Did you know that there's an #Italian woman that may embellish #history a tiny bit to preserve an #ancient #art?
Chiara Vigo is a #craft woman who works with byssus - the beard hairs of a #mediterranean clam.
The resulting fiber is spun into a thin but warm golden #fabric.
The clam used is Pinna nobilis & unfortunately, its harvest is now illegal. Vigo claims to be the last person able to work with the fillament, & that she swore a "xuramento da auga" (water oath) to do so without profit.
Vigo says she harvest Pinna nobilis without harming the clam - a claim disputed by the curator of the Muschelseide ("clam silk", in Eng. ususally sea silk) Museum in Basel, Switzerland.
Curator Maeder has found at least 2 more women in #Sardinia who work with donated sea silk.
#history #secret