black silk ribbon

China
Source: Staack, Thies (2023), ‘Bindings of Ancient Chinese Bamboo and Wood Scrolls’, in Jörg Quenzer (ed.), Exploring Written Artefacts: Objects, Methods, and Concepts (Studies in Manuscript Cultures, 25), Berlin: De Gruyter, 39–54.
Recipe Details

Ingredients

silk, hemp

Preparation Steps

Binding strings were typically made of hemp, ramie, or silk. While most were untreated, some were dyed black or red (p. 50). Black silk ribbons were found at Xinyang, while red strings are associated with the reign of Wang Mang (p. 50).

Original Recipe Text

Binding strings were typically made of hemp, ramie, or silk. While most were untreated, some were dyed black or red (p. 50). Black silk ribbons were found at Xinyang, while red strings are associated with the reign of Wang Mang (p. 50).

Evidence

"some of the Warring States period (453–221 BCE) bamboo slips excavated at Xinyang seem to have been bound with a 4 mm wide black silk ribbon. Red binding strings were supposedly used for wood scrolls from the reign of Wang Mang (r. 9–23 CE)."

Remarks

Binding strings were measured by length in zhang or weight in jin (p. 48). Hemp was the most inexpensive and commonly preserved in the arid northwest, while silk was costlier and found in waterlogged tombs in central China (p. 49-50).

Scientific Analysis
Analytical Techniques
visual inspection
Certainty Level
Probable
Instrumentally Verified
Not Verified
Metadata
Material Type
pigment
ColorBlack
RegionChina
Approx. Year-550
Source Information
AuthorStaack, Thies
CollectionXinyang
Language
N/A
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