Spinning wheels

Set of three wooden spinning wheels. Each consists of a treadle-driven wheel turned. The wheel turns a horizontal spindle onto which the yarn is wound as it is twisted and spun from the carded linen fibre or wool.

From the sixteenth century on, treadle-driven wheels began to be used in the home, although they never fully supplanted hand-driven wheels. Spinning linen was women's work, and spinning wheels often formed part of the dowry, hence the fine craftsmanship found on some.

One of the wheels comes from Azkain (Lapurdi) and the others are of unknown origin. They belong to a collection acquired by the Provincial Government from Goruzaleok, a group working to preserve Basque fabric-related heritage.

Bibliography:

Goñi, Karmele. Tejidos vascos = Euskal ehunak. In: Artesanía vasca = Euskal eskulangintza. Vitoria-Gasteiz: Eusko Jaurlaritza = Gobierno Vasco, 1985. 205-210.

Isazelaia, Jaione. Linua, ehuna, artilea. Bergara: Bergarako Udala, 1997.191