Drap d'argent
Drap d'Argent (German: silver piece ) referred to a completely silver cloth , often decorated with flower and tendril patterns. Numerous silver threads were woven into it. It was a very expensive piece and was paid for by weight. It found its main distribution during the Baroque , when it was worn a lot by women, but also by men. It was also used for other purposes. So the ceremonial coffin of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm was covered with it.
As fashion changed, the need for such extravagant fabrics also disappeared. At the end of the 19th century the term was used for silk scarves with patterns made of silver threads. The material remained a synonym for valuable clothing.
The first stanza from the poem "The story of Goliath and David put into rhyme" by Matthias Claudius :
Was once a giant Goliath
Gar a dangerous man!
He had wefts on his hat
With a clunk on it,
And a skirt by Drap d'argent
And everything so advenant.
literature
- Ludwig Julius Friedrich Höpfner, German Encyclopedia , Volume 7, p. 621, digitized