Theatrical Robe
18th century
Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911)
silk brocade, embroidered satin,
velvet, glass, gilt
© Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond

The production of silk began in China almost 6,000 years ago, when the queen Hsi Ling Shi discovered that a certain caterpillar's cocoon was created from a single strand of shiny thread. The caterpillars were cultivated, the cocoons harvested, and the thread retrieved to be woven into cloth. When soaked in warm water, the cocoon's thread, which measures up to 3000 feet, loosens and must be skillfully unwound. Woven together, the threads create a soft, shiny cloth - silk.

China monopolized the production and trade of silk for 3,000 years, keeping the secrets of silk making safely in the country. The Silk Road - the trade route from China to Rome - was a dangerous, yet highly traveled path for trading merchants. Silk was in high demand in the Roman Empire, until Roman emperors discovered that the magnitude of their empire's wealth was being traded to China. Later, the Roman emperor Trajan attempted to invade China to control silk production and trade. Not only was the invasion unsuccessful, but soldiers returned to Rome with a plague which subsequently spread over western Europe. At that time, the internal instability in China increased the danger of traveling along the Silk Road, which led many merchants in the direction of India. In 552 A.D., Roman emperor Justinian I instructed two Christian monks to steal silk-moth eggs from India, where silk production had begun. The eggs were hidden in their walking canes and successfully transported to Rome. Soon, a silk industry thrived there (Breyer, 18).