Not currently on display at the V&A

The Stein Collection

Fragment
400-1000 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This rectangular twill fragment is made of red wool. It is unclear what this textile would have been used for, although it is likely to have had a utilitarian function. It was recovered from the fort site of Mazartagh which dates from the 5th to the 11th century.

The site is part 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
TitleThe Stein Collection (named collection)
Materials and techniques
Wool twill and stitching
Brief description
Red wool twill with a joining seam
Physical description
Rectangular piece of monochrome twill weave, red, wool. Joining seam along one edge in brown thread.
Dimensions
  • Length: 26.2cm
  • Width: 24.5cm
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 fragment is a metal-rimmed rectangular label showing Stein number possibly in Stein's handwriting or that of his assistant, Miss F M G Lorimer.
Dr. Michael Ryder has identified the wool used as from generalised-medium sheep.
Historical context
The fort of Mazartagh lies in the western half of Taklamakan Desert, north of Khotan. Among the ruins, Stein found huge numbers of Tibetan documents on wood and paper devoted to military and administrative matters. Many of these dated from the eight century AD, when Tibetan armies conquered the region and occupied the fort. He also found string sandals, shoes made of felt, remnants of wool clothing and nets for fishing. Similar utilitarian textiles had appeared at the Dunhuang Limes, Miran Fort and other military sites. The V&A holds, on loan, several textile fragments from Mazartagh, including woven cotton, hemp string, netting, quilted wool and pieces of shoes.
Association
Summary
This rectangular twill fragment is made of red wool. It is unclear what this textile would have been used for, although it is likely to have had a utilitarian function. It was recovered from the fort site of Mazartagh which dates from the 5th to the 11th century.

The site is part 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
  • Ryder, Michael. 'Ancient fibres from the Silk Route in Central Asia', Textiles Magazine. Manchester: Textile Institute, no 3, 1999.
  • 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. III, p. 1294.
Other number
M.Tagh.b.004 - Stein number
Collection
Accession number
LOAN:STEIN.277

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Record createdJanuary 5, 2004
Record URL
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