Silk damask, 200-800 AD. Museum no. LOAN:STEIN.321 (Ast.x.I.05)

Silk damask
China
200-800 AD
Damask weave in silk
Length 25.1 cm x Width 8.3 cm
Museum no. LOAN:STEIN.321 (Ast.x.I.05)
On loan from Government of India and the Archaeological Survey of India

This modern-looking damask shows leaves within laurels and was discovered in the burial grounds of Astana. Stein states that the fragment came from a garment and it is possible that the yellow silk damask could have trimmed some sort of clothing. The fully clothed bodies buried at Astana were shrouded in textiles and also accompanied by model garments made of paper or silk, placed alongside them, with other funerary gifts.