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Abstract

The Sogdians, an Iranian-speaking people that inhabited the territories of present-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, are known to some as traders along the Silk Roads active during the first millennium CE. They reached the courts of Justinian in the West and the Tang emperors in the East through their mobility and diplomatic skills. Lesser known are the rich pictorial worlds they have created on wall paintings that decorated nearly every temple, palace, and residency in their home cities and settlements and other artistic media such as wood carvings, metalwork, and terracotta. The question of whether Sogdians were also responsible for creating complex woven silk fabrics decorated with animals inside roundels is still debated. However, their numerous presence in the paintings testifies to their great appreciation by Sogdian elites. The talk will focus on patterned silk fabrics represented in the paintings from key Sogdian sites and situate them within the broader history of material, technological, and artistic exchange along the Silk Roads.

The Medieval Seminar Series is sponsored by the World Archaeology Section at the UCL Institute of Archaeology and the British Museum.Ìý

• The programme for the 2024-25ÌýInstitute of Archaeology/British Museum Medieval Seminar Series is available here»

Seminar Series Convenors:

• Sue Brunning (British Museum)
• Andrew Reynolds (Institute of Archaeology)