This article is about the fabric. For the snail, see Conus textile. Cloth of gold is a fabric woven with a gold-wrapped or spun weft - referred to as "a spirally spun gold strip". In most cases, the core yarn is silk wrapped with a band or strip of high content gold filé. In rarer instances, fine linen and wool have been used as the core.
Cloth of gold is not to be confused with various gold embroidery techniques that date to the early Middle Ages, though the type of goldwork thread called "passing" is identical to the weft thread of cloth of gold. It is mentioned on both Roman headstones for women and in the Book of Psalms (psalm 45, verse 14) as a fabric befitting a princess. The Ancient Greek reference to the Golden Fleece is seen by some as a reference to gold cloth. Cloth of gold has been popular for ecclesiastical use for many centuries, and that is the most common use of this material today.
Few extant examples have survived in Roman provincial tombs. Later producers of cloth of gold include the Byzantine Empire and Medieval Italian weavers. A similar cloth of silver was also made. It is still made in India and Italy today.
Modern metallic fabrics made in the West are known as lamé.
"Cloth of gold" is a familiar name occasionally applied to the venomous Conus textile species of cone shell. [1]
See also
Resources: "The Roman Textile Industry and Its Influence. A Birthday Tribute to John Peter Wild", edited by Penelope Walton Rodgers, et al.
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