epinetra

Scope note: Refers to ancient Greek woolworker's thigh- and knee-guards. They take the form of a thick terracotta half-cylinder open at one end and closed at the other, the closed end corresponding to the knee. Their precise use is uncertain, but at some point in the woolmaking process after carding and perhaps before spinning, the fibers were rubbed across the top of an epinetron, which was roughened by an incised pattern. The knee end was occasionally decorated with a moldmade female head, appropriate since weaving and woolworking were done by women. Some of the figured and more elaborately painted epinetra were probably given as wedding presents to young women. Although the term onos is often used synonymously with epinetron, an onos was the woolworker's footrest.

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