Rich Medieval fabric woven with gold thread or a combination of gold and silk
Cloth of gold woven with golden strips
Cloth of gold orgold cloth (Latin:Tela aurea) is afabric woven with agold-wrapped orspunweft—referred to as "a spirally spun gold strip". In most cases, the coreyarn issilk, wrapped (filé) with a band or strip of high content gold. In rarer instances, finelinen andwool have been used as the core.
The left inside panel of theWilton Diptych (c. 1395–1399) shows a kneelingRichard II of England wearing a robe of cloth of gold and red vermilion.
While cloth of gold has been popular for ecclesiastical use for many centuries, the earliest mentions of the use of cloth of gold are found in Vedic texts of South Asia. Earlier uses can be traced back to Central and South Asia where ancient Irani peoples have mentioned use of a fabric woven with gold. In eastern Asia, Chinese weavers had also used the technique of weaving gold into silk fabrics to create designs. UnderHenry VII of England, its use was reserved to royalty and higher levels of nobility. Cloth of gold continued to be the fabric of choice for royalty, nobility and the elite across the globe for centuries as a show of wealth and power. India continues the tradition as was recently demonstrated in the Ambani family weddings.[1] It is also used today by companies such asCharvet for neckwear.[2]
Few extant examples have survived inRoman provincial tombs.[3][4][5] Later producers of cloth of gold include theByzantine Empire andMedievalItalian weavers, particularly inGenoa,Venice andLucca.[6] Dating from the 1460s the Waterford cloth-of-gold vestments are made from Italian silk woven in Florence. The panels were embroidered in Bruges which was the centre of the medieval embroidery industry. A similarcloth of silver was also made. It is still made inIndia and Europe today.[7]
King Charles III re-used theSupertunica made from cloth of gold at hiscoronation on 6 May 2023. The full-length, sleeved coat is an important historic textile from the royal collection, weighing around two kilograms. It has been worn at several previous coronations in the United Kingdom.[8]
Cloth of gold is not to be confused with variousgoldwork embroidery techniques that date back to antiquity, though the type of goldwork thread called "passing" is identical to the weft thread of cloth of gold.
Most modern metallic fabrics made in the West are known aslamé.
Cloth of gold is a familiar name occasionally applied to the venomousConus textile species ofcone shell.[9]
Tilsent is a luxurious silken cloth interwoven with flattened threads of gold or silver.[10]
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