New Stone Age

(300-1500 B.C.)

On the undersides of some   Neolithic pots from Rietzmeck, Kreis Rosslau, E. Germany, there are   impressions of the of the fabrics they stood on when drying.  If some of   these are correctly interpreted as interlinked in structure, there still is   no evidence that they were made by the sprang method (Collingwood)

Danish Bronze Age

(About 1400 B.B.

The Borum Eshöj Hair-net

Discovered in 1871, in a   woman’s grave in Borum Esöjj, a burial mound near Aarhus, Denmark.  158   threads of fine 2-ply wool in warp.  Very skillfully made, using multiple   twist interlinking and ridges (…).  Perhaps the only historical examples that   can be considered as luxury fabrics are the early Danish finds.  As they came   from graves in impressive barrows (Borum Esöj was over 120 feet across and   nearly 20 feet high), they probably belonged to chiefs or even royalty.  This   explains the expertise both in design and manual skill that went into these   fabrics.  See the hair-net from Haraldskar bog and the Oseberg frame.

(Collingwood, Hald,   Munksgaard)

The Skrydstrup Cap

Discovered in 1935 in a man’s   grave in Skrydstrupfield, near Haderslev, Denmark.  Made from 2-ply wool,   worked in a mixture of interlacing and interlinking.  Meeting line closed by   two rows of chaining (…).

     A hair-net made from   horsehair and with an intertwined structure was found in the same grave but   there is no evidence it was a sprang fabric.

(Collingwood, Broholm, Hald)

Iron Age

(Germany)

Hairband from Windeby and   hairnet from Damendorf (Schlabow)

1000 B.C. Tarim Basin, Central   Asia

Black   sprang hairnet(s); “The Mummies of Ürümchi” (Barber)

Late Pre-ceramic, Peru

(about 1100 B.C.E.)

Cylindrical Bags and Fabrics

Excavated in 1957 at Asia,   central coast of Peru.  Interlinking and interlacing, cotton yarn. ? Meeting   lines present. (Collingwood, Frame)

Hallstatt period

(800-500 B.C.E.)

Hair-net

Discovered in 1835 in the   Haraldskar bog at Vejle, Denmark, but not recognized as sprang until a   century later.  Sometimes called ‘Queen Gunhild’s Hair-net’ as she is known   to have been drowned here.  Made of single-ply wool, using closely placed   holes as the basic structure.  Incomplete, one edge sewn to a woven band,   meeting line present (Collingwood, Hald 1980)

Woman’s Cap or Hood

Discovered in 1942 in a peat   bog at Arden Denmark.  Well-preserved, Stripes of S- and Z-twist interlinking   (Collingwood, Hald 1980)

5th century B.C.E. to 2nd   century A.D.E.

Fragment

Found in the vicinity of   Kertch in the eastern Crimea.  7 cm x 1.5 cm, 2-ply wool.  Simple   interlinking with contrasting areas of open pattern. (Jenkins)

Possible   looms on Greek pots (Clark)

Paracas Cavernas, Peru

(500-300 B.C.E.)

Two Pieces, possibly Head-dresses

Excavated in 1931 in Paracas   Cavernas graves, Peru.  Both made from orange wool, one 52 inches x 22   inches.  Complex hole design depicting fish, birds, serpents, in all-over   pattern.  Chained meeting line (Collingwood)

Nazca, Peru

(300 B.C.E.-A.D.E. 500)

Four Pieces

Excavated in 1925 at Majoro and   Cacatilla, near Nazca, Peru.  They show intertwining but it is not clear   whether they are sprang or not.  Woolen (Collingwood)

Neck Coverings

Also from Nazca come the very   elaborate woolen neck coverings using double, and sometimes quadruple,   intertwined sprang (…).  Very complex construction.  All-over linear designs.    Simple interlaced bags also found (Collingwood,)

La Tène Period

(500-50 B.C.E.)

A collection of charred   textiles, ropes and wooden tablets found in a Spanish grave.  One fragment   shows interlinking ? sprang (Collingwood)

200-100 B.C.E. Peru

Paracas “Hoods”

Many examples, some of wool,   some of cotton, often with extensive use of openwork sprang to create   patterns (King)

Roman Iron Age

A fragment of simple   interlinking found in a grave at Blidegn, Denmark, ? sprang (Collingwood)

York Stocking

(previously assumed to be   Viking)

Excavated in 1838 at Micklegate   Bar, York, England.  Worked with 2-ply wool in stripes of S- and Z-twist   interlinking.  Selvages sewn together to form a tube which tapers slightly,   so like the Tegle stocking it has no foot.  No meeting line. (Collingwood,   Henshall, Wyatt)

Cimbric Female Bonnet

Made of wool-yarn (Koch)

3rd-5th C Norway

Woolen Stocking

Found in a bog at Tegle,   Jaeren, the earliest Norwegian find of sprang.  Consists of a tubular fabric   with interlocking triangle design done in S- and Z-twist interlinking.  Top   and bottom edge finished with tablet-woven band, no meeting line   (Collingwood, Hoffman, Hoffman and Tratteberg)

A.D. 100

? Hair-net

Found in rubbish dump at   Vindonissa, Switzerland.  Fine wool worked with triple twist interlinking.   Incomplete, but meeting line present (Collingwood, Wild 1970)

A.D. 400-700

Coptic Sprang Fabrics

Discovered from the 1880s   onwards, in Coptic graves in Upper Egypt, chiefly at Achmin.  Made of un-dyed   linen or dyed wool.  Some are pointed and called caps, some are rectangular   with drawstrings and called bags (…), also turbans and other garments.  Techniques   include hole designs, S- and S-twist, extra twining threads, 2/2 and 4/4   interlinking and double interlinked sprang.  Very accomplished workmanship.   Mentioned and illustrated in catalogues of all main textile collections.   Technical analyses in Schinnerer, n.d., and Hald, 1950.

     By far the largest number   of historical sprang fabrics come from the Coptic burial grounds and for two   reasons.  Firstly, there is the Coptic habit of burying their dead fully   clothed with everyday objects like carrying bags around them; secondly, there   is the position of the graves, which were in dry sand, above the level of the   Nile’s flood water and in a region with practically no rainfall.  So there   was a profusion of textiles buried in conditions that prevented bacterial   decay, with the result of that any textile collection has far more examples   of Coptic sprang than of sprang fabrics of more recent date.

(Bazinet, Collingwood, Cook and   Tullo, Harris, Information Pack, Janssen, Rutschoscaya, Stauffer, Whitworth   Art Gallery, Wyatt)

Viking Period

(about A.D. 850)

Wooden Frame

A beech wood frame, 44 inches   high x 30 inches wide, found in the ship-burial (? of Queen Asa), at Oseberg,   Norway; may possibly have been used for sprang.  Lower beam adjusted by pegs   fitting into the uprights; narrow rod fitting into a groove on underside of   top beam; intended to be free-standing.  If used for sprang, then probably   for circular warp method (Collingwood)

Impression inside Brooch

A tortoiseshell brooch, found   in the Shetlands, Scotland, bears on its inside the impression of some type   of diamond mesh thread work, ? interlinked sprang (…).

Small fragments of interlinking found in the graves at Birka,   Sweden, ? sprang (Andersson, Collingwood, Geijer 1938)

9th Century

Beige linen   and red & ochre wool bonnet; origin unknown but presently in the Museo   Poldi Pezzoli in Milan. (Zanni)

10th-12th Centuries

Fillet

Single-ply, S-twisted silk   threads, made from alternate rows of 1/1 and 2/2 interlinking.   Found in   Dublin, Ireland.  Finished width of 130mm, at one end some of the warp loops   are preserved, the other end is torn and tied in a knot.  Earliest recorded   piece of sprang to be made from silk thread. (Pritchard)

A.D. 1100-1300

Narrow Band

Found at Mule Creek Cave, New   Mexico, USA.  Made from 2-ply cotton, 10 inches long x 1 inch wide, worked in   interlinking with hole designs.  No meeting line (Collingwood)

Fragment   from the tomb of Guidotto in Messina Cathedral (Digilio)

A.D. 1300-1500

Shirt

Found at Tonto Monument,   Arizona, USA.  Measures about 26 inches square, back largely missing, worked   with elaborate hole designs.  Fringe at bottom edge, warp loops of front and   back portion joined along the shoulders.  Front and back may be the upper and   lower halves of a sprang fabric (Collingwood, Sprang Tunic, Webster)

13th Century

Hungarian   and German examples (Turnau)

C. 1450-1500

Border of Sprang

From England, currently in   the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Bath)

15th century

White Linen Fabric

120 inches long x 30 inches   wide, with complex hole designs some of which are embroidered with blue   thread.  Made on a circular warp.  Probably from central Switzerland   (Collingwood)

17th century

Three Woman’s Caps

Made of silk and gold thread,   bequeathed to Austrian Museum by a woman from Transylvania (Collingwood)

Woman’s Girdle

Found in a church at Mediasch,   Transylvania.  White, with simple hole designs and fringes at both ends.   Made on a circular warp (Collingwood)

Mid 17th century

Turkish Sashes

Found in one of the crypts   of the Roman Catholic Church at Satospatak, Hungary.   Made of tightly spun   red silk.  One is composed of diamond patterns, the other with trees and   detailed creatures. (Gervers)

About 1700

Silk Mittens

Norwegian; worked with hole   designs (…).  These were also made in Holland and France. (Collingwood)

1707

White Linen Piece

Found by Edna Mygdal in a   church at Hvalsoe, Jutland, Denmark, in 1916.  70 inches long x 18 inches   wide, worked with hole designs, forming diamonds, but also the initials M K D   and the date 1707.  Circular warp method (Collingwood,)

1700-1850

Military Sashes (…)

Ceremonial sashes made of silk   and worn by army officers, each country having its own colour or striping.   Usually simple interlinking, sometimes with hole designs.  Up to 12 feet long   x 30 inches wide, with long fringes.  Also used by officers of town guilds,   sometimes being embroidered.  Made on circular warp. (Collingwood)

1797-1835

Collection of Sprang Fabrics

About a hundred pieces, many   unfinished, such as bonnets, stockings, mittens, collars, cuffs.  All made by   a woman from Bruges, Belgium, in intricate hole designs.  Now in Musée Royaux   d’Art, Brussels, which also has a sprang fram (68 inches x 14 inches), with   work still on it and a collection of wooden sticks, 10 inches long   (Collingwood)

About 1850

Works of Christine Steeger

Many pieces survive made by   Christine Steeger (1800-59), of Aalen, Württemberg, Germany.  These include   complete jackets and skirts, but also smaller pieces. All worked with hole   designs.  Sprang was called ‘krabbeln’, i.e., crawling like a crab, in Württemberg,   probably from the way the right hand moves across the warp (Collingwood)