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Not currently on display at the V&A

The Stein Collection

Fragment
8th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This piece consists of three fragments of plain woven red wool stitched together with buff-coloured thread. It is unclear what it would have been used for, although it probably had a practical rather than purely decorative function. It was recovered from the site of Miran Fort on the eastern verge of the Taklamakan desert. Here archaeologists discovered material in the remains of a fort held by the Tibetans during their domination of the southern Taklamakan in the 8th century AD.

The site is part of an area of Central Asia 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 explorer and archaeologist Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943) brought this piece of fibre back from Central Asia. The V&A has around 700 ancient and medieval textiles recovered by Stein at the beginning of the 20th century. Some are silk while others, like this piece, are made from the wool of a variety of different animals.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Stein Collection (named collection)
Materials and techniques
Plain woven wool
Brief description
Fragment of plain woven red wool
Physical description
One piece consisting of three fragments of monochrome plain weave red wool stitched together with buff coloured thread.
Dimensions
  • Length: 19cm
  • Width: 13cm
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 fragments is a circular tag 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 used for warp as semi-fine sheep wool.
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
This piece consists of three fragments of plain woven red wool stitched together with buff-coloured thread. It is unclear what it would have been used for, although it probably had a practical rather than purely decorative function. It was recovered from the site of Miran Fort on the eastern verge of the Taklamakan desert. Here archaeologists discovered material in the remains of a fort held by the Tibetans during their domination of the southern Taklamakan in the 8th century AD.

The site is part of an area of Central Asia 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 explorer and archaeologist Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943) brought this piece of fibre back from Central Asia. The V&A has around 700 ancient and medieval textiles recovered by Stein at the beginning of the 20th century. Some are silk while others, like this piece, are made from the wool of a variety of different 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: Clarendon Press, 1921), vol. I, p.482.
Other number
M.I.xx-xxi.003 - Stein number
Collection
Accession number
LOAN:STEIN.262

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Record createdJanuary 5, 2004
Record URL
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