The Stein Collection
Textile
700-1000 (made)
700-1000 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This bundle of various wool fragments was recovered from the site of Farhadbegyailaki, which dates from the 8th to the 10th century AD. It is unclear what these textiles would have been used for, although it is likely to have had an utilitarian function.
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 unidentified plant fibre, silk and wool fragments, felting |
| Brief description | Bundle of plain woven fragments of yellow, red and cream wool and unidentified fibre. |
| Physical description | Several fragments of various colours and techniques including plain woven cream wool, cream wool felt attached to plain woven pale red wool, plain woven dark red wool and one piece of polychrome plain woven unidentified plant fibre in yellow with remains of three blue stripes along one edge. Above pieces have been stitched together with Stein number label. One piece of plain woven yellow silk is separate from the bundle. |
| Dimensions |
|
| 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 rectangular tag label showing Stein number and the date '2.3.08' possibly in Stein's handwriting or that of his assistant, Miss F M G Lorimer. |
| Historical context | Farhad-beg-yailaki lies on the southern Silk Road, in what was once the Buddhist Kingdom of Khotan. Here Stein explored the remains of Buddhist shrines, which he dated from the fourth to the sixth centuries AD. Among these he found Buddha statues wearing robes with bright floral designs. At their feet were piles of fabrics offered in worship. Artefacts from the site were evidence of contacts with many cultures. Murals depicted two figures important in Indian Buddhist mythology: Hariti, protector of children, and Avalokitesvara, god of mercy and compassion, draped in cloths with Sassanian motfis. Stein also found clay seal impressions and pottery fragments bearing classical imagery, such as a winged horse and a figure of the Trojan prince Ganymede. The V&A holds, on loan, from Farhad-beg-yailaki, fragments of woven plant fibre, silk and wool. |
| Association | |
| Summary | This bundle of various wool fragments was recovered from the site of Farhadbegyailaki, which dates from the 8th to the 10th century AD. It is unclear what these textiles would have been used for, although it is likely to have had an utilitarian function. 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 |
|
| Other number | F.I.009.a-c - Stein number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:STEIN.110 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | February 2, 2004 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
