Don Quixote’s Story: The Ball of Barcelona, c. 1732-1736.

Wool and silk tapestry, 360 x 505 cm.

Musée du Louvre, Paris.

 

 

This would suggest that the introduction of the Greek artisans did not greatly influence the Sicilian workshop, this seems to be confirmed by the fact that from the beginning, the Vienna museum, made under William II, is also in the Arab style, with animals and fantastic birds, bearing the inscriptions, repeated in Roman letters and Arabic. “Made in the happy city of Palermo, the fifteenth year of the reign of William II, by the grace of God, King of Sicily, Duke of Apulia, and Prince of Capua, son of William I, XlVth convocation.”

(This alb) forms part of the vestments whose manufacture has been ordered in the royal workshops, ever well fitted, by the very honoured King William II, who prays God to grant him His power; who is assisted with all His might, and who prays that he may be victorious; lord of Italy, of Lombardy, of Calabria, and of Sicily, powerful (protector) of the Roman Pope and defender of the Christian religion; dated from the little era XIII, the year 1181 of the era of Our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

It may be good to add that the Sicilian looms were not limited to these exceptional works. They supplied garments of moderate richness for general use, as shown by this passage from Ebn Djobaïr describing the ladies fashion in Palermo on the occasion of the Christmas feast in 1185: “They appeared abroad dressed in gold-coloured silken robes, enveloped in elegant cloaks, covered with coloured veils, wearing gilded half-boots, and they strutted about in their churches or dens overlade with necklaces, with paint, and perfumes, quite after the fashion of Muslim women.”

Francisque Michel has not succeeded in ascertaining the exact time when the manufacture of silks passed over from Sicily to continental Italy. In 1242, the silk workers formed a numerous body in Lucca, but the war waged by the Florentines against the city ruined the industry. After the city was taken in 1514, the workmen were dispersed, carrying their skill and experience to Venice, Florence, Milan, and Bologna where workshops were now established. However, according to a decree of the Grand Council, issued in 1248, Venice may have had workshops well before this period. Allusion is also made to the Venetian textiles in an inventory of the treasury of Saint-Siège, dated 1295. Geneva also had its silk looms at this period, and Florence soon acquired such, rendering her manufactories so important that she looked on them as far superior to those in Venice. Some writers think that it was through Sicily and the Balearic Isles that Spain became acquainted with the manufacture of silk, but this mistake is easily disproved. The Arabs introduced the industry in Spain before the 12th century.

During the Middle Ages, the silks of Seville rivalled those of China, and upon the fall of Granada there were upwards of 5000 wheels for twisting silk in operation. Almería also enjoyed a universal reputation, and its fabrics were considered to be amongst the finest. An Arabic writer, quoted by Conde, says that the Moorish king, Aben Alahmar, who reigned in 1248, diligently encouraged sericulture and silk-weaving, adding that this industry made such progress that the silk of Granada was preferred to that of Syria. After the destruction of Arab power, the victorious Christians took advantage of the secrets of the conquered, and soon Toledo, Murcia, and Valencia produced fabrics equal to those of the old Muslim looms.

Continuing to France, in order to find the true history of the silk industry here, we must come to the reign of Louis XI, whose letters patent, issued at Orleans on 23 November 1466, are the first title of the establishment of looms for gold and silk cloth in Lyons. These letters patent, however, taxed the city for the benefit of the new industry, so that, on the petition of the burgesses, a delay was granted for the recovery of the duty. In February 1469, he took fresh measures to ensure the execution of his wishes, and things went on, no doubt, to his satisfaction. At least, we find that for a purpose easy to be understood, Charles VIII issued a decree, dated 17 July 1494, ordering silken fabrics to be marked with the seal of the town where they were manufactured and forbidding the wearing of gold, silver, or silk cloth not woven in France.

When Francis I passed through Lyons on his return from the campaign in Savoy, he granted letters patent for the purpose of increasing the prosperity of the industry. With the view of attracting Genoese and other foreign artisans, he gave them the right of acquiring real and moveable property, which their legal heirs or representatives could inherit without taking out letters of naturalisation or a bargain. They were further exempted from all taxes or imposts, on the sole condition of inscribing their names in full on the city registers. These letters were registered in August 1557. The first who presented themselves to take advantage of the situation were two Genoese, Etienne Turqueti and Barthélemy Nariz, who have been wrongly described by many writers as those who first introduced the silk industry to France. The privileges granted to foreigners were renewed by the French kings. Therefore, the silk industry became one of the largest in France, and Lyons succeeded in bringing the art to the highest perfection.