Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 22. (Budapest, 2003)
Márta JÁRÓ: On the History of a 17th Century Noblemans' Dolman and Mantle, based on the Manufacturing Techniques of the Ornamental Metal Threads. Or de Milan, Or de Lyon and Silver of Clay Ornamentations on a ceremonial Costume from the Esterházy Treasury
authors regard them as originating from Nuremberg 54 , while German sources generally attribute them to Lyon 55 . Savary des Bruslons uses the name "false silver" for threads made from silver-plated copper wire, and the name "false gold" for those made from silver-plated copper wire subsequently gilded (i.e. with a double precious-metal coating). 56 He does not mention metal thread made from brass. Beckman in 1777 describes the manufacture of "Leoner Gold" as follows: Copper is cemented, that is, its surface is transformed into brass ("Similor", a copper-zinc alloy which he calls Mannheim Gold); this is then used in the same fashion as gold wire. 57 Most probably this is the process licensed in 1732 and attributed to Pinchbeck. 58 The name "Lyon thread" was used by Karmasch and Heeren in 1877 to describe copper wire with a precious-metal coating 59 , and the same name was used by Petraschek-Heim in 1977 to describe thread with a copper and brass base material 60 . According to Rawitzer's classification (1988) the following are classed as "Lyon thread": threads made from silver and gilt-silver wire ("genuine"silver or gold threads or "fine" Lyon threads); threads made from silver-plated or gilt copper wire ("false" Lyon silver or gold threads); threads made from copper wire treated with vapourised zinc, and consequently converted to brass on the surface layer ("cemented" or "cement-wire"). 61 Again, threads made from brass are not mentioned by this author. It is probable that as early as the discovery of the manufacturing technique for gilt-silver wire, that is from the 15 th century onwards according to our present knowledge, trials were made in drawing gilt or silver-plated copper wire, since the same method could be applied as for silver wire. 62 Biringuccio, who regarded the manufacture of such wire as an "impudent fake" 63 , mentions in his work that these are used for textiles, but gives no hint that strips were made from the wire by rolling. Nevertheless it seems probable that simultaneously with the spread of strip made from gillsilver wire by rolling used as metal thread (without core or wound round a core), strip or thread made from copper wire with preciousmetal coating would have been produced in even greater quantity. Examples of such threads can be found from as late as the first half of the 20 th century. 64 We have not as yet found any mention in the 17 th-18 th century literature of the use of brass wires or strips without a preciousmetal coating, for textile-ornamentation. On the basis of the results of scientific examinations however, it appears that such threads were used from the 16 th century onwards, or even earlier; they occur primarily in archaeological finds. 65 Cemented threads, that is those made from copper strips with a surface coating of brass, were probably manufactured from about the 1730s; but lacking a sufficient number of test results it cannot be definitely stated that cemented copper wires entirely displaced the use of brass wire, which was more difficult to work and gave a strip which was more springy. As far as the metal material is concerned, the silver-plated copper and brass threads found in the two types of lace on the dolman are very similar to each other; therefore this cannot be used for differentiation purposes either in respect of date or geographical origin. There is however an essential difference between the metal threads of the two lace samples: namely that in the case of the Brussels lace, silk was used as the core; while in the case of the tullebase lace linen was used. Savary des Bruslons, in referring to a statute of Henry III of France promulgated in 1586, notes that in the case of "false" threads, silk may not be used as the core. 66 Petraschek-Heim refers to an Austrian statute from 1754 to the same effect, which for such threads prescribes the use of linen thread or simple yarn. 67 In the case of the relatively few samples of brass threads examined by us (17, apart from those on the present garment) we found a silk core only in 2 cases, cotton core in 2 cases, and linen core in the others. The samples came from textiles dated to the 15 th18 th centuries, mainly those found in archaeological excavations. One of the two threads with a silk core (and gilt-copper strip) comes from a late 15 th-century embroidery; the other (with brass strip) comes
