Clothing

This item of clothing is made of silk, which has a fascinating history and relevance to the end of the Middle Ages. Notably, in the 15th century, Italy became a center for silk production, as techniques for acquiring and creating objects with silk came from the East into Europe (Watt 2003). As a result, the country became a center for activity involving this material, exporting it to the rest of Europe, which was economically important for the region. Thus, silk became increasingly normal in European upper-class homes, particularly in Italy, as is the case with this silk apparel (Watt 2003). However, as is widely known, silk production is generally not considered to have originated in Europe. Instead, this material came from the East, including lands as far away as China, and in the countries between China and Europe, through the Silk Road. As a result, this object very particularly symbolizes the movement of ideas from China to Europe, to a point where the Silk Road now represents a broader range of cultural exchanges that occurred between Europe, Asia, and the intervening lands.