be traced back to the Eastern Han dynasty.[1][note 1]

The use of gold foil ornaments on silk textile clothing is attested in the unearthed artefacts of the Song dynasty; for example, in the tomb of Huang Sheng of the Southern Song dynasty, silk blouses are decorated with gold foil patterns.[1] Gold foil technique on silk continued to be used in the Mongol period and in the Yuan dynasty.[2]: 79 

The description of making of gold foils process is recorded in the Heavenly Creations《天工开物》 written by Song Yingxing of the Ming dynasty wherein gold foil is attached onto silk fabrics through the use of adhesive, which is usually ripe lacquer. The adhesive is first pasted on the fabric before the gold foil is placed on the silk with bamboo pliers.[1]

  • Textile; silk, paper with applied gold foil, 19th century.
  • Textile; silk, paper with applied gold foil, 19th century

Gold powder technique

Gold powder was also used in the printing of silk in ancient China.[3] Gold powder originated and developed later than the development of gold foil.[1][3] This method involves the manufacturing of gold powder, which is then mixed with a suitable binder before finally being applied on the surface of silk yarns[note 2] or on the surface of fabrics.[1]

The use of gold power technique appeared as the early as the 2nd century AD.[1] Hu Gangzi of the Eastern Han dynasty was an alchemist who invented a method for making gold power; the technique is recorded in Chu jin Kuang Tu Lu.[1] Silk fabric which was metallized with gold powder was unearthed from Tomb 1 at the Mawangdui site.[1]

The gold metallization of silk techniques were also used in the Tang dynasty when adhesive was applied onto silk and the print pattern was then metallize with gold powder.[3] Printed patterns with gold powder decorating clothing (also known as painting with gold techniques[4]) were also found in the Southern dynasty tomb of Huang Sheng.[1][3] Silver powder could also be used in the painting with gold techniques.[4]

Gold thread technique

Gold thread were developed after the development of gold foil technique and gold powder techniques. Gold threads can be found in different forms: gold wire (made of only 1 type of material), gold-wrapped thread (typically a core yarn, which is silk wrapped with a strip of high content gold foil), and yarn which is coated with gold powder.[1] The making of gold threads through the gilding of animal or vegetal substrates appears to have originated in China.[5]

Gold wire

In the field of textile in ancient China, there is also a gold wire technique called 'flat gold' (Chinese: 片金線; pinyin: piànjīnxiàn; lit. 'flat gold thread'), which involved immersing bamboo paper in water, putting gold foil on the paper after brushing a layer of fish gelatin on it, calendaring the gold paper foils on a board with cobbles to improve the gold foil surface gloss and finally cutting the gold foil into long shreds.[1]

Gold wrapped thread

The use of gold-wrapped thread can be found as early as the Wei and Jin period on tomb murals.[1][note 3] There is also evidence of gold threads in the Sui and Tang dynasties, including gilded gold threads and gold leaf threads.[5][6]: 39  Gold and silver gilded threads continued to be in the patterns of luxurious silk textile in the Song, Liao, Jin dynasty and during the Mongol period.[6]: 30 

In the Song dynasty, the weaving brocade textiles (jin 錦) with gold thread was widespread.[5] The gilded threads which used paper substrate was typically associated with the Song dynasty while those using animal substrate were typically associated with North China artisans and from those in the Liao and Jin territories.[5] Nianjin (撚金 lit. "twisted gold") is the name used to refer to a type of gold thread which is made of gilding flat strips around a core of silk yarn whereas pijin (皮金 lit. "leather gold") is the name of a type of gold thread which is made by gilding flat strips of an animal substrate.[5]

  • Imperial Boots Outer fabric: tapestry (kesi); silk and gold threads, Liao dynasty
  • Plain-weave silk brocaded with gold-leaf wrapped leather strips, Jin dynasty.
  • Satin damask and satin brocaded in silk and gold-wrapped silk, early 18th century
  • Daoist priest's robe made of silk, gold paper-wrapped thread, plain and satin weave, 20th century.

Development of Nasij

In Chinese silks (Tang silks), the gold thread was typically made by gilding thin strips of paper and wrapping them around a core of silk thread; therefore the gold gilded threads in the Chinese brocades were flat in shape by taking the form of the paper but could not integrate fully with non-gold silk threads.[7]: 120  The flat Chinese gold threads differed from the non-flat golden silk threads which was developed by the Persians and artisans in the Transoxiana region, called nasij (also known as nashiri 納失失/ 納石失,[6]: 30  which are lampas woven with gold threads[8]).[7]: 120  Nasij was a form of silk textile with a continuous pattern in gold or plain fabric with a motif in gold.[6]: 30  By the Yuan dynasty, the jisün robes were often woven with gold threads (nasij).[6]: 30 [9]: 208 

  • Lampas, silk and gold thread; textile used in the making of jisün, 1240.

Influences and derivatives

Southeast Asia

Gold leaf glue-work patterns which were used in the ceremonial costumes in the courts and principalities were imported from China throughout the 19th and early 21st century. Chinese communities in Southeast Asian countries also used gold leaf to embellish their batik wedding skirts.[10]

Similar items
  • Geumbak - a Korean traditional craft for applying extremely thin gold leaf
  • Surihaku - a Japanese embroidery technique, which uses metal (gold or silver) leaf applied to a foundation fabric.[11][12]

Notes
  1. A red ribbon around a silk pocket, with gold foils stuck on the ribbon was dug in an Eastern Han tomb; a row of adherent gold foils on a beige checkered ribbon which covered an iron mirror.
  2. Another method of making gold thread.
  3. Earliest gold-wrapped threads in China are found in Sinkiang, one of them is from the Wei-Jin mural tombs in the Hexi Corridor region; the other is found in the Shanpula Tomb in Luopuu County. Both of them are estimated to have been produced about 1660-1700 years ago.

See also

References
  1. Hu, Xiaorui; Yu, Weidong (2016). "The Techniques and Origin of Ornamental Gold Silks in Ancient China". Journal of Fiber Science and Technology. 72 (6): 132–138. doi:10.2115/fiberst.2016-0020. ISSN 2189-7654.
  2. Watt, James C. Y. (2010). The world of Khubilai Khan : Chinese art in the Yuan Dynasty. Maxwell K. Hearn, Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 978-1-58839-402-6. OCLC 606786260.
  3. Huaizhi, Zhao; Yuantao, Ning (2000-09-01). "Techniques used for the preparation and application of gold powder in ancient China". Gold Bulletin. 33 (3): 103–105. doi:10.1007/BF03215486. ISSN 2190-7579.
  4. Knowledge in translation : global patterns of scientific exchange, 1000-1800 CE. Patrick Manning, Abigail Owen, Charles Burnett. Pittsburgh, Pa. 2018. ISBN 978-0-8229-8627-0. OCLC 1053623475.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. Shea, Eiren (2021). "The Spread of Gold Thread Production in the Mongol Period: A Study of Gold Textiles in the China National Silk Museum, Hangzhou". Journal of Song-Yuan Studies. 50 (1): 381–415. doi:10.1353/sys.2021.0011. ISSN 2154-6665.
  6. Shea, Eiren L. (2020). Mongol court dress, identity formation, and global exchange. New York, NY. ISBN 978-0-429-34065-9. OCLC 1139920835.
  7. Liu, Xinru (2010). The Silk Road in world history. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-971372-1. OCLC 646816188.
  8. "中国丝绸博物馆". www.chinasilkmuseum.com. 2018. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  9. Eurasian influences on Yuan China. Morris Rossabi. Singapore. 2013. ISBN 978-981-4459-73-0. OCLC 857365232.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. Maxwell, Robyn J. (2003). Textiles of Southeast Asia : tradition, trade, and transformation (Rev. ed.). [Hong Kong]: Periplus. ISBN 978-1-4629-0698-7. OCLC 815509769.
  11. Willem. "Surihaku". trc-leiden.nl. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  12. Cleveland Museum of Art (2018-10-31). "Noh Costume (Surihaku) with Fish-Scale Pattern". Cleveland Museum of Art. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
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