ABSTRACT
The study of Byzantine textiles is hampered by the scarcity of dated or datable material, ignorance of the original context for most examples, and our still only partial understanding of weaving techniques, in particular how and if Byzantine techniques differed from those of its neighbours. Anna Muthesius' monograph on Byzantine silks has introduced precision about weaving types, and has provided the first summary catalogue of the material;! I will therefore focus on silk rather than wool or linen here. Despite Muthesius' major contribution, however, no one would claim that all questions about Byzantine textile production have been answered.
