Footwear and Leather Garments and Industries

L'appel à communication est prolongé jusqu'au 15 février 2020. Ne tardez plus !

Le vêtement et la parure du haut Moyen Âge sont étroitement liés à l’évolution de l’archéologie mérovingienne depuis ses origines (notamment la découverte de la sépulture de Childéric).
Ce sera le thème principal des prochaines Journées de l'AFAM.

Lubricants and leather dressings are the most common treatments of dry and waterlogged historical leathers. Color change has a great importance during the time and treatment process, due to visual and aesthetic values of historic leather relics. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) and silicone oil (SiO) are frequently used leather dressings in the conservation procedures. Therefore, color stability of treated leathers with PEG and SiO were investigated before and afterheat accelerated aging. Moreover, application of ascorbic acid was evaluated as an antioxidant additive for PEG (PEG+AA).Color change after treatment and aging were studied by colorimetry technique in the CIE *L*a*b system. Results indicated to severe color alteration in PEG treated and aged leathers with or without ascorbic acid. Whereas, SiO treated samples showed better stability and minimum color shift after aging. Silicone oil was characterized as the best dressing for historical leathers with compared to PEG and PEG+AA, due to its high stability and aesthetical properties.

This chapter takes a peek at fetishism as an iconic element of sexuality and introduces a theoretical framework for understanding the fetish in visual culture.  Two compelling print advertisements from the long running Absolut Vodka campaign provide a point of departure to analyze how fetishism functions in contemporary advertising.  We pay particular attention to the eroticized semiotics of identity, fetishism’s place in the visual pantheon, and how certain photographic techniques imbue photographed objects with fetish qualities.  Fetishism is a powerful conceptual tool for analyzing visual consumption; representations of fetish objects occupy a substantial place in the contemporary visual scene, and images are given fetish-like status in art, advertising, and film. In an economy based on images, information, and Internet technology, fetishism—as displacement, as dysfunction, and as deviance—contributes to a larger project of linking products with psychological fulfillment, emotional satisfaction, and sexual gratification.

This study aimed to identify whether natural dyes encapsulated in a silica matrix via the sol-gel process with the use of alkoxides (as described in INPI patent BR 10 2013 0219835) and subsequently injected into a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) matrix would preserve their original color characteristics after being subjected to Xenon-accelerated weathering (using the ASTM D4452-12 standard). A comparison was conducted of the same natural dyes-carmine, turmeric, indigo and annatto e with and without encapsulation, injected into the same PVC matrix. Color change measurements were made before the weathering test and after 126 h, 252 h, 378 h and 504 h in a Xenon weathering chamber using the ASTM D4459-12 standard. A non-encapsulated Tartrazine dye (INS 102, an azo dye) was used for comparison of the behavior of natural dyes vs. that of synthetic ones. The results pointed to a lack of discoloring protection for the encapsulated natural dyes, which lost saturation more severely than the non-encapsulated ones. It thus follows that some care is required during the encapsulation stages of natural dyes, such as careful dispersion of natural colorants and the inclusion of repeat stages for the encapsulation of the xerogel.

The archaeological leather finds give an insight into one of Einbeck's districts: the Petersilienwasser, from the mid 13th to the early 16th century.
During that time, leather was used to make a wide range of objects, which were mostly intended for personal use and therefore illustrate something of the day to day life of the people who used them. Among the leather objects identified are shoes, boots, pattens, sword and knife sheaths, belts and straps, a mitten and some fragments from a saddle. Beyond the simple identification of the objects, the method of deposit and the stratigraphic position provide clues about the building and construction phases of the Petersilienwasser district.

At the same time as the shoes reveal traces of the wearer’s usage they also show the style of the period. They may reflect the economic status of the owner and certainly the far-reaching influence of fashion in Europe. Every day items such as the leather mitten, show how people adapted to the harsh winter conditions. Saddle fragments indicate mobility and transport. Owning a horse was a status symbol, and also the ownership of a sword in a decorated scabbard. The knife sheaths, together with the original iron knives, were considered to be everyday items.  They were multifunctional; both tools and table cutlery combined.

The leather finds tell us something about craftsmen in the village. Leather offcuts are a clear indication of manufacturing by shoemakers and other producers: Primary waste of new leather scrap from shoemakers and other craftsmen, secondary leather waste resulting from cobblers recycling old shoes. The leather waste shows traces of the tools used. Although only a few original tools were found in Petersilienwasser, it is clear that shoemakers and cobblers used a variety of specialised knives to cut the leather. Awls were indispensable to make the seam holes so that the leather parts could be sewn together. A significant aspect of the archaeological finds was the lack of sewing thread due to its disintegration over time. Shoemakers, cobblers, saddlers and sheathmakers never used sewing needles for sewing. Instead, they attached a flexible but stable boar bristle to the thread using a special wax or pitch.
The tools needed for decorating leather shoes or knife sheaths such as stamps, punches or smoothing tools, are evidenced by the decorated shoes or knife and sword sheaths found in Petersilienwasser.

The vegetable-tanned leather indicates the presence of tanners whether done by the shoemakers themselves (sippage) or by a full-time tanner. Other types of leather such as chamois are not present as they do not survive in the moist soil. The processed hides come from cattle, calves and goats, also pigs / wild boar, and occasionally deer or dogs.

The plots of Petersilienwasser 3–5 contained the largest amount of leather waste together with tanning tubs. This probably shows evidence of a shoemaker tanning small skins, as permitted by the shoemaker and tanners guilds. The near absence of new leather waste from plot Petersilienwasser 7, but the large quantity of secondary cobbler recycled waste (11 new versus 42 used leather fragments) may indicate one of two situations. The first being that the secondary leather waste from the shoemaker/tanner at Petersilienwasser 3–5 was selectively dumped outside of the main work area or that the plot Petersilienwasser 7 was occupied by a cobbler. As we have little information about the shoemakers’ guild rules at the time, it may be that we are seeing the division of the workshop into three areas; the tanning area, the shoemaker area and the cobbler area, presumably with several workers under the control of a shoemaker guild member or master.

The present study investigates the utility of animal skin from Antiquity to the Medieval Period, compiling archaeological finds, pictorial and written sources, most of which derive from Europe and the eastern Mediterranean. We suggest that skin, leather, fur, and parchment have been extensively used to fulfil multiple necessities. Animal skin was exploited to produce clothing (e. g., cloaks, shoes, gloves), working and military equipment (e. g., aprons, hats, armour), objects related to animals (bridles, saddles), household items (flasks, chests), and living spaces (e. g., bed covers). Other objects were connected to education and entertainment (books, instruments, toys). In a period when raw materials were limited, animal skin constituted a decisive part of daily utensils. This also involves aspects of economy, practicability, availability, prestige, and social status. The starting point for this extensive collection was the case study of Sand, an early medieval site (10 th century AD) located in Lower Austria.

The study describes the finds uncovered in Grave 33 of the burial ground investigated at Sárbogárd-
Tringer-tanya and offers a new assessment of the grave goods, with a particular focus on the
remains of a leather belt and leather purse as well as the remnants of a leather garment, whose 10thcentury
use could thus be conclusively demonstrated in the period’s archaeological legacy. The examination
of the archaeological finds by a conservator specialising in leather provides many new insights
into the leatherworking of the ancient Hungarians of the 10th century. 10th-century leatherworking was
practiced on a much higher level than earlier believed. The finds from Sárbogárd provide evidence that
the tanners of the 10th century were familiar with alum tawing and, also, that the various leather articles
whose workmanship surpassed the more simple objects made as part of a home craft industry were created
by highly skilled leatherworkers.

Cloth Cultures in Prehistoric Europe is a postdoctoral fellowship project awarded to Susanna Harris by the British Academy. Its aim is to bring together and examine evidence for textiles and animal skins in prehistoric Europe from the Neolithic and Bronze Age. Several case studies are being examined as part of this project, including the Bronze Age Hallstatt salt mines. Here researchers working on the materials from Hallstatt look at some of the similarities and differences between the techniques applied to textiles and animal skins in their production and use in the mines.