The Secret of Silk



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	Silk, one of the world’s most luxurious fibers, has very humble beginnings, being the filament secreted by the silkworm while weaving its cocoon. Silk culture began as early as the third millennium BC in China, but for centuries, the source of the fiber was a secret, and only the nobility was allowed to wear it. Not until the Han dynasty (206BC- 220 AD) was the export of silk allowed. In 552 AD, two Persian monks carried silkworm eggs and mulberry seeds from China to Constantinople hidden in the hollows of their bamboo canes. There, other peoples learned silk culture, and when the moors invaded Europe, they introduced sericulture to Spain and Italy. Today, most of the world’s silk is still produced in Asia. Mingei now has a collection of extraordinary scarves and shawls from Thailand, woven under women’s houses in northeast Thailand, and dyed in luscious shades by women in Chiang Mai. Treat yourself! ¨