Textile weaving is, with architecture, among the oldest of the arts, and dates from the earliest periods of history. It was understood in Egypt, and records are found showing that it was practiced at a remote period in the Far East. The Chinese developed the silk looms and wove brocades of such beauty that they are cherished as museum pieces and used for inspiration to this day.
For a long time the secret of the origin of silk fiber was carefully guarded. Silk cocoons were eventually smuggled into India in the headdress of a Chinese prince and from there into Byzantium. India learned silk weaving from the expert weavers of China. The Greeks and the civilized people of the Near East also developed textile production.
Monuments of Assyrian and Persian sculpture and Greek vases show draperies of figured fabrics. On the vases of the sixth century B.C. are found striped patterns with designs of winged horses and chariots. Since then all races have learned the art, and it has followed the course of civilization from the East to Europe and America. This influence can especially be noted in stone fireplace designs.
The product of the silk worm and its cocoon was well known to the Romans, and silk cloth was first produced in Europe about the sixth century A.D., although up to about the year 1000 it was still mainly a product of the East. Persia, Syria and Egypt were the great weaving countries during the Middle Ages.
source: ezinearticles.com
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