Bissye — Sea Silk and Byssus Fibre | bissye.com
Egyptian byssus was linen, historical sea silk came from pen-shell beards, the modern method trims 10 centimetres, and living shells have been protected since 1992.
The first step is a naming confusion. In ancient Egyptian burial customs byssus was used to wrap mummies, but that was linen and not sea silk — a flax fibre under the same word, centuries before pen-shell cloth entered the record.
The second step is the material itself. Sea silk fibre was historically spun and woven into cloth from the beards of pen shells, with beards of Pinna nobilis reaching 20 centimetres as the raw stock.
The third step is the modern trimming method. It takes 10 centimetres of beard and is claimed not to harm the shells, leaving the rest of the 20 centimetre beard in place.
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The fourth step is the yield arithmetic. Elisabeth Vigo says she harvests 600 grams a year, while intact beards of fifty shells produce 30 grams — a fraction of a gram per shell.
The fifth step is the rule. Since 1992 it has been illegal to harm or harvest living Pinna nobilis, which removes the historical source of the fibre from ordinary collection.
The outcome follows: the sea silk industry has almost disappeared and byssus is difficult to come by.
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