From China to Palmyra : the value of silk
2013, 52, Tom 52, Nr A
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Abstract
starting from the early 20th c., the excavations conducted in the western Necropolis of Palmyra brought to light an abundant group of textiles of diverse qualities. Early finds have been published by rudolf Pfister (1934; 1937; 1940) and his identification of silk fabrics found in the Palmyrenetombsas chinesecaused along and lively discussion (see raschkE 1978: 728, note 323 for further bibliography). Newer finds, together with a new research on material discussed by Pfister have been published by andreas schmidt-colinet, annemarie stauffer and khaled al as‘ad in 2000, in the volume Die Textilien aus Palmyra, containing acompletecatalogue of thefabrics found in Palmyra with a wide commentary on weaving techniques, decoration and pigment analyses. among over 500 pieces of textiles collected from seven tower-tombs in the western Necropolis of Palmyra, close to 100 are made of silk. although we are not able to determine the origin of all monochrome tabbies – they may have been imported from china as well as produced of imported yarn in the local workshops, and some of them may have also been of indian origin, but a small group can beidentified as definitely chinesetextiles – han damasks and jin brocades. these finds suggest quite a large scale import from china. according to the chronology of the tombs and stylistic features in the fabrics themselves, they have to be interpreted as produced during the reign of the chinese han dynasty (206 Bc – aD 220) (schMiDt- -coLiNEt, stauffEr, aL as‘aD 2000; stauffEr 1995).
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