Embroidery and lace: their manufacture and history from the remotest antiquity to the present dayA handbook for amateurs, collectors and general readers . * Strabo, Book XV., chap. i. 32 I. EMBROIDERY. Delicate Textiles, Gauze and Muslin*—The develop-ment of appreciation for the charm and glitter of certainclasses of embroidery was accompanied with a cultiva-tion of talent to produce equally beautiful articles for other and new purposes;and Strabo, from whosewritings we have alreadyquoted, speaks of the im-pression made upon theY ) Greeks under Alexander bythe sight of golden andjewelled robes
Embroidery and lace: their manufacture and history from the remotest antiquity to the present dayA handbook for amateurs, collectors and general readers . * Strabo, Book XV., chap. i. 32 I. EMBROIDERY. Delicate Textiles, Gauze and Muslin*—The develop-ment of appreciation for the charm and glitter of certainclasses of embroidery was accompanied with a cultiva-tion of talent to produce equally beautiful articles for other and new purposes;and Strabo, from whosewritings we have alreadyquoted, speaks of the im-pression made upon theY ) Greeks under Alexander bythe sight of golden andjewelled robes, as well asby that of filmy muslincostumes delicately em-broidered with floral de-vices, from which it maybe gathered that an equalstandard of performanceruled in the dexterous orna-mentation of fabrics ofaerial lightness, as in themore substantial decorationwrought upon heavierwoven materials. India was, as she re-mains, long celebrated forthe manufacture of trans-. Fig. 22.—Hera, goddess of matri-mony (from a Greek vase). parent muslins, known by poetic appellations, such asabrawan (running water), bafihowa (woven air), shuba-nam (evening dew), and other similarly expressive * The names gauze and muslin are said to be derived fromthose of the towns Gaza and Mosul. THE EMBROIDERY OF ANTIQUITY. 33 names.* During the times of which we have beenwriting, a vast commerce in elegant luxuries, like thesegauzy textiles, had evi-dently been sculptures repre-sent dancers draped intissues of this character,the folds and embroi-deries of which are sosubtly indicated in thesculptures by very lighttouches that at first sightone concludes that thefigures represented are al-most absolutely nude. Lu-can mentions these gauzesin his descriptions of thefestivals provided by Cleo-patra at her Alexandrinepalace in honour of Caesar,and particularly of hisrival Antony, f Lightgauzes were also used forveils. With Orientalgauzes opulent dames ofRome wrea
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