Loom

Machine driven by a single person using treadles to weave the thread (in the Basque Country traditionally linen or wool). The warp, i.e., the vertical threads, are arranged on frames called combs. The pedals drive the combs so that at any given time half of the threads are above and the other half beneath. The shuttle, a small frame with a needle onto which the weft is threaded, goes back and forward horizontally across the loom between the combs. The treadle is used to change the position of the combes, so that the shuttle travels across the other side, weaving the weft between the threads on the warp.

The Industrial Revolution began over 250 years ago in Britain with spinning and weaving. However, artisan looms continued to be used in the Basque Country until the 1970s.

This piece comes from Navarre and was acquired by the Provincial Government of Gipuzkoa from Goruzaleok, a group working to preserve Basque fabric-related heritage.

Bibliography:

Garmendia Larrañaga, Juan. El tejedor o "auntzalea". In: Artisautza: artikuluak = Artesanía: artículos. Donostia-San Sebastián: Eusko Ikaskuntza, 2007. 111-125.

http://hedatuz.euskomedia.org/4152/

Inventory number: GFA-041003-001