The Stein Collection
Shoe
8th century (made)
8th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This shoe is made of wool, unidentified plant fibre, felt and animal hair. It was recovered from the fort site of Mazartagh which dates from the 5th to the 11th century AD.
The site is part of an area now referred to as the Silk Road, a series of overland trade routes that crossed Asia, from China to Europe. The most notable item traded was silk. Camels and horses were used as pack animals and merchants passed their goods from oasis to oasis. The Silk Road was also important for the exchange of ideas – while silk textiles travelled west from China, Buddhism entered China from India in this way.
These fragments 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 twentieth century. The textiles range in date from the second century BC to the twelfth century AD. Some are silk while others are made from the wool of a variety of different animals.
The site is part of an area now referred to as the Silk Road, a series of overland trade routes that crossed Asia, from China to Europe. The most notable item traded was silk. Camels and horses were used as pack animals and merchants passed their goods from oasis to oasis. The Silk Road was also important for the exchange of ideas – while silk textiles travelled west from China, Buddhism entered China from India in this way.
These fragments 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 twentieth century. The textiles range in date from the second century BC to the twelfth century AD. Some are silk while others are made from the wool of a variety of different animals.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Stein Collection (named collection) |
| Materials and techniques | Plain woven wool, unidentified plant fibre, felt and animal hair string, and stitching |
| Brief description | Shoe of wool, unidentified plant fibre, felt and animal hair |
| Physical description | Shoe consisting of an upper made of plain woven buff wool, lined with thick buff and brown felt and seamed up the toe. The sole is of interwoven unidentified plant fibre and animal hair string. The heel has been strengthened by an external patch of yellow felt. Shoe fastening is a draw-string round the opening |
| 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 shoe 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 felted fibre as coming from fine-woolled sheep and the woven upper from camel outer hair. |
| 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 shoe is made of wool, unidentified plant fibre, felt and animal hair. It was recovered from the fort site of Mazartagh which dates from the 5th to the 11th century AD. The site is part of an area now referred to as the Silk Road, a series of overland trade routes that crossed Asia, from China to Europe. The most notable item traded was silk. Camels and horses were used as pack animals and merchants passed their goods from oasis to oasis. The Silk Road was also important for the exchange of ideas – while silk textiles travelled west from China, Buddhism entered China from India in this way. These fragments 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 twentieth century. The textiles range in date from the second century BC to the twelfth century AD. Some are silk while others are made from the wool of a variety of different animals. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Other number | M.Tagh.a.0039 - Stein number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:STEIN.254 |
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| Record created | February 11, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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