J.CAC VOLUME 29 (2004)
Technical Analysis of Textile Remains from a 17th-Century English Plantation at Ferryland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
A wide range of textiles was recovered from the archaeological excavation of a privy and elsewhere inside the palisade of Sir George Calvert’s first English colony, established in 1621 in what is now Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. These textile fragments were compared to those in museum collections in England and Canada. Many of the samples with higher thread counts (over 15 per cm either in the warp or weft) are finely woven silk and worsted wool representing the “New Draperies” of the period. These fine fabrics, at times coloured with expensive dyestuffs and including fancy trims, constituted high fashion in the 17th century. The moist and almost anaerobic environment of the privy allowed for the excellent preservation of protein-based fibres. Because these small finds were deemed useful for research, a minimal intervention approach to treatment was taken. A number of silk fabrics survived burial, including satin, damask, ribbon and velvet, but the majority of the surviving collection is wool. Dyestuffs have been identified on 26 of 59 samples analysed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and include madder (alizarin and purpurin), cochineal (carminic acid), logwood and weld (luteolin). Tannin components (ellagic acid and gallic acid) were detected in some samples. Scanning electron microscopy coupled with X-ray energy spectrometry (SEM/XES) was undertaken; the presence of chromium, aluminum and iron could not positively be attributed to their use as mordants. The identification of the “New Draperies” and expensive dyestuffs such as cochineal confirms the presence of a gentry class among the 17th-century English colonists in Ferryland.
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