Embroidered Roman Dalmaticus
I made the dalmaticus out of raw silk. Silk was a available in Rome and worn by those of wealth. originally, I had made the dalmaticus out of red linen. Unfortunately the linen portion was damaged from wear and so I had to transfer the embroidery to another garment. The hems are fringed rather than hemmed in the Roman fashion.
Dalmatica were generally woven in total as a garment not as a length of fabric and then cut into shape. Generally the designs were woven directly into the garment. I chose embroidery to create the design elements as it is a reasonable facisimile in look.
The embroidery is completed in wool in a simple satin stitch. Wool was commonly used in Rome at the time. I chose simple colors as most Roman extent tapestries from 300 to 600 AD, used one or two colors. Red and black are colors that were used in those tapestries.
The design/layout of the dalmaticus was taken from a Roman mosaic 2nd century AD. I took the serpents which form the central design from a Pompeian frescoe in the bath house--an exact date when the fresco was painted is unknown, however as the city was destroyed in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79, we know that it was earlier than this. Serpants were considered a symbol of good luck in Roman mythology. The side medallions with the sea monsters were from a sculpture. The original sculpture had a nymph riding atop one of the sea monsters. The sculpture was completed in the 1st century AD. I adapted a border from around another Pompeiian frescoe to make the long trim.
Pompeii: A Guide to the Ancient City, Salvatore Nappo, Barnes and Noble Inc., 1998
Ancient Rome, Timothy R. Roberts, Micheal Freedman Publishing Group, 2000
The Roman Heritage: Textiles from Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean 300 to 600 AD, James Trilling, The Textile Museum, 1987
A Brief Description of Persian Embroidery, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1936