Sea silk is an extremely fine, rare and valuable fabric produced from the long silky filaments or byssus secreted by a gland in the foot of several bivalve mollusks (particularly Pinna nobilis L.) by which they attach themselves to the sea bed.1
Sea silk was produced in the Mediterranean region from the large bivalvemollusk, Pinnanobilis, until early in the 20th century. The shell, which is sometimes almost a metre long, adheres itself to rocks with a tuft of very strong thin fibres, pointed end down, in the intertidal zone. These byssus or filaments (which can be up to 6 cm long) are then spun and, when treated with lemon juice, turn a beautiful golden colour which never fades.
The cloth produced from these filaments can be woven even finer than silk and is extremely light and warm, however, it attracts clothes moths, the larvae of which will eat it.
Photo showing extreme fineness of the byssus thread
It was said that a pair of woman's gloves could fit into half a walnut shell and a pair of stockings in a snuffbox.2 The mollusk is also sought for its flesh and occasionally has pearls of fair quality.
The cloth was always very rare and sought after, and was often reserved for royalty. It is likely the same "sea wool" as mentioned in Diocletian's Price Edicts of 301CE.3
Procopius, writing on the Persian wars circa 550CE, "stated that the five hereditary satraps (governors) of Armenia who received their insignia from the Roman Emperor were given chlamys (or cloaks) made from lana pinna (Pinna "wool," or byssus). Apparently only the ruling classes were allowed to wear these chlamys."4
In spite of being the subject of some fabulous tales about being derived from "sea sheep" which the Chinese did not believe, it is clear that sea silk was known as being among the products of the Roman Empire by the Chinese of the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE.56
Unfortunately, in recent years, Pinna nobilis has become threatened with extinction, partly due to overfishing and, partly, due to the decline in seagrass fields, pollution, and so on. As it has declined so dramatically, the once small but vibrant sea silk industry has almost disappeared, and the art is now preserved only by a few women on the island of Sant'Antioco in Sardinia.7
Byssal threads contain a powerful glue which allows them to adhere strongly to surfaces such as rocks, keeping the shell in place.
There will be an exhibition of sea silk called, "Sea-silk - golden threads of the sea" from the 18th October 2008 to 1st March 2009 at the Museo Villa Ciani, Lugano in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. For information see: [3] or phone: +41 (0)58 866 72 14.
Footnotes
^Webster's Third New International Dictionary (Unabridged) 1976. G. & C. Merriam Co., p. 307.
^ Felicitas Maeder (2002): "The project Sea-silk – Rediscovering an Ancient Textile Material." Archaeological Textiles Newsletter, Number 35, Autumn 2002, p. 10.
^ Turner, Ruth D. and Rosewater, Joseph 1958. "The Family Pinnidae in the Western Atlantic" Johnsonia, Vol. 3 No. 38, June 28, 1958, p. 294.
^ Hill, John E. 2003. The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu. A draft annotated translation from the Hou Hanshu - see Section 12 and note 15 plus Appendix B. [1]
^ Hill, John E. 2004. The Peoples of the West. A draft annotated translation of the 3rd century Weilüe - see Section 12 of the text and Appendix D. [2]
^ Maeder, Felicitas, Hänggi, Ambros and Wunderlin, Dominik, Eds. 2004. Bisso marino : Fili d’oro dal fondo del mare – Muschelseide : Goldene Fäden vom Meeresgrund. Naturhistoriches Museum and Museum der Kulturen, Basel, Switzerland. (In Italian and German), pp. 68-71.
References
Hill, John E. 2003. The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu. A draft annotated translation from the Hou Hanshu - see Section 12 and note 15 plus Appendix B. [4]
Hill, John E. 2004. The Peoples of the West. A draft annotated translation of the 3rd century Weilüe - see Section 12 of the text and Appendix D. [5]
McKinley, Daniel L. 1988. "Pinna and Her Silken Beard: A Foray Into Historical Misappropriations". Ars Textrina: A Journal of Textiles and Costumes, Vol. Twenty-nine, June, 1998, Winnipeg, Canada. Pp. 9-223.
Maeder, Felicitas 2002. "The project Sea-silk – Rediscovering an Ancient Textile Material." Archaeological Textiles Newsletter, Number 35, Autumn 2002, pp. 8-11.
Maeder, Felicitas, Hänggi, Ambros and Wunderlin, Dominik, Eds. 2004. Bisso marino : Fili d’oro dal fondo del mare – Muschelseide : Goldene Fäden vom Meeresgrund. Naturhistoriches Museum and Museum der Kulturen, Basel, Switzerland. (In Italian and German).
Turner, Ruth D. and Rosewater, Joseph 1958. "The Family Pinnidae in the Western Atlantic" Johnsonia, Vol. 3 No. 38, June 28, 1958, pp. 285-326.
