Textiles in the Neo-Assyrian Empire

460 Pages·2018·4.26 MB·English

by  Salvatore Gaspa

Salvatore Gaspa
Textiles in the Neo-Assyrian Empire
Studies in Ancient
Near Eastern Records
General Editor:
Gonzalo Rubio
Editors:
Nicole Brisch, Petra Goedegebuure, Markus Hilgert,
Amélie Kuhrt, Peter Machinist, Piotr Michalowski,
Cécile Michel, Beate Pongratz-Leisten, D. T. Potts,
Kim Ryholt
Volume 19
Salvatore Gaspa
Textiles in the
Neo-Assyrian Empire
A Study of Terminology
ISBN 978-1-5015-1074-8
e-ISBN (PDF) 978-1-5015-0305-4
e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-1-5015-0269-9
ISSN 2161-4415
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A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress.
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The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie;
detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de.
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for Silvana
S’òmine ordit e sa fortuna tèssit
(Man warps and Fortune weaves)
Sardinian saying

Acknowledgements
The book originates from the research work conducted at the University of Co-
penhagen in the years 2013‒2015, when I was honoured to work as a Marie
Curie Intra-European Fellow and an Associate Professor at the Danish National
Research Foundation’s Centre for Textile Research, Saxo Institute,University of
Copenhagen.
TheresearchprojectonthetextilesintheNeo-AssyrianEmpirewasfunded
bytheEuropeanCommissionwithaMarieCurieIntra-EuropeanFellowship2013‒
2015(MarieCurieAction,7thFrameworkProgramme—PEOPLE—2012—IEF,Proj-
ectASTEXno.326501).TheResearchExecutiveAgencyoftheEuropeanCommis-
sion,the Danish National Research Foundation and the Universityof Copenha-
gen are acknowledged for their support. Without this financial and
organizational support that gave me the opportunity to devote full time in re-
search,this project and the resulting publicationwould have never been possi-
ble.
The project has been conducted by the author within the framework of the
Research Programme Textile Economies in the Mediterranean Area (TEMA), di-
rectedbyProf.Marie-LouiseNosch(TheDanishNationalResearchFoundation’s
Centre for Textile Research, Saxo Institute, University of Copenhagen). It also
represents a continuation of my previous studies on the lexicon of the material
cultureoftheNeo-AssyrianEmpire.Iwouldliketoexpressmysincerethanksto
Prof.Marie-LouiseNoschforthesupportgiventomeduringmyresearchperiod
at the Centre for Textile Research.
This work has also greatly benefitted from a mobility grant offered by the
Danish National Research Foundation (Danmarks Grundforskningsfond) within
theframeworkofthe2014MobilityAgreementbetweentheDanishNationalRe-
search Foundation (DNRF 64) and the Centre National de la Recherche Scienti-
fique(CNRS)foraresearchstayattheCNRS—UMR7041ResearchUnit—Maison
de l’Archéologie etde l’Ethnologie “René Ginouvès”, Histoireet Archéologie de
l’OrientCunéiforme, Nanterre,and attheInstitutduProche-OrientAncien,Col-
lègedeFrance,Paris,inJune-July2014.MywarmestthanksgotoProf.CécileMi-
chel for that opportunity and for the occasions we had to discuss about textile
matters.
IamverygratefulfortheopportunitytostudytheNeo-Assyrianadministra-
tive texts at the Department of Middle East of the British Museum during a re-
search visit in January 2014. I am indebted with Dr. Jonathan Taylor and Dr.
Nigel Tallis for the assistance in that occasion.The British Museum is also ac-
knowledged for the permission to include photographs of the Neo-Assyrian ad-
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501503054-001
VIII Acknowledgements
ministrative materials of the Kuyunjik Collection in this book. My warmest
thanks alsogo to Dr.Helen Gries (Vorderasiatisches Museum in Berlin) for hav-
ingsharedwithmepiecesofevidenceofthetextile-relatedmaterialsdiscovered
bytheDeutscheOrient-GesellschaftinAssurandforhavingprovidedmefurther
literature on rosette decorations.
I am also deeply grateful to the anonymous referees for their comments,
criticism and suggestions. It goes without saying that for the ideas expressed
in the book I bear sole responsibility.
Iwouldalsoliketoexpressmy warmest thankstoProf.GonzaloRubioand
the Publisher for having accepted this work in the prestigious series Studies in
Ancient Near Eastern Records, and to the staff of the Publishing house for
their professionalism in all the stages of the publication process.
Therearevariouspeople,inmyhomecountryandabroad,whoindifferent
wayshelpedmetocontinueworkinginresearchintheseyears.Somehelpedme
inpracticalmatters,othersthroughencouragement,allofthemwiththeirfriend-
ship.ButitisonepersoninparticularthatIwouldliketoprofoundlythankfor
thepersonal support,encouragement,adviceandpatience.Itistoherthat this
book is lovinglydedicated as a small token of gratitude.
Contents
Abbreviations XIII
 Introduction 1
 The management of textiles in the Neo-Assyrian Empire: sourcesand
administrative practices 10
. The sources 10
. Administrative practices concerning textiles 15
 Textile production and consumption in the Neo-Assyrian
Empire 40
. The textile industry in the Neo-Assyrian Empire 40
.. The fibres 40
.. Fibre processing 54
.. Spinning 58
.. Dyeing 61
.. Weaving and knotting 67
.. Bleaching and fulling 92
.. Stitching and sewing 97
. Textile consumption within the palace, the government, and
private sectors 100
 Textiles in the trade of the Neo-Assyrian Empire 106
. Assyrian trade in the 1st-millennium BCcontext 106
. Textile trade and Assyrian merchants 110
. Textiles from trade and their distribution in the Neo-Assyrian
Empire 135
 Garments for kings, queens, soldiers and gods 145
. Royal garments 145
. Golden decorations for Assyrian and Babylonian textiles in the 1st
millennium BC 157
. The findings in the Nimrud tombs and their significance for the
study of the Assyrian textiles 164
. Uniforms and other textiles for the royal army 182
X Contents
. Dressing the gods: textiles in religious contexts 186
.. Textiles fordivine beings in Assyria and Babylonia: statues of
gods and other divine entities 190
... The wardrobe of Ištar and of other goddesses 190
... The wardrobe of male deities 200
... Dressing Mischwesen and non-anthropomorphic figures in 1st-mil-
lennium BC Babylonia 214
.. Textiles forcultic performers 218
.. Textiles for the interior of sanctuaries 222
 Neo-Assyrian textiles: the lexicon 236
. The Neo-Assyrian linguistic context 236
. Producing and defining garments in Assyria 240
. Designations for garments 244
.. Assyrian designations belonging to the common Akkadian textile
vocabulary 244
.. Names of garments in 1st-millennium BC Akkadian dialects (Neo-
Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian) 265
.. Designations for Neo-Assyrian garments of West Semitic
origin 276
.. Other Neo-Assyrian terms for items of clothing: designations of
unclear meaning and of non-Semitic origin 280
.. Designations for parts of garments 291
. Head-dresses 306
. Textiles of different use 318
.. Bandages and other wrapping cloths 318
.. Blankets, bedspreads, bedcovers, rugs, mats, carpets and
curtains 320
.. Tablecloths and hand-towels 331
.. Tents 334
.. Other textile items 337
 Conclusions 342
Appendix A: Tables 357
Appendix B: Neo-Assyrian administrative texts dealing with textiles 365
Glossary 411
 Textiles and textile-related items 411