The
History of Leather
The history of leather is a
long and lengthy one. You will find leather
artifacts in museums that date back around twelve
thousand years. The working of leather
is one of the oldest crafts known to mankind and is
traced back to the Stone Age. A good example of this
type of work was determined to have originated about
3,500 years ago in ancient Egypt which was in the
form of a Gazelle skin, cut in a criss- cross
pattern and produced a lattice like effect. At first
hard leather was thought to be unworkable until
later on when it was found to be pliable when soaked
in water. This allowed the leather to be molded into
buckets, bottles, boxes, drinking vessels, quivers
and armor. In turn they were decorated by embossing
a design onto them while the leather was wet.
Another way of decorating leather was to "tool" the
skin which was achieved by drawing a pattern onto
the surface of the leather, then impressing it with
a heated brass tool.
Over the years leather products have always been
thought of as being of high value. In ancient Rome
for instance, leather sandals were worn by the upper
classes and leather was so highly prized that Caesar
decreed that coins were to be made of leather. In
China, in the second century B.C., it was common to
find a widespread use of leather currency. Not only
was it common during medieval times to see the use
of leather as the basis for currency, but even
during WWI, leather coins were used in Germany and
Austria.
At first leather
objects were mainly functional, but soon people
learned the decorative potential of leather. The
Romans’ sexual free nature soon realized that the
essence of leather was in its erotic attributes and
therefore played a big part in their exotic escapades.
Thanks to its supple nature, products made from leather
comprise function with remarkable beauty and
sensuality. The timeless desire of leather is due to
its warm color, luxurious texture, aroma, and
durability. Interestingly enough, no two skins of leather are
ever exactly alike. This is mainly because the
grain, texture, and color, of leather are so
different by nature, The world has a love affair for leather.
Fine leather continues to be influenced by its
appeal as a status symbol as well as its value.
As we move into the new millennium, leather has
transcended all boundaries from mainstream appeal to
hardcore fetish.
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