Phulkari Textiles from India : In Close Examination

Tutkielma käsittelee phulkari-tekstiilejä Punjabin alueelta Intiasta ja Pakistanista. Phulkari on isokokoinen huivi, jolla nainen peittää päänsä osana pukeutumista. Phulkarit on koristeltu näyttävän näköisellä, koko huivin täyttävällä kirjonnalla, jossa käytetään ensisijaisesti laakapistoja. Phulkarit ovat alun perin olleet erityisesti häihin liittyviä tekstiilejä, joilla on ollut rituaalinen merkitys. Niiden valmistaminen on ollut hidasta ja ne ovat olleet perintökalleuksia sekä myötäjäistekstiilejä. 1800-luvun lopulta lähtien niitä on kuitenkin valmistettu myyntiin. Vuoden 1947 jako Intiaan ja Pakistaniin hävitti tradition ainakin alkuperäisessä muodossaan, joskin kirjontaperinnettä on ylläpidetty pienimuotoisesti kotona työskentelevien naisten työllistäjänä. Tutkielman aineistona ovat kuusi phulkari-tekstiiliä Suomen Kansallismuseon etnografisista kokoelmista. Neljä tekstiileistä on varsinaisia phulkari-huiveja, kaksi muita käyttötekstiilejä, joissa on phulkari-kirjontaa. Näitä tekstiilejä on tutkittu esinetutkimuksen menetelmin, soveltaen kysymyssarjaa, jolla saadaan yksityiskohtaista tietoa tekstiileiden valmistuksesta ja siinä käytetyistä tekniikoista. Jo valmista esinetutkimuksen kysymyssarjaa, joka oli suunnattu pukeutumisen tutkimukseen, muokattiin niin, että se soveltui paremmin etnografisille tekstiileille. Siihen lisättiin myös mikroskopian osuus millä saatiin aiempaa tarkempia tuloksia, langoista, kankaiden rakenteista, kirjontapistoista, sekä käytetyistä materiaaleista ja niiden kunnosta. Mikroskopian tutkimuslaitteina käytettiin USB-porttiin liitettävää Dino-Lite - mikroskooppia, sekä läpivalaisumikroskooppia kuitunäytteille. Lähitarkastelun kautta jo tekstiilihistoriallisesti tunnetuista phulkari-huiveista saatiin uutta tietoa mikroskopian ja tarkan esinetutkimuksellisen analyysin avulla. Vaikka tutkimusaineisto oli pieni, niin se edusti lähes kaikkia phulkarien yleisimpiä tyylisuuntia. Tutkimusta varten muokatulla kysymyssarjalla on varmasti käyttöä myös tulevaisuudessa erilaisten tekstiilien lähitarkastelussa

Identification methods for nettle fiber

Nettle (Urtica dioica) has been used as a textile fiber among other bast fibres. Its culturohistorical significance is not clear, due to lack of studies focusing on nettle fiber. Main reason for that is the similarity of nettle fiber with all other bast fibers in their microscopic structures. The identification may have been inadequate. Main purpose for this Master's Thesis was to find those structural features that makes nettle fiber distinguishable from other bast fibers and to find the methods to study these features. I chose flax and hemp to be the reference fibers, because they are the two other bast fibers growing in Finland that can be used in textiles. My Thesis is divided into three parts. In the first theoretical section I study nettle as a textile fiber, and identification methods and physical structures of bast fibers in general. In the research section I introduced the methods suitable for identifying bast fibers from each other, and explained the structural differences between nettle, flax and hemp. The methods I used in this study are longitudinal observation, cross sections, Herzog's test with polarized light microscopy and SEM. From these results I created an Identification Manual for Nettle Fiber. It is a practical manual for archeologists, conservators and all textile researchers to use. From the photographic material I précised referential photo collection of physical structures of bast fibers. The manual and the photo collection are found as appendixes at the end of the study. In the final section of my research, I piloted the manual to a small sampling of textiles from the Finno-Ugric and Historical collections of The National Museum of Finland which were suspected to be made from nettle fibre. My conclusions in this study is that it is possible to identify nettle from other bast fibers. I was able to identify the materials of the textile sampling with the methods I had chosen. 16 from 25 samples that I studied were nettle. This partly disproves former results. My study points out that it is important to re-identify materials in ethnographic museum textiles to find out and discuss further the culturohistorical significance of the nettle fiber.Nokkosta (Urtica dioica) on käytetty tekstiilikuituna muiden runkokuitujen ohella. Sen kulttuurihistoriallinen merkitys on osittain hämärän peitossa, koska tutkimusta on tehty sen osalta vähäisesti. Merkittävimpänä syynä tähän on se, että nokkoskuitu on mikroskooppisilta ominaisuuksiltaan hyvin samankaltainen muiden runkokuitujen kanssa, joten sen tunnistus on saattanut olla puutteellista. Tämän tutkielman tarkoitus on ollut löytää nokkoselle ominaiset tunnuspiirteet ja menetelmät joilla niitä voi havainnoida. Vertailukuiduiksi tutkimukseen olen ottanut pellavan ja hampun, jotka ovat kaksi muuta Suomessa kasvavaa tekstiilikäyttöön soveltuvaa runkokuitua. Tutkielmani jakautuu kolmeen osaan. Teoreettisessa osuudessa perehdyn nokkoskuidun käyttöön tekstiilikuituna, erilaisiin kuitujen tunnistusmenetelmiin, sekä eri runkokuitujen mikroskooppisiin rakenneominaisuuksiin. Varsinaisessa tutkimusosuudessa esittelen mikroskopiamenetelmät joiden avulla runkokuidut voi tunnistaa toisistaan, sekä eroa tekevät rakenneominaisuudet nokkoselle, pellavalle ja hampulle. Käyttämäni mikroskopiamenetelmät ovat pituus- ja poikkisuuntainen havainnointi, polarisaatiomikroskopia ja sillä tehtävä Herzogin testi kuitujen kierteisyyden selvittämiseksi, sekä SEM. Tulokset näistä olen koonnut liitteenä olevaan nokkoskuidun tunnistusoppaaseen. Käytännönläheinen opas on tarkoitettu arkeologeille, konservaattoreille ja tekstiilitukijoille. Tutkimuksen aikana keräämäni kuvamateriaalin runkokuitujen mikroskooppisista rakenneominaisuuksista olen koostanut kuvapankiksi joka löytyy tutkielman liitteistä. Testasin tunnistusoppaan toimivuutta Kansallismuseon suomalais-ugrilaisen ja historian kokoelmien tekstiileihin. Tutkin 12 esinettä joiden valmistusmateriaaliksi epäiltiin nokkosta. Tutkimukseni johtopäätös on se, että nokkoskuitu on tunnistettavissa muista runkokuiduista. Pystyin määrittämään tutkittavakseni saamieni tekstiilien valmistusmateriaalin luomani tunnistusoppaan perusteella. Tutkituista 25 näytteestä 16 oli nokkosta, mikä osittain kumoaa aiemmat tutkimustulokset. Tutkimukseni osoittaa, että kansatieteellisiä tekstiilejä on syytä tutkia lisää valmistusmateriaalien uudelleen määrittämiseksi, jotta nokkoskuidun kulttuurihistoriallista merkitystä voitaisiin pohtia ja selvittää laajemmin

Colorants Detected by HPLC-PDA in Textiles from 13th Century Lieto Ristinpelto, Finland

Organic colorants of textiles found in the female burial of Lieto Ristinpelto, SW Finland, were analyzed by HPLC-PDA. The textiles’ visible colors varied from different brownish shades to blueish, greenish, and reddish hues. The aim of the chromatographic analysis was to deepen the current understandings of the dyes used in Finland at the transition between the 12th and 13th centuries AD, i.e., at the beginning of the local Medieval period, and to contribute important new information about dyes and clothing from this less-known period of textile history of Finland. The textile finds consisted of a bronze spiral ornamented shawl, an apron tied at the waist, two tablet-woven bands, and a diagonally plaited band with plaited tassels. A unique find was a textile possibly made using the sprang technique. Other textile finds were an orange wool tabby and twill fragments. Analysis of thirty samples from fourteen different textiles indicated that woad colorants were present in most samples, accompanied with lichen compounds, and dyer’s madder was in two visually orange fragments. The visually reddish samples contained luteolin, but no red colorants

Wide-angle X-ray scattering studies on contemporary and ancient bast fibres used in textiles - ultrastructural studies on stinging nettle

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is a potential source material for industrial applications. However, systematic research on the ultrastructural properties of nettle fibres is lacking. Determining the ultrastructure of nettle and the other bast fibres also provides new insights into the studies of archaeological fibres and their usage. In this study, the nanostructure of modern and ancient nettle samples was studied using wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) and compared to other bast fibres. The culturo-historical fibre samples consisted of nettle, flax, and hemp from White Karelian textiles collected 1894 as well as of 800-900-year-old archaeological textile fragments from Ravattula Ristimaki burial site, Finland. Using WAXS, the average cellulose crystallite widths, relative crystallinities and orientational order (including microfibril angle for the modern fibres) were determined and compared. The results also revealed the suitability of the WAXS analysis for fibre identification. The crystallite widths were of the similar size for all modern fibres (3.4-4.8 nm). Subtle differences in the relative crystallinities in descending order (from flax to nettle, and finally hemp) were observed. Also, subtle differences in the mean MFAs were observed (10 +/- 1 degrees for flax, 12 +/- 1 degrees for nettle, and 14 +/- 1 degrees for hemp). For the culturo-historical fibres, the values for crystallite widths and relative crystallinities were larger compared to the corresponding modern references. In addition, features due to the presence of non-cellulosic, crystalline substances (e.g., calcium oxalates) were detected in the WAXS patterns of all the modern nettle fibres. These features could potentially be used as a tool for identification purposes.Peer reviewe

Examining the White Karelian textile tradition of the late nineteenth century – focus on plant fibers

Collection SU4522 in the Finno-Ugric Collections of the National Museum of Finland consists of 143 items, mainly textiles from nineteenth-century White Karelia, now part of the current Russia. Forty-one linen textiles were chosen for closer examination, with the aim of evaluating the area's textile culture and identifying the materials using microscopic methods. Flax, hemp and nettle have all been traditional materials for clothing in northern Europe. Additionally, cotton became established in the region during the nineteenth century. Previous research lacked such a deep examination of the textile materials used, leaving room for speculation. Stinging nettle has not been shown before to have been used as a textile material in the Karelian area. Our results show that it appeared commonly in ratsina-shirts and kaspaikka-towels. Against the consensus hemp was rare and appeared only in one of the items. The results are mirrored by concurrent pictorial and written material from I. K. Inha who visited the region in 1894 and collected most of the items in the collection. White Karelian textile traditions from clothing to fabrics, weaving, spinning and fiber production are discussed in the article. Nevertheless, questions concerning the origins of the materials and the effects of the peddling tradition would need further research.Peer reviewe

Identifying Late Iron Age textile plant fibre materials with microscopy and X-ray methods — a study on finds from Ravattula Ristimäki (Kaarina, Finland)

In Finland, the earliest remains of a Christian church and cemetery date to the Late Iron Age (800-1150/1300 AD) and have been excavated in Ravattula Ristimaki, in Kaarina, southwestern Finland. In this study, seven assumingly plant fibre textile samples from individual inhumation graves were analysed to identify their materials. The aim of the study was to investigate the possibilities of identifying archaeological plant fibre samples using a three-stage procedure by observing the surface characteristics, microfibrillar orientation and cross section of the fibres via transmitted light microscopy (TLM). The identification process was based on such a TLM characterisation. Additionally, parts of the samples were studied with X-ray microtomography (micro-CT) and wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) to test the possibilities of using the X-ray methods in research and to identify bast fibre textiles. Both flax and nettle were found in the samples, indicating a preference for these two fibre plants in Late Iron Age Finland.Peer reviewe

Nikolaus Rungius : Lifestyle and Status of an Early Seventeenth-Century Northern Finnish Vicar

Vicar Nikolaus Rungius's (ca. 1560-1629) mummified remains have been the subject of research that has provided a wide variety of information on his life. This article examines the ways Rungius's health and lifestyle highlight his status as a vicar, and this status is visible in his burial and funerary clothing. He was a relatively large man for his time. CT scans even include indications of certain conditions related to being overweight. Likewise, stable-isotope analyses of his nail keratin support the hypothesis that he was consuming a rather heavy, protein-rich diet. Given his status as the vicar of Kemi parish in northern Finland, he likely made sumptuous use of the rich local natural resources of fish, game, and domestic animals as part of his regular diet. In addition to his diet and health, the vicar's high-quality clothes, while fragmentary, also open an avenue to extend the exploration of his social status and wealth.Peer reviewe

Textiles : Decay and Preservation in Seventeenth- to Nineteenth-Century Burials in Finland

The taphonomy of human remains and associated funerary textiles are inevitably linked. The interplay among burial clothes, human remains, insects, rodents, and preservation is explored through study of a group of postmedieval burials in Finland. These burials have been either archaeologically excavated or inventoried beneath wooden church floors. Decay and preserving factors for various conditions are studied, allowing in-depth study of individual garments and identification of the burial season. In addition, research has revealed different factors that have an effect on future preservation of the burials under church floors.Peer reviewe

Microscopic fibres in soils-The accumulation of textile fibres and animal hairs at the 6th-11th-century CE Kvarnbo Hall settlement site on the ?land Islands, Finland

Microscopic animal and plant fibres detected in archaeological contexts are a valuable source of information regarding textile production, use-histories of artefacts and in studying mortuary practices. At the same time, recent research on microplastic pollution has revealed the ability of fibres to move even long distances and accumulate in various terrestrial and aquatic contexts. In this paper we discuss the accumulation of 100–1000-µm-long animal hairs, bird feather barbules and textile fibres at Kvarnbo Hall, a Nordic Late Iron Age high-status settlement site in the Åland Archipelago, Finland. The hairs and barbules detected in soil samples reveal important information on the use of furs and downy feathers at the site. However, our study reveals that the microparticles sampled in the 6th–11th-century contexts represent not only the prehistoric phase of the site but can also be ascribed to the later land-use history of the area. We also speculate that long-distance air-borne particles might be one possible contamination source of fibres.Microscopic animal and plant fibres detected in archaeological contexts are a valuable source of information regarding textile production, use-histories of artefacts and in studying mortuary practices. At the same time, recent research on microplastic pollution has revealed the ability of fibres to move even long distances and accumulate in various terrestrial and aquatic contexts. In this paper we discuss the accumulation of 100-1000 mu m-long animal hairs, bird feather barbules and textile fibres at Kvarnbo Hall, a Nordic Late Iron Age high-status settlement site in the angstrom land Archipelago, Finland. The hairs and barbules detected in soil samples reveal important information on the use of furs and downy feathers at the site. However, our study reveals that the microparticles sampled in the 6th-11th-century contexts represent not only the prehistoric phase of the site but can also be ascribed to the later land-use history of the area. We also speculate that long-distance air-borne particles might be one possible contamination source of fibres.Peer reviewe