Description:
Wooden hatchel with iron spikes and a wooden lid to cover spikes. Hatchels, also known as hetchels, were used to comb flax fibers in preparation for spinning and weaving. The name comes from a late 15th-century English word (hackle) meaning to prick or pierce. The long iron nails or teeth aligned the flax fibers, separating out the shorter (tow) ones from the longer fibers desired for spinning into yarn for weaving linen. As many as five hatchels of increasingly finely spaced teeth could be used to refine the flax before spinning. A pair of holes allowed the hatchel to be anchored to a surface for use. The survival of the box designed to cover the nails is rare. Another hatchel with its cover is in the collection of The Winterthur Museum with a history of ownership to the Dominy family of Eat Hampton, New York. All nails on this example are present and straight. The board is two-ply. This hatchel is likely medium grade in its fineness. No initials.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+76.196 |
