- chapter 42: The world of Etruscan textiles –
Figure 42.3 Spindle from Gran Carro, ninth century bce (after Tamburini 1995, Fig. 51 no. 2081).Figure 42.4 Ceramic spindle whorls, Poggio Civitate di Murlo, seventh-sixth century bce.
Courtesy of Anthony Tuck.As seen on the tintinnabulum depiction of a spinning lady, in addition to the spindle,
spinning involved the use of another tool, a distaff, which is used to hold the prepared
fi ber. Short hand-held distaffs were used for spinning short-stapled fi bers, while longer
ones, held under the arm or in the belt, were used for longer fi bers, such as fl ax. Distaffs
were usually made of wood; even a simple forked stick would have been suffi cient for the
task. Considerably less frequent were items made of metals, including bronze, iron, silver
and precious materials like glass and amber. Yet, while wooden distaffs have not survived
in archaeological contexts, numerous examples of objects identifi ed as distaffs made of
luxury materials have been found in tombs of notable wealth.^13
Spindles and distaffs were so closely associated with women in Etruria that women’s
contribution to the community as textile workers was symbolized by the deposition of
spinning implements in their burials.^14 Textile tools, particularly spindle whorls, are
common burial goods in Etruscan female graves. Examples such as a set of a bronze
spindle and a bronze distaff from the eighth-century bce Benacci-Caprara Tomb 56 in
Bologna suggest that women were accompanied to their graves by a set of spinning
tools.^15 Their symbolism continued well into the Roman period, when brides carried a
spindle and a distaff during wedding processions.^16
WEAVINGOnce the required quantity of yarn has been spun, weaving can begin. Weaving is
accomplished on a loom, a special frame that keeps the warp system in place, while
allowing the weft to be passed in between warp threads. North of the Mediterranean
in general, and in Etruria in particular, a warp-weighted loom was used (Fig. 42.5).^17
The loom was made up of two upright wooden beams that stood at a slight angle to the
vertical plane, and a single horizontal or cloth beam, to which warp was attached. In a
warp-weighted loom, as suggested by its name, the warp is kept taut by the weights
attached at the bottom to groups of threads. Since these weights were made of stone or