Gauze

MFA Acc. #: 38.1756

Description

A thin, loosely woven fabric with a self-finished edge. Gauze fabric is thought to have originated in the mid-16th century in Gaza, Palestine. It is typically made from cotton, wool, silk, or synthetic fibers with a loose, open weave. Cotton gauze is often used for surgical dressings and cheesecloth. The term gauze has also been applied to any open weave material such as a sheet of wire screening or plastic mesh.

See also leno weave.

Gauze facing layer

Synonyms and Related Terms

gauze weave; gasa (Esp.); gaas (Ned);

Additional Images

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Sources Checked for Data in Record

• Rosalie Rosso King, Textile Identification, Conservation, and Preservation, Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, NJ, 1985

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997 Comment: originated 1561

• Fairchild's Dictionary of Textiles, Phyllis G.Tortora, Robert S. Merkel (eds.), Fairchild Publications, New York City, 7th edition, 1996

• Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "Gauze." Encyclopædia Britannica. 10 Aug. 2004 .

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• Website address 1 Comment: www.fabrics.net

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000