Central Asian Ikats from the Rau Collection

Exhibition now closed

The vibrancy and inventiveness of ikat design, and the clues these textiles provide about everyday life, are central to the appeal of Central Asian ikats. These fabrics are at once full of urban energy, and steeped in the long history of textile making in this region.

Ikat is a style of weaving that uses a resist dyeing process similar to tie-dye on either the warp or weft before the threads are woven to create a pattern or design.

In the 19th century Central Asia experienced a period of economic and cultural growth, and the golden age of ikat making was closely bound up with this new dynamism. Centres across Central Asia, such as Samarkand and Bukhara in modern-day Uzbekistan, and Kabul and Kunduz in Afghanistan, grew in size and prosperity. A new market for luxury ikat textiles emerged alongside this expansion. Eventually, whole neighbourhoods came to house the dyers, weavers, binders and designers whose collaborative activity went into the making of ikat fabrics. These fabrics had two roles in Central Asian urban society.  They were used in clothing as markers of status, or as hangings within the home.

The textiles shown here are mostly on loan from the Rau collection. Pip Rau is a leading collector of Central Asian and Afghan textiles and jewellery. Hers is the most important collection of this material in the UK and one of the best in the world. This collection gives us a view of the extraordinary range of Central Asian ikats made in the 19th century. Some pieces from the V&A’s collections are also on display.

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