Fabled beings from central Asia discovered

From April 29 to November 18, 2001, the Abegg-Stiftung of Riggisberg near Berne will be displaying the special "Fabulous Creatures from the Desert Sands” exhibition – a unique presentation of 2000-year-old textiles from central Asia. These precious materials from North-Western China stem from a Nomadic people about whom no other information exists. They were discovered in the sand of the Taklamakan Desert in the area known as Xinjiang Uighur Autonomus Region today, one of the world’s driest areas.

The textiles found are mainly fragments and parts of skirts. They are up to 1.40 m long and tightly pleated with a circumference of up to 15 metres around the hem. These dimensions indicate that – because of the extravagant use of material – the textiles were of predominantly social significance to emphasise, for example, the wealth and social status of the wearer or the people, while practical everyday use was less significant.

The question of how these woollen garments with their unique colouring and shape were produced locally continues to astonish and mystify experts and lay people alike. The motives represented seem most closely linked to the Iranian cultural circle, while there are no motives at all of animal fights that are typical of the Asian steppe. It can be assumed that the oasis settlement Shanpula – in the vicinity of which the finds were made – formed a kind of melting pot of various cultures on the trade route between China and the Eastern Mediterranean, which allowed exchanges between various cultural circles. It is just as astonishing that the fabrics were not discovered in noble tombs, but in the burial site of an obviously poor rural community where almost no metal objects such as tools or jewellery were found.

The items of clothing and fragments that were discovered have stags, reindeer, camels, horses and riders, birds and fabled beings woven into them, complemented by trees, mountains and flowers. The ornamental and abstract figures on the materials evoke modern design and contemporary art. The finds are incredibly bright and colourful and appear to have hardly faded over 2000 years. The reason for this is that the precious materials were buried in the dry sand of the desert, which provides almost ideal natural conditions for preservation.

The Abegg-Stiftung, which specialises in the collection and preservation of antique textiles, examined the extraordinary textiles last year in collaboration with the Xinjiang Institute for Cultural History and Archaeology and the Xinjiang Museum and compiled a comprehensive publication. After extensive restoration work in its own research institute, the Museum of the Abegg-Stiftung in Riggisberg is now presenting the fabrics and fragments of its own collection to the general public for the first time in an exhibition from April 29 to November 4, 2001. Thanks to the wealth of experience and the close collaboration between Switzerland and China, it has been possible not only to salvage the extremely rare finds from the central Asian deserts, but also to prepare them so skilfully that they will be preserved for generations to come as a document of this important historical period.



The Abegg-Stiftung

The Abegg-Stiftung is an art-historical institute that was founded in 1961 with the aim of collecting, researching and preserving old fabrics and textiles. Every summer, the museum presents a special exhibition dedicated to a particular field of textile art. The Foundation also possesses a first-class collection of applied art and a specialist library containing about 50,000 publications, both of which are accessible to the general public.

The couple that set up the Abegg-Stiftung, one of the most important centres for textile art, has collected works of European, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and central Asian origins from antiquity to the early 19th century. From the field of antique textiles, the silk routes of the early Middle Ages and the European Middle Ages, the collection includes works that are unique worldwide with regard to quality and significance. Sculptures, paintings, goldsmith’s art, ceramics, bronze and glass are also integrated into the collection, the emphasis always being on their connection to textiles. The selection of these works of art documents the mutual influence of the various styles of art and places the textiles and fabrics in a historical and artistic context.

As well as these publicly accessible areas, the Abegg-Stiftung also has a textile preservation workshop and provides specialist training in this area at the level of professional higher education. The Foundation regularly carries out preservation work for third parties, but only if it is of scientific interest and does not involve the pursuit of commercial goals.

Through its activities, the Abegg-Stiftung is contributing to the promotion of scientific exchange and opening the often little-known area of textile art and applied art in general to a wider general public.


Fabulous Creatures from the Desert Sands: April 29 to November 18, 2001
Abegg-Stiftung, CH-3132 Riggisberg, daily 14.00 to 17.30 h


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