The Stein Collection
Yarn
8th century (made)
8th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
These six strands of unequally dyed red woollen yarn are knotted around the remains of a small metal ring. It is unclear what these fragments would have been used for, although it is likely they had some utilitarian function. They were recovered from the site of Miran Fort on the eastern edge of the Taklamakan desert. Material discovered at this site was found mainly among the remains of a fort held by the Tibetans during their domination of the southern Taklamakan in the 8th century.
The site is part of an area of Central Asia we now call the Silk Road, a series of overland trade routes that crossed Asia from China to Europe. The Silk Road was also important for the exchange of ideas. While silk textiles travelled west from China, Buddhism entered China from India along this route.
These textiles were brought back from Central Asia by the explorer and archaeologist Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943). The Victoria and Albert Museum has around 700 ancient and medieval textiles recovered by Stein at the beginning of the 20th century. Some are silk while others are made from the wool of a variety of animals.
The site is part of an area of Central Asia we now call the Silk Road, a series of overland trade routes that crossed Asia from China to Europe. The Silk Road was also important for the exchange of ideas. While silk textiles travelled west from China, Buddhism entered China from India along this route.
These textiles were brought back from Central Asia by the explorer and archaeologist Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943). The Victoria and Albert Museum has around 700 ancient and medieval textiles recovered by Stein at the beginning of the 20th century. Some are silk while others are made from the wool of a variety of animals.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Stein Collection (named collection) |
| Materials and techniques | Spun wool |
| Brief description | Strands of red woollen yarn |
| Physical description | Six strands of unequally dyed red woollen yarn, knotted around the remains of a small metal ring. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Stein Textile Loan Collection. On loan from the Government of India and the Archaeological Survey of India. Copyright: Government of India |
| Object history | Attached to bundle of yarn is a circular metal-rimmed label showing Stein number possibly in Stein's handwriting or that of his assistant, Miss F M G Lorimer. Michael Ryder has identified the wool as semi-fine sheep. |
| Historical context | The Miran fort lies midway along southern Silk Road, at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains. When Tibetan troops occupied the area in the late eight century AD, they built the fort to guard one of many routes through which they moved into Central Asia. In 1907, Stein excavated rubbish heaps at the fort and found wood slips, dating from the eight to the ninth century AD, which provided early examples of Tibetan writing. He also found fragments of wool rugs in bright colours and pieces of silk. The V&A holds a large number of textiles from the Miran Fort on loan, including spun wool, pattern and plain woven silk and wool, woven and spun hemp, woven horsehair, cords and painted silk. |
| Association | |
| Summary | These six strands of unequally dyed red woollen yarn are knotted around the remains of a small metal ring. It is unclear what these fragments would have been used for, although it is likely they had some utilitarian function. They were recovered from the site of Miran Fort on the eastern edge of the Taklamakan desert. Material discovered at this site was found mainly among the remains of a fort held by the Tibetans during their domination of the southern Taklamakan in the 8th century. The site is part of an area of Central Asia we now call the Silk Road, a series of overland trade routes that crossed Asia from China to Europe. The Silk Road was also important for the exchange of ideas. While silk textiles travelled west from China, Buddhism entered China from India along this route. These textiles were brought back from Central Asia by the explorer and archaeologist Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943). The Victoria and Albert Museum has around 700 ancient and medieval textiles recovered by Stein at the beginning of the 20th century. Some are silk while others are made from the wool of a variety of animals. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Other number | M.I.xxi.007 - Stein number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:STEIN.264 |
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| Record created | December 15, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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