SASSANIAN RIDING COSTUME BIBLIOGRAPHY
Patrikia Maria Agrissa Sgourina, OL (Linda M. Blowney)

Barber, Elizabeth Wayland; The Mummies of Ürümchi; W.W. Norton & Company; New York; 1999; plate 16.
This book has a great full color plate of the painting in Bezeklik of "Tokharian worthies", who are wearing a version of the riding coat, leggings, and belt.

Bazinet, Michael; "Coptic Dress in Egypt: The Social Life of Medieval Cloth"; Textiles in Daily Life; Proceedings of the Third Biennial Symposium of the Textile Society of America; 1992.
Article includes discussion of the "use of twining to weave the ends of additional heading cords into previously woven warp". See also Granger-Taylor, below.

Bellinger, A.R., Brown, F.E., Perkins, A., Welles, C.B., eds.; Excavations at Dura-Europos, Final Report VIII, Part I; Yale University Press; New Haven; 1956. (depictions in murals)
Reproductions of wall paintings from the Dura find, dated to 3rd century. Includes numerous depictions of soldiers on horseback and on foot, wearing characteristic riding coat (belted), full trousers tucked into short boots, and some capes flung over the shoulder.

Benazeth, Dominique; "Etude et conservation d'une serie de style Sassanide appartenant au Musee du Louvre"; La Conservation des Textiles Anciens; Journees d'Etudes de la SFIIC; Paris; 1994; pp. 195-206.
Description of restoration of Sassanian silks from Antinoe, including pieces of leggings and trimming pieces (in French).

Bivar, A.D.H.; "Details and 'Devices' from the Sassanian Sculptures"; Oriental Art; 1959; pp. 11-14.
Clear depictions of Sassanian sculptures, some showing headgear, hairstyles and jeweled collars of nobles in a king's court.

Burnham, Dorothy K.; Cut My Cote; Royal Ontario Museum; Toronto; pp. 9-12.
The bible of loom-width theory of pattern cut and fit. Line drawings and graphs of cutting patterns, especially useful for linen tunic construction and coptic tunic styles. Must read for any medieval re-creator.

Calament, Florence; "La collection de tissus coptes d'Antinoe: problemes de dispersion et exemple d'intervention"; La Conservation des Textiles Anciens; Journees d'Etudes de la SFIIC; Paris; 1994; pp. 207-225.
Very important article (in French) on the oval cloak, ,or chlamys, found at Antinoe. Photos of the cloak, contemporary pictorial depictions, and diagram of pattern.

Elsner, Hildegard; Vikinger Museum Hathabu: Schaufenster einer frühen Stadt; Wachholtz Verlag; 1989; p. 46.
I have used the line drawings of examples of viking age costume found on page 46 and have not yet translated the text. If you use this source, be sure to be able to back up the drawings.

Flury-Lemberg, Mechthild; Textile Conservation and Research; Abegg-Stifting Bern; Berlin; 1988; pp. 423-429/501 (Antinoe finds) and pp. 273-4/476 (Byzantine reliquary pouches).
Incredible! Great book on conservation of textiles from many different periods! Includes color photographs of the red Antinoe coat with close-ups of trimmings/edgings, as well as some examples of 9th and 10th-11th century Byzantine reliquary pouches.

Gayet, Albert; Catalogue des Ojbets Recueillis; Ernest Leroux; Paris; 1898.
Albert Gayet was the archeologist in charge of the Antinoe dig. His finds were displayed at the Musee Guimet and this is the catalog. In French, no drawings or photos (aside from the pamphlet owner's sketches in the margins of the copy I got my hands on). Hard to find, fairly obscure.

Geijer, Agnes; "An Iranian Riding Coat Reconstructed"; Bulletin de Liaison du Centre International d'Aetude des Textiles Anciens; Lyon; 1968; pp. 22-25.
Published account of a talk given by A. Geijer, this article gives a disturbing account of the treatment of the Antinoe finds. Unfortunately, cutting diagrams for the coat are mentioned as having been shown at the talk but are not reproduced in the Journal - AAARGGHH! This is THE article that really got me started on this subject - lots of questions, not enough answers.

Gervers, Veronika; "Medieval Garments in the Mediterranean World"; Cloth and Clothing in Medieval Europe; Heinemann Educational Books, Ltd.; London; 1983; pp. 279-316.
Another must-read for early medieval re-creators. Photo of Antinoe coat, before extensive conservation. Photo, line drawing and cutting diagram of Antinoe linen shirt. Explanation of loom-width patterning theory.

___"The Historical Components of Regional Costume in South-Eastern Europe"; Textile Museum Journal; 1980-1981; pp. 61-69.
Discussion of Byzantine/Coptic tunics, horsemen's tunics, Turkish jackets and their influence on Eastern European fashion.

Granger-Taylor, H.; "Weaving Clothes to Shape in the Ancient World: The Tunic and Toga of the Arringatore"; Textile History 13 (I); 1982; pp. 3-25.
This article is mostly about Roman togas; however, it includes some discussion of a method of finishing the curved edge of a circular or ½ circle cloak, whereby the warp threads are braided back to bind the unfinished fabric edge.

Hald, Margarethe; Ancient Danish Textiles from Bogs and Burials; National Museum of Denmark; 1980; pp. 328-335 (discussion of trouser and legging construction).
Mostly Scandinavian finds. However, section on sprang hair nets and on trousers/legging construction are extremely valuable to the subject at hand. Note connection to Sassanian fashion.

----"Ancient Textile Techniques in Egypt and Scandinavia"; Acta Archaeologica XVII; 1946; pp. 4-98.
Especially useful for showing connections between Egypt and Byzantium to Scandinavia. Discussion of the Antinoe linen tunic (and great photo of the tunic!), as well as sprang.

Heath, Ian; Armies of the Dark Ages 600-1066; Wargames Research Group; 1980; pp. 64-109.
Not a terribly scholarly book. Useful for a clear line drawing of a "7th century Scandinavian warrior" wearing a riding-coat style tunic (found on page 90). If you use this source, make sure you have something else to back it up.

Hopkins, Clark; The Discovery of Dura-Europos; Yale University Press; New Haven; 1979.
Basic background material on the Dura find and the history of the site, which was sacked by the Sassanians in the late 3rd century AD.

King, Donald; "Roman and Byzantine Dress in Egypt"; The Journal of the Costume Society, No. 30; The Costume Society; London; 1996; pp. 1-15.
A pleasant find, this article shows some extant examples of colored wool tunics in the coptic style (as opposed to the usual linen finds).

Kondakov, N.P.; "Les Costumes Orientaux a la Cour Byzantine"; Byzantion 1; 1924; pp. 7-49.
This is the article all other articles on the riding coat reference. In French, it is the most extensive look at the riding coat to date. I have a fairly poor translation currently, but I also have somebody working on a better one for me.

Martin, Maurice; "La laure de Deral Dika Antinoe"; Bibliotheque D'Etudes Coptes, T VIII; La Caire; 1971; pp. 41-43.
This little obscure volume gives some valuable information on the Antinoe physical site, and is especially useful for one reason - a line drawing of a wall painting showing a riding coat with a distinctive diagonal front closure.

Martiniani-Reber, Marielle; Textiles et Mode Sassanides; Musee du Louvre; 1997.
The catalogue of the Sassanian textile collection at the Louvre. Special thanks to Countess Marieke van de Dal for translating the chapter on trousers and leggings for me.

-----Soieries Sassanadies, Coptes et Byzantines V-XI Siecles; Lyon, Musee Historique des Tissus; 1986; pp. 1-21, 54-56.
Catalogue of Sassanian textiles at the Musee des Tissus in Lyons, France. They hold the Antinoe coat and very clear photos, including a close-up of the infamous trumpet sleeve, appear here.

Peck, Elsie Holmes; "The Representation of Costumes in the Reliefs of Taq-I-Bustan"; Artibus Asiae Vol. XXXI, 2/3; Institute of Fine Arts, New York University; pp. 101-124.
This is a very helpful article, with great illustrations not only of men's costume, but of women's as well (female court musicians!). Information on belts was especially useful.

Pfister, R.; "Le Role de L'Iran dans les Textiles D'Antinoe"; Ars Islamica XIII-XIV; 1948; pp. 46-74.
A more careful description of the textiles from Antinoe than Kondakov, and an equally important article. Pfister identifies the fabric of the riding coat as cashmere and as being manufactured in Iran (Sassanian empire) not Byzantine or Persian.

___ with Louisa Bellinger; Excavations at Dura Europos, Final Report IV, Part II - The Textiles; Yale University Press; New Haven; 1945.
Besides examining actual textiles finds, some discussion of costume in general (use the other final report from Dura, VII Part I, as a reference for the costume discussion).

Piltz, Elizabeth; "Middle Byzantine Court Costume"; Byzantine Court Culture from 829-1204; Harvard University Press; 1997; Washington, DC; pp. 39-51.
This article tackles the very messy subject of the 9th century Byzantine Book of Ceremonies. The terminology can be very confusing (the same garment might have different names at different ceremonious occasions), but translation of descriptions of the intrical part clothing takes in Byzantine culture and ceremony is fascinating.

Riboud, Krishna; "A Newly Excavated Caftan from the Northern Caucasus"; Textile Museum Journal Vol. 4.3; 1976; pp. 21-42.
Frustrating lack of photos, but important find of riding-coat type garment found in Russia. Includes reference to use of linen coats and fur trimmings and linings, as well as the extant example shown of a coat entirely of silk brocade.

Schoefer, Marie and Houpeaux, E. of the Musee Historique des Tissus, Lyon France; Private correspondence with the author; February 1999.

Tilke, Max; Costume Patterns and Designs; Rizzoli, New York, 1990 (reprint, first published in 1956); pp. 10-11 and corresponding plates.
While I started out suspicious of Tilke's drawings and diagrams, more research has proven them to be pretty on target! Clear, easy to understand, easy to find.

Widengren, Geo; "Some Remarks on Riding Costume and Articles of Dress Among Iranian Peoples in Antiquity"; Studia Ethnographica Upsaliensia II: 1956; pp. 228-276.
The author gets caught up in discussions on language that will make your teeth hurt, but there are great drawings of contemporary depictions and photos of some statuary that are extremely helpful. Ignore at least half of the verbage.