[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
The Encyclop\u00e9die ou Dictionnaire raisonn\u00e9 des sciences, des arts et des m\u00e9tiers<\/em>, created by numerous intellectuals including Diderot and D’Alembert, was the first universal collection of knowledge, the first true encyclopedia. This unprecedented 18th-century work aimed to gather and disseminate knowledge across all fields, from the sciences to the arts and crafts. Among its subjects was weaving, making it a valuable historical record of silk fabric production in the pre-industrial modern era.<\/p>\n By examining the illustrated plates that the Encyclop\u00e9die devotes to textile manufacturing, we find the very same types of looms that we still use today for the manual production of our velvets<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Encyclop\u00e9die is often thought of as merely a collection of written texts, but it actually consists of two parts: text volumes and volumes of plates, technical illustrations.<\/p>\n Volume 11 contains detailed drawings of processes, tools, and craft techniques. In particular, it includes a series of illustrations dedicated to trimmings and silk processing, with numbered plates (I, XXIII, XXVI, XCII, and CIV).<\/p>\n These drawings are important because they depict looms, tools, and techniques that can still be seen today in our workshop at 1320 Santa Croce, Venice.<\/p>\n Plate I shows a warping machine used to prepare the warp before placing it on the loom. It is a rotating warping machine, like the one in our weaving mill. The thread is wound around pegs in a spiral path to reach the necessary length for the fabric. This process is illustrated in Plate XXIII, which shows a woman warping the thread on the machine.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.luigi-bevilacqua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Tavola-I.jpg” alt=”Plate I | Tessiture Bevilacqua” title_text=”Tavola-I | Tessiture Bevilacqua” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” max_width=”400px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.luigi-bevilacqua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Tavola-XXIII.jpg” alt=”Plate XXIII | Tessiture Bevilacqua” title_text=”Tavola-XXIII | Tessiture Bevilacqua” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” max_width=”400px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.luigi-bevilacqua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Orditoio.jpg” alt=”Warper | Tessiture Bevilacqua” title_text=”Orditoio | Tessiture Bevilacqua” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” max_width=”400px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Plate XXVI depicts a cantra<\/em>, a machine used in the preparatory phase of weaving. It helps transfer the warp threads to the loom. The spools are arranged in an orderly way, allowing the thread to unroll without tangles or interruptions, thus ensuring a smooth and continuous flow.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.luigi-bevilacqua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Tavola-XXVI.jpg” alt=”Plate XXVI | Tessiture Bevilacqua” title_text=”Tavola-XXVI | Tessiture Bevilacqua” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” max_width=”400px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.luigi-bevilacqua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Cantra.jpg” alt=”Creel | Tessiture Bevilacqua” title_text=”Cantra | Tessiture Bevilacqua” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” max_width=”500px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Plate CIV takes us to the heart of the production process. The images show various tools used to work with velvet: a round iron rod for creating curly velvet, an iron rod with a central groove for cutting chiseled velvet, and parts of the tr\u00e9vette<\/em>, which is the blade used to cut the pile of the velvet. The lower section of the plate includes a three-dimensional cross-section of cut velvet.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.luigi-bevilacqua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Tavola-CIV.jpg” alt=”Plate CIV | Tessiture Bevilacqua” title_text=”Tavola-CIV | Tessiture Bevilacqua” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” max_width=”400px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.luigi-bevilacqua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Tagliare-velluto.jpg” alt=”Cutting velvet | Tessiture Bevilacqua” title_text=”Tagliare velluto | Tessiture Bevilacqua” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” max_width=”500px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Plate XCII shows the most fascinating item in the collection: a side cross-section of a loom, fully detailed. The drawing captures the machine just before the threads are tensioned, that is, before the warp is pulled tight to begin weaving.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.luigi-bevilacqua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Tavola-XCII.jpg” alt=”Plate XCII | Tessiture Bevilacqua” title_text=”Tavola XCII | Tessiture Bevilacqua” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” max_width=”500px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.luigi-bevilacqua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Telaio.jpg” alt=”Loom | Tessiture Bevilacqua” title_text=”Telaio | Tessiture Bevilacqua” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” max_width=”500px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n For Tessitura Luigi Bevilacqua, Diderot and D’Alembert’s Encyclop\u00e9die<\/em><\/a> serves as a vital testimony, offering in-depth and valuable insight into the machines, tools, and techniques of 18th-century art of weaving, particularly silk weaving.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s a connection that bridges the 18th century and the present: in its illustrated plates, we see the same looms still in operation in our workshop today, working just as they did back then, preserving a centuries-old tradition.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.luigi-bevilacqua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Enciclopedia.jpg” alt=”Enciclopedia | Tessiture Bevilacqua” title_text=”Enciclopedia | Tessiture Bevilacqua” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” max_width=”500px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text disabled_on=”off|off|off” admin_label=”Cover photo credit: Marta Formentello per Venezia da Vivere” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Explore how the 18th-century Encyclop\u00e9die by Diderot and D\u2019Alembert connects to today’s craftsmanship in silk fabric production.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":65315,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" Opera di un numero imprecisato di intellettuali, di cui se ne ricordano soprattutto due, Diderot e D\u2019Alembert, l\u2019Encyclop\u00e9die ou Dictionnaire raisonn\u00e9 des sciences, des arts et des m\u00e9tiers<\/em> \u00e8 la prima raccolta universale del sapere, la prima enciclopedia. Un lavoro senza precedenti, nato nel XVIII secolo, che cerca di coprire tutte le scienze, le arti e i mestieri. Compresa la tessitura. Ed \u00e8 una testimonianza autentica sulla produzione di tessuti in seta nell\u2019era moderna e prima dell\u2019avvento dell\u2019industrializzazione.<\/p> Ma per la Tessiture Luigi Bevilacqua questa Enciclopedia rappresenta anche la prova dell\u2019originalit\u00e0 dei propri telai.<\/p> Se guardate le immagini alla fine della pagina, capirete perch\u00e9 l\u2019Encyclop\u00e9die <\/em>\u00e8 un testo cos\u00ec importante per noi. Le foto, infatti, sono quelle delle nostre sale al 1320 di Santa Croce, a Venezia. I disegni, invece, sono le tavole I, XXIII, XXVI, XCII e CIV delle sezioni dedicate alla passamaneria e alla lavorazione della seta, entrambe nel volume 11 dell\u2019opera.<\/p> La tavola I mostra un orditoio<\/strong>, ossia la macchina necessaria per preparare l\u2019ordito prima di poterlo montare sul telaio. Si tratta di un orditoio girevole, come quello della nostra tessitura, sul quale il filo viene fissato a dei pioli e disposto a spirale per ottenere la lunghezza necessaria a realizzare il tessuto. Ovvero l\u2019operazione rappresentata nella tavola XXIII, dove una donna sta, appunto, ordendo il filo sulla macchina.<\/p> Sulla tavola XXVI, invece, si trova una cantra<\/strong>: questo macchinario viene usato prima del telaio, perch\u00e9 serve per caricare i fili su quest\u2019ultimo. Come? Grazie ai rocchetti, sistemati in modo tale da poter srotolare facilmente il filo, senza ingarbugliarlo.<\/p> Nella tavola CIV siamo gi\u00e0 all\u2019opera: le 7 immagini che vedete in alto altro non sono che i fili del velluto tagliato e i pezzi della trevette<\/em>, la lama usata per tagliare il pelo del velluto. Ma il disegno vi d\u00e0 anche un\u2019idea in 3D di una sezione di velluto tagliato.<\/p> A questo punto resta soltanto una tavola, la XCII. Abbiamo lasciato il pezzo pi\u00f9 interessante della collezione per ultimo, perch\u00e9 questa tavola raffigura la sezione laterale di un telaio<\/strong>, che vedete in tutta la sua altezza, rappresentato nel momento prima di essere tirato.<\/p> Insomma, l\u2019Encyclop\u00e9die<\/a> <\/em>di Diderot e D\u2019Alembert ci mostra quali erano le macchine<\/a> effettivamente usate nel Settecento per tessere. E che noi utilizziamo ancora oggi.<\/p> [gallery type=\"slideshow\" size=\"large\" ids=\"6256,6244,6264,6268,6240,6252,6248,6260,6272\"]<\/p> \u00a0<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[87],"class_list":["post-6238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","tag-looms"],"yoast_head":"\nHistoric Looms Used in Silk Fabric Production<\/h2>\n
Plates I and XXIII – The Warping Machine and How It Works<\/h3>\n
Plate XXVI – The Cantra: A Preparatory Tool<\/h3>\n
Plate CIV – Tools for Cutting Velvet<\/h3>\n
Plate XCII \u2013 A Cross-Section of the Loom<\/h3>\n
Cover Photo Credit: Filippo Guerra - Studio Otium<\/pre>\n
Telai antichi per la produzione di tessuti in seta<\/h2>
Tavole I e\u00a0XXIII: l'orditoio e il suo funzionamento<\/h3>
Tavola\u00a0XXVI: la cantra<\/h3>
Tavola\u00a0CIV: smantellare una trevette<\/h3>
Tavola\u00a0XCII: il telaio, perch\u00e9 il meglio arriva alla fine<\/h3>