December 2006/January 2007
Contents

Front cover: Possibly one of the most beautiful and unusual photographs to adorn World Leather’s front cover, the fabric is an example of the use of metallic threads, made of gilt leather strips wound around a textile core—in this case of white linen—on a silk weave. The textile, dating from the 13th or 14th century, comes from the Middle East, and illustrates hares in roundels.
This was one of the items on display in the 2006 exhibition entitled ‘Woven Gold, Metal threads in textile art’, at the museum of the Abegg Foundation, Riggisberg, Switzerland. Founded in 1961 by Werner and Margaret Abegg, the Foundation collects, restores and undertakes research into historic textiles from early times to around 1800, primarily of European and Mediterranean origins.
Photo ©Abegg-Stiftung, CH-3132 Riggisberg
(Christoph von Viràg).