The Icelandic Lady in blue
The woman's remains, discovered in Ketilsstaðir in1938, tell a fascinating story of an early settler. According to Archeology Magazine's article from 2016, radiocarbon analysis proved that she was born around 900 A. D. on the British Isles or in southern Denmark, and migrated to Iceland at the age of 5. Moreover, preserved fragments of the woman’s woollen apron dress and another garment made of linen, show a blend of Nordic and Celtic weaving and spinning techniques.
What caught my attention is the piece of tablet woven band in red and yellow (or maybe white), which was found on what should be the upper edge of the apron dress. The band appears to be woven into the fabric - or more accurately, the band probably served as a starting border for the fabric produced on a vertical loom. Such border had both practical and decorative purpose, and there are many examples of this technique across Europe.
Multiple tablet weavers attempted to recreate the pattern based on photographs. The first photo that sparked a debate amongst tablet weavers was published in a book from 2015 “Bláklædda Konan – Ný Rannsókn Á Fornu Kumli” by Sandra Sif Einarsdottir at al. The photo was shared in this Archeurope article and photo credit belongs to National museum of Iceland.
The photograph is very detailed and the direction of threads is well visible, however, it is very hard to see colours. It is also apparent that the textile fragment comes in at least two pieces.
The 2019 paper Tangled up in blue by K. P. Smith, M. Hayeur Smith and K. M. Frei features a photograph that shows the size of the band, a recognisable pattern of diagonals, and obvious changes in thread slant. However, it is rather dark and upside down.
Just a few years ago, I coincidentally came across the 2016 article mentioned in the first paragraph. It kept haunting me, solely because of the main photograph. It is unclear to me if it was just an edited version of the photograph above or a completely new one. Anyway, there is not only a clearly visible pattern of diagonals, but also an ''eye'' in the centre of the band, where the pattern direction changes. What I also noticed is that on the one on the right side, the piece of band that broke off seems to be placed upside down.
Photo by Ívar Brynjólfsson, National Museum of Iceland
I used this photograph as the main source of inspiration for my own interpretation. I counted:
- 7 pattern tablets, threaded with two red and two yellow threads each,
- one border tablet threaded with blue on the lower edge
- two border tablets on the upper edge, one threaded with blue and one with yellow threads
The yellow border on the bigger piece is present only on the upper side (outer edge, taking the fabric of the apron dress in account).
I used a simple image editor to cut out and rotate the smaller piece of band. I highlighted outlines of the pattern - with lines where the pattern is clear, and with dots in areas that are rather unclear.
Finally, the most helpful picture of the band was not taken by a museum employee. It was shared by Archäotechnik - textile Fläche who traveled to Iceland to see the band in person.
Image source: https://textileflaeche.blogspot.com/2016/10/islandprojekt-teil-13.html
The pattern of the small, upside down fragment can be easily determined now, all thanks to the good quality of the photograph! I just wish my hand was less shaky when dotting lines.
Finally, I was able to make drafts for both pieces of band! Now it is up to you to assemble these two drafts together to get a coherent piece of band to your taste. Keep in mind that lines 40-50 are my assumption of how the missing part of the band could look like.
The draft is free to use.
P. S. Of course, I had to do a test weave. I recycled an existing warp, so edges are not correct. However, the overall impression is good, don't you think?
