1997
Along the Silk Road
Weavings as a Mirror to Sassanid Art



Silk fabric with pairs of birds in medallions

Sogdia, 7th century
Inv. No. 4900b



Silk fabric with humped oxen

Sogdia, 7th century
The fabric shows big medallions typical of this style in which confronting pairs of animals are portrayed.
Inv. No. 4867



Silk fabric with deer

Sogdia, 7th century
This textile impresses the observer with its strong, bright colours. It incorporates smaller medallions with leaf borders.
Inv. No. 4901



Saddle cover and blanket

East Iran or Sogdia, 6th to 7th century. The saddle cover is made of a strong silk fabric with an astonishing scale of eight different colours. Pairs of pheasants have nimbuses behind their heads and ruler’s ribbons on their necks.
Inv. No. 4866, 4870


Cloth with ducks

Central Asia and China, 6th to 7th century. This embroidery is an expressive example of the trade relations along the Silk Route. The basic fabric is a Chinese silk. The embroidery was clearly produced under the Persian-Sasanid influence.
Inv. No. 4902



Silk fabric with striding tigers

Central Asia or West China, 7th to 8th centuries. An exceptional feature of this fabric are the rows of carnivorous animals, moving alternately to the left and right, without the habitual medallion structure.
Inv. No. 4865


Silk fabric with lions

Central Asia or West China, 7th to 8th century. This silk has the biggest medallions with a diameter of around 75 cm. The illustration shows a section of the monumental lions.
Inv. No. 4864 a-d