Endrei Walter szerk.: Textilipari Múzeum Évkönyve 8. 1995 (Budapest, 1995)

dr. Márta Járó: Manufacturing technique of gold threads and their imitations on museum textiles - chronology of the preparation of metal threads. Results of the scientific investigations

threads was relegated to the backgound, most likely because of the analysis methods requiring a big amount of sample. At the beginning of the 60s, the Ciba Review devoted a whole issue to the fabrics made with gold and silver threads from the Middle Ages to modern times [7], but precise data regarding the manufacturing technique were not yet available for the author at that time. Schreier and Bresee published a short article about the method of preparation of metal threads in 1979 [8] and Barker wrote a study about the same subject in 1980 [9], but the authors did not pay attention to the analytical data already published in the special literature. The same can be stated about the summarizing work of Higgins [10] published in 1993. More comprehensive comparative studies regarding the manufacturing technique of metal threads started at the end of the 70s, resp. at the beginning of the 80s in Europe and shortly after also in the USA. These based on the results obtained by scanning electronmicroscopy and by nondestructive analytical methods. In Hungary, the research work started also in the 70s. The data collected since then, supplemented by the data published abroad and by the technical descriptions found in contemporary sources made possible a more thorough examination of the manufacturing technique of metal threads and the drafting of a more precise chronology of their preparation than it was done before. This paper deals with the solid metal threads used up to the end of the 19th century. We do not go into details regarding the manufacturing techniques of threads prepared by combining the metal with organic materials, i.e. of leathergold, papergold or membrane threads and into the analysis of modern products of the 20th century. Manufacturing technique and chronology of preparation of metal threads on basis of comprehensive works published on textile history or on metal threads According to the publications on textile history and comprehensive works written about metal threads, gold and silver threads were produced from strips or wires [11-18]. The strips were cut of metal foil or from organic material coated with metal, or they were hammered/rolled from wire. The wires were prepared by wire-drawing. The narrow strips or the thin wires were used in most cases wrapped around a silk, linen, etc. yarn, the so called core. (Fig. 1)