Other Fibers in Ancient Rome

Linen:

• Second most commonly used fabric in Rome
• Considered to be “less soft” than wool
• Pliny describes linen as being made from both flax and hemp
• The best linen in the Roman age came from Syria and Palestine, with linen from the Po Valley and the southeast region of Spain being second best
• Pliny’s discussion of linen suggests that bleached white was the preferred color – the brighter white the better
• The natural color is a grayish brown and many garments were also made in this natural color
• Linen was sometimes interwoven with fibers made from poppy stems to produce a glossy, smooth, lightweight, and luxurious fabric.

Silk:

• Imported from China as raw yarn and was hugely expensive
• In the late 3rd century a pound of silk was worth a pound of gold (literally worth its weight in gold!)
• Silk was very popular because it could be woven into very fine, lightweight, nearly transparant cloth
• Silk fibers were usually woven into silk/linen or silk/wool blends to cut down on cost while obtaining the benefits of silk
• Coan Silk:
  • The Greek island of Cos also had a thriving silk industry and there are many references to matrons and whores wearing Coan silk

Cotton:

• Cotton was cultivated in Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, and India during the Roman period
• Cotton was almost as expensive as silk
  • Pliny the Elder, in 77 CE, described India as “the sink of the world’s gold,” complaining that Senators wives spend too much on Indian spices and luxuries, including fabrics.
  • Roman Senators also complained that their wives spent vast fortunes on lengths of cloth from India.
• Note – the rectangular part of the modern Indian sari that hangs loose from the shoulder is called the “palla,” a term that does not occur anywhere else in the study of ancient Indian costume. Some historians believe that the cross-cultural influence of the Roman palla was melded into the indigenous antarya and uttariya to evolve into the modern sari.
• Although modern cotton is grown on a bush (Gossipium herbaceum), the cotton of the Romans was probably grown on trees (Gossipium arboretum)
• Like silk, it was usually used in blends with linen, wool, or sometimes silk for a luxury fabric
• Cotton was rarely used as “100% cotton” because it was not as strong and durable as linen

Luxury Garments:

• From the Republic onward extremely expensive luxury garments could be woven with gold-wrapped threads in the weave. Gold threads can be found in weaves with wool, linen, cotton, and especially silk and silk blends.
  • The gold threads could be used as lines of gold thread throughout the body of the fabric, or the they could be used to create decorative elements, such as clavi and edgings. Sometimes they were used both ways in the garments of the Imperial family or very rich.
  • Clothing made of silk woven with gold threads would have cost *more* than its weight in gold! Probably only worn by the very highest ranking individuals and the Imperial Family would have had clothing like this.
  • Jewels could also be sewn onto clothing for the Imperial Family and extremely high ranking individuals
  • Luxury garments like these were sharply criticized and satirized. This kind of ostentation was considered by most people to be vulgar and “un-Roman.”
    • Unpopular Emperors were rumored to wear such clothing, even if they never owned any.
    • It was not until the 4th century CE that attitudes toward this kind of conspicuous consumption changed. Emperors began indulging in extremely elaborate clothing to add to their mystique and “apartness” from the majority of the people.
    • During this period Roman Emperors also began wearing crowns
• Rich Romans had to suffer for fashion:
  • Emperor Severus Alexander (208-235 CE) complained “if these garments are made of linen in order to prevent their being rough, what is the use of having purple (purple wool threads) in it?”
  • Gold threads were rough against the skin, and made the garments stiff and very heavy, so they tended to be uncomfortable and were worn only on very formal occasions.