The Stein Collection
Textile
8th century (made)
8th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This bundle of textile and paper fragments was brought back from Central Asia by the explorer and archaeologist Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943). It was recovered from an area we now call the Silk Road. This series of overland trade routes crossed Asia from China to Europe. The most notable item traded was silk but the Silk Road was also important for the exchange of ideas. While silk textiles travelled west from China, Buddhism travelled east, entering China from India.
The V&A has around 700 ancient and medieval textiles recovered by Stein at the beginning of the 20th century. He made several expeditions to the chain of abandoned oasis settlements in the Silk Road region and each time brought back a wide variety of material.
The textiles range in date from the 2nd century BC to the 12th century AD. Some are silk while others are made from the wool of a variety of different animals. Most of the pieces are fragmentary, as here, and it is not easy to see what they would originally have been used for. Occasionally, whole items survive such as shoes, purses and religious banners.
The V&A has around 700 ancient and medieval textiles recovered by Stein at the beginning of the 20th century. He made several expeditions to the chain of abandoned oasis settlements in the Silk Road region and each time brought back a wide variety of material.
The textiles range in date from the 2nd century BC to the 12th century AD. Some are silk while others are made from the wool of a variety of different animals. Most of the pieces are fragmentary, as here, and it is not easy to see what they would originally have been used for. Occasionally, whole items survive such as shoes, purses and religious banners.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Stein Collection (named collection) |
| Materials and techniques | Plain woven silk, paper and split bamboo, silk thread, stitching and painting. |
| Brief description | Bundle of various textile- and paper fragments. |
| Physical description | Assorted pile of textile fragments, entangled threads and paper, including monochrome silk threads in red and yellow, monochrome plain weave cream unidentified fibre which is sewn over to form a purse-like shape with two strips of monochrome plain weave silk attached, one in purple and one in yellow showing Chinese characters. Pile also includes strip of monochrome plain weave blue silk and several pieces of paper each with Chinese characters, and the remains of a banner head. The triangular banner head consists of monochrome plain weave brown silk showing painted Buddha design and pieces of split bamboo with thread entwined. |
| 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 | Fragment has been separated from its Stein number. |
| 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. |
| Production | Has been housed with material from Miran Fort. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Association | |
| Summary | This bundle of textile and paper fragments was brought back from Central Asia by the explorer and archaeologist Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943). It was recovered from an area we now call the Silk Road. This series of overland trade routes crossed Asia from China to Europe. The most notable item traded was silk but the Silk Road was also important for the exchange of ideas. While silk textiles travelled west from China, Buddhism travelled east, entering China from India. The V&A has around 700 ancient and medieval textiles recovered by Stein at the beginning of the 20th century. He made several expeditions to the chain of abandoned oasis settlements in the Silk Road region and each time brought back a wide variety of material. The textiles range in date from the 2nd century BC to the 12th century AD. Some are silk while others are made from the wool of a variety of different animals. Most of the pieces are fragmentary, as here, and it is not easy to see what they would originally have been used for. Occasionally, whole items survive such as shoes, purses and religious banners. |
| Bibliographic reference | Stein, Aurel, Serindia: Detailed Report of Exploration in Central Asia and Westernmost China Carried Out and Described Under the Orders of H.M Indian Government , 5 vols (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1921), vol. I. |
| Other number | Unknown - Stein number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:STEIN.493 |
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| Record created | December 18, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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