Ikat length
- Place of origin:
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
- Materials and Techniques:
Silk and cotton warp ikat
- Museum number:
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Central Asian ikat fabrics were woven in long lengths like this example and were then used to make larger textiles of one of two types. They were either made into clothing or enlarged and used as hangings around the home. Ikats were high status items, often made under the patronage of the courts. The complex and highly skilled method of production – a process of resist dyeing the silk threads before weaving – meant that ikats were labour-intensive and expensive to produce. For this reason ikat clothing was often reserved for special occasions such as weddings and funerals, and was also given by members of the court as ‘robes of honour’ (khilat) to thank or honour high-ranking guests.
This piece includes a hamsa motif repeated along both sides. Hamsa, literally means ‘five’ in Arabic, and is also referred to as the hand of Fatima, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. The symbol represents the protective hand of God in both Jewish and Islamic iconography and was popularly used as an amulet. In a textile such as this, it simply has a positive association.
Physical description
Narrow length of ikat fabric. The pattern consists of a central column of pink, purple and yellow heart shapes with pink and purple hamsa shapes down both sides.
Place of Origin
Central Asia (made)
Date
before 1875 (made)
Artist/maker
Unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques
Silk and cotton warp ikat
Dimensions
Length: 396.5 cm, Width: 29 cm
Object history note
The earliest dated Central Asian ikats in the UK are from the Shaw collection at the Ashmolean Museum, which are known to date from before 1868. The V&A’s collection of lengths of ikat fabrics came into the collection in 1880 from the India Office. Documentation handed over with them record that they were purchased on two separate occasions, the first group in Kabul in 1870 and the second (including this piece) in Yarkand (modern-day Shache in China) in April 1875. We can therefore date these textiles to prior to these acquisition years.
Historical context note
The ‘golden age’ of nineteenth century Central Asian ikats is closely bound up with the economic and cultural dynamism of the cities which produced it – such as Samarkand and Bukhara, in modern-day Uzbekistan, and Kabul and Kunduz in Afghanistan. Large neighbourhoods existed to house the dyers, weavers, binders and designers whose collaborative activity went into the making of ikat fabrics.
Central Asian ikat fabrics were woven in long lengths like this example and were then used to make larger textiles of one of two types. They were either made into clothing or enlarged and used as hangings around the home. Ikats were high status items, often made under the patronage of the courts. The complex and highly skilled method of production – a process of resist dyeing the silk threads before weaving – meant that ikats were labour-intensive and expensive to produce. For this reason ikat clothing was often reserved for special occasions such as weddings and funerals, and was also given by members of the court as ‘robes of honour’ (khilat) to thank or honour high-ranking guests.
Descriptive line
Narrow length of ikat fabric with a pattern of pink, purple and yellow heart shapes and pink and purple hamsas.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Clark, Ruby Central Asian Ikats, V&A Publications, London, 2007. 96 p. : ill. (chiefly col.) ISBN: 9781851775255 (pbk.) 1851775250 (pbk.) p. 87
Exhibition History
Central Asian Ikats from the Rau Collection (Victoria and Albert Museum 05/11/2007-30/03/2008)
Labels and date
Ikat length with heart shapes and hamsa design on white background
Acquired Yarkand, 1875
Silk and cotton
Museum no. 2150A (IS)
The hamsa, meaning ‘five’ in Arabic, is also referred to as the hand of Fatima, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. The symbol represents the protective hand of God in both Jewish and Islamic iconography and was popularly used as an amulet. In a textile it simply has a positive association. [05/11/2007 to 30/03/2008]
Production Note
Acquired in Yarkand (modern-day Shache in China) in 1875
Techniques
Resist-dyeing; Ikat
Subjects depicted
Hearts (motifs); Hamsa
Categories
Textiles
Collection code
T&F
