Coat,

late 19th century

On the ancient trade networks known collectively as the Silk Road, silk robes were exchanged as diplomatic gifts, donated to religious institutions, and displayed as prestige goods. They were also worn by the elite, particularly in the Chinese capital of Chang’an during the Tang dynasty (618–907). The tradition of robemaking persisted in Central Asia. This nineteenth-century silk robe from Bukhara, Uzbekistan, resembles, in shape, medieval robes from the same region. However, it also displays significant innovations: while the weft consists of white cotton, the warp is silk made with the ikat technique, a method of resist-dyeing that originated in Indonesia. The Islamicization of Central Asia in the ninth century resulted in a prohibition against wearing pure silk that directly touches the body. This might explain why the robe’s weave was half cotton, and why it has cotton lining on the sides and the hem.

Xin Wen, Assistant Professor, Department of East Asian Studies, Princeton University