Felt: Techniques, Archaeological Evidence and Representations
Le feutre : techniques, attestations archéologiques et représentations
Abstract
For Berthold Laufer, felt textiles made from agglomerated fibres are older than fabrics produced by interlacing threads on a loom. Functional and decorative garments made of wool felt have been unearthed in Scythian kurgans (Iron Age) in the Altai Mountains, at Pazyryk (Siberia, Russia). Thanks to the cold, anaerobic environment, these items have been extremely well preserved, both in terms of their overall shape and their colours, as exemplified by the four famous wool felt swans stuffed with reindeer wool.
Announcement
The first MOIRES study day, entitled « Felt : Techniques, Archaeological Evidence and Representations » and organised by Émeline Retournard, Nicolas Delferrière and Laure Meunier, will take place online on 9 December 2026.
Argument
According to the Dictionnaire des textiles (Baum and Boyeldieu 2006, p. 254), felt is ‘a dense, compact tangle of natural (wool) or synthetic fibres, produced by felting[1] or needle-punching, taking the form of a sheet’. For the International Centre for the Study of Ancient Textiles (CIETA), it is a “fabric made of strands of wool or hair that have been carded and tightly bonded together” (Valansot and Guelton 2020, p. 19). Other types of fibres, such as plant fibres[2], and hair (attested archaeologically[3] and ethnologically[4]), may supplement these definitions. For Berthold Laufer, felt textiles made from agglomerated fibres are older than fabrics produced by interlacing threads on a loom (Laufer 1930, p. 1). Functional and decorative garments made of wool felt have been unearthed in Scythian kurgans (Iron Age) in the Altai Mountains, at Pazyryk (Siberia, Russia). Thanks to the cold, anaerobic environment, these items have been extremely well preserved, both in terms of their overall shape and their colours (Burkett 1999, p. 9-10), as exemplified by the four famous wool felt swans stuffed with reindeer wool. Similarly, favourable conditions have allowed for the preservation of felt in a variety of colours in the Bronze Age burial sites of the Taklamakan Desert (China ; Debraine-Francfort, Idriss 2001).
This is why this study day aims to reflect on the definition of felt, and to explore the identification of the materials used and the objects produced through various manufacturing processes.
The MOIRES association is organising its first (online) study day dedicated to this specific and little-known textile material. The aim of this academic event is to approach this theme from a diachronic and geographically broad perspective, drawing on a range of disciplines : archaeology, ethnology, art history, history, anthropology, chemistry, design…
Several areas of research have been identified :
- Definition and materials : how is felt defined, and what materials are used ?
- Techniques : what are the different processes involved (beaten fibres, foot-tamped or needle-punched, etc.) and when were they used ?
- Archaeological, iconographic and ethnographic evidence : what archaeological and iconographic evidence attests to the use of felt ? What are the relevant contexts and geographical areas ?
- Uses and functions : for what purposes is felt used ? Does this technique have one or more specific functions ? In cases where felt and woven fabric are used together, why is felt chosen and used ? What technical properties does it offer that woven fabric does not ?
The study day will also provide an opportunity to present new innovations in the field of felt, the results of experimental archaeology and any unidentified issues.
Submission guidelines
Proposals for 20–30-minute papers in French or English should be sent to moires.association@gmail.com by 1st August 2026. Selected speakers will be promptly notified of the decisions of the scientific and organising committees.
Scientific Committee
- Catherine Breniquet (Professeure émérite d’archéologie et histoire de l’art antiques, Université Clermont Auvergne, UR 1001 CHEC, France)
- Elsa Desplanques (Docteure en archéologie des textiles, chercheuse associée à l’UMR 8068 TEMPS)
- Elizabeth Dospel Williams (Penny Vinik Chair, Department of Fashion, Textiles and Jewelry, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA)
- Audrey Gouy (Professeure d’archéologie et histoire de l’art antiques, Université de Lille, UMR 8164 HALMA, France)
- Louise Quillien (Chargée de recherche CNRS, Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne, UMR 7071 ARSCAN, France)
Organising committee
- Émeline Retournard (Docteure en archéologie des textiles, chercheuse associée à l’UR 1001 CHEC)
- Nicolas Delferrière (Attaché de conservation du patrimoine, Chargé de la documentation scientifique des collections archéologiques, Musée Bargoin, Clermont Auvergne Métropole)
- Laure Meunier (Doctorante en histoire et archéologie des textiles / Université Grenoble Alpes, EA 7471 LUHCIE/ UMR 5189 HISOMA)
References
Baum M., Boyeldieu C. (2006) ‒ Le dictionnaire des textiles, Lille, Les Éditions du Paillié, 669 p.
Burkett M. (1999) [1979] ‒ The Art of The Felt Maker, Reprinted edition, Kendal, Titus Wilson & Son, 111 p.
Debaine-Francfort C., Idriss A. dir. (2001) ‒ Keriya, mémoires d’un fleuve. Archéologie et civilisation des oasis du Taklamakan [exposition, Paris, Fondation Électricité de France-Espace Electra, 14 février-mai 2001], Suilly-la-Tour, Éditions Findakly (Patrimoines d’Orient), 245 p.
Laufer B. (1930) ‒ “The Early History of Felt”, American Anthropologist, 32, 1, p. 1‑18.
Valansot O., Guelton M.-H. (2020) ‒ Vocabulaire technique français, Lyon, CIETA, 54 p.
Vierck S. (1998) ‒ “Die Textil- und Lederfunde”, in C. Dahm, U. Lobbedey, et G. Weisgerber (eds), Der Altenberg : Bergwerk und Siedlung aus dem 13. Jahrhundert im Siegerland. Band 2 : Die Funde, Bonn, Habelt, p. 113‑157.
[1] ‘The process of removing animal fibres, resulting in a tangle or mass, which is then subjected to the effects of moisture, heat and mechanical movement’ (Baum and Boyeldieu, 2006, p. 254).
[2] Notable examples from the Republic of the Congo (Mbuti people) and Tonga are held in the collections of the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac in Paris. These include textiles with the following inventories : 71.1990.0.45 X (Republic of the Congo) and 71.1974.146.44 (Tonga, Polynesia). Further information can be found at : https://collections.quaibranly.fr/.
[3] The remains of 13th century felt hair have been discovered at the Altenberg mining site in Siegerland, Germany (Vierck 1998, p. 131).
[4] Consider, for instance, the capes worn by the Yi people of Yunnan, China (see, for example, inv. no. 70.2011.6.2 at the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac and inv.no. 2019.1.33 at the Musée d’Art Roger Quilliot, Clermont Auvergne Métropole).
Event attendance modalities
Full online event
Attached files
Keywords
- anthropologie, anthropology, antiquité, antiquity, archaeology, archéologie archéologie, époque contemporaine, époque moderne, experimental archaeology, fashion, felt, feutre, fibres, histoire, history, middle ages, mode, modern times, moyen âge
Contact(s)
- Émeline Retournard
courriel : moires [dot] association [at] gmail [dot] com
Reference Urls
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Felt: Techniques, Archaeological Evidence and Representations », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, https://doi.org/10.58079/16ga3
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