{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O86885"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O86885/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AF9159/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AF9159/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006AF9159","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O86885/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O86885","accessionNumber":"LOAN:STEIN.547","objectType":"Textile","titles":[{"title":"The Stein Collection","type":"named collection"}],"summaryDescription":"These textile fragments are of  plain woven, dark green/grey silk painted in black, red, brown, white and silver with an unidentified design. They were brought back from central Asia by the explorer and archaeologist Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943). The textiles were recovered from the site of Astana, an ancient burial ground in Turpan in north-west China with tombs dating from the 3rd to the 8th centuries.   \r\n  \r\nThe site is part of an area of central Asia now called the Silk Road. This term was first used by the German scholar Ferdinand von Ricthofen (1833-1905) and refers to 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 the 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.\r\n\r\nThe Victoria and Albert Museum has around 700 ancient and medieval textiles recovered by Stein at the beginning of the 20th century. Stein 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 1st 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 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.","physicalDescription":"Several fragments of plain weave, dark green/grey silk painted in black, red, brown, white and silver showing unidentified design.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"silk (textile)","id":"AAT243428"}],"techniques":[{"text":"plain weave","id":"x37295"},{"text":"painting","id":"x30598"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Painted plain woven silk","categories":[{"text":"Archaeology","id":"THES48874"},{"text":"Textiles","id":"THES48885"}],"styles":[{"text":"Central Asian","id":"AAT18281"}],"collectionCode":{"text":"EAS","id":"THES48596"},"images":["2006AF9159"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES301576"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Textile fragments","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Astana","id":"x37483"},"association":{"text":"excavated","id":"AAT53702"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"200 - 800","earliest":"0200-01-01","latest":"0800-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Stein Textile Loan Collection. On loan from the Government of India and the Archaeological Survey of India. Copyright: Government of India","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Length","value":"13.8","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"largest piece","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"6.3","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"largest piece","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Stein states that fragments once made up a frill and belong to what he termed a face-cloth (face cover) Ast.i.5.03.","historicalContext":"Astana lies south of Turfan on the northern Silk Road. It once served as a burial site for Kharakhoja, an important trade centre during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). Here Stein unearthed a stunning array of burial objects, including: clay figurines, textiles, gold and silver coins, and thousand-year-old mortuary cakes, preserved in the dry heat of the desert. Ancient contracts for labour, land and grain purchases excavated at Astana and Kharakhoja show that carpets, rolls of silk, cotton and linen were often used as money. The V&A holds several silk fragments, dating from the third to the sixth century. These include plain and pattern-woven pieces, some of which have been resist-dyed, painted and embroidered. These figured silks incorporate decorative themes from Central Asia, Persia and China; reflecting the rich mingling of cultures which occurred along the Silk Road.","briefDescription":"Painted plain woven silk, excavated from Astana Cemetery, 200-800","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Stein, Aurel, Sir. <u>Innermost Asia; Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia, Kan-Su and Eastern Iran</u>, 4 vols (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1928), vol. II, p. 683."}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[{"text":"Stein, Marc Aurel (Sir)","id":"N2850"}],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["LOAN:STEIN.547"],"accessionNumberNum":"547","accessionNumberPrefix":"LOAN:STEIN","accessionYear":null,"otherNumbers":[{"type":{"text":"Stein number","id":"THES50251"},"number":"Ast.i.5.05"}],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-07","recordCreationDate":"2003-12-08","availableToBook":false}}