The Babylonian World (Routledge Worlds)

We know that the upright loom was also used in parts of the Near East in the
second millennium BC: it was used in Egypt as early as the Eighteenth Dynasty and
was also known in Anatolia. We are not certain about its earliest date or its distribution
in Mesopotamia, though it may have been used there for tapestry weaving in the
second millennium BCor earlier. Glyptic art does not help answer this problem
directly. Representational art of the period does not directly portray anything in the
way of weaving during the Old Babylonian period. Nor do later depictions show
clear evidence for a vertical (upright) type of loom east of the Mediterranean.
Sometimes concrete technical information on loom type and weave can be gleaned
from careful examination of artwork; though more often than not this is only speculative
and it is not possible to tell with certainty.

WOVEN DECORATIVE TECHNIQUES

Dress structures – loomed shapes, curves and fringes

We have many types of dress represented in relief sculpture from second-millennium
Mesopotamia, from Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta and Dur-Kurigalzu; and later even more
examples from Khorsabad and Nineveh (Figure 9. 3 ). Wall paintings from the Kassite
palace at Dur-Kurigalzu are particularly rich in depictions of dress; as are some of
the historical narrative captured in scenes from Khorsabad showing distinct peoples
and activities. This kind of art gives us insight not only into how people distinguished
themselves from each other via dress but also how these distinctions were perceived
and rendered by the artist, and, by extension, the cultural context of the artist.
In Old Babylonian times, dress was a means of distinction within and between
social class and profession, and between genders. Fashionas we think of it did not
exist; but style was important, and served many purposes. Style was more static.
Indeed, some of the early Babylonian modes of dress are direct descendants of earlier
Akkadian style, which, in turn, directly relate to Sumerian forms. Specifically
Babylonian dress shares common features throughout the Babylonian period: aside
from decorative features, we see the use of layers in male formal dress, knee-high kilt
and cloak; also full length kilt with fringed edge under another layer; an overdress
with tailored sleeves. The sleeves seem to be depicted as attached cylinders of cloth,
but may actually be woven into the dress.
An important feature of Babylonian textiles was edgework. The techniques used
in finishing fall into several categories (as judged from artwork and thus are not
certain in terms of method of execution). One type of edgework design may have
been done with brocade. Another, more likely, technique was tapestry. A third type
was plaiting and braiding. Finally, the addition of fringed strips to plain cloth was
used. One feature of importance is the use of fringe on the diagonal worn across the
chest. This is a distinct dress style that emerged with the Kassites.
There are many variations that can be achieved in plain woven cloth, from densely
packed to fine gauzy open weave; from warp-faced to weft-faced; from tabby to napped
pile carpet. We do have tantalizing hints for the possible manufacture of pile cloth
in the form of garments (see Figure 9.4) and possibly carpets in Mesopotamia. Akkadian
words kamiduand kasiru(“knotter”) hint at the possibility that carpet was being
made in Mesopotamia in the second, possibly the third, millennium BC. Other evidence

— Cloth in the Babylonian World —