Link of the day is to an article by Marianne Vedeler of the University of Oslo. Originally published in 2011 in Viking, th journal of the Norwegian Archealogical Society. (In German). From the Silk road to Oseberg Gabriel Gustafson and his crew found a large number of textiles in the Oseberg mound. Among them at least sixteen different fabrics of silk. The majority of the silks from Oseberg were probably produced in Central Asia. Some of the woven patterns are recognizable as typical of Sasanian silks, like rows of hearts, stars, trees and pearl details. However, motifs similar to the Sasanian were picked up and used in a widespread area after the fall of theSassanian Empire in mid 7th century. A very special fragment found in Oseberg showed a duck bearing a pearl necklace in its beak. Parallels to this motif can be found in Sogdian art. The citizens of Sogdiana, in today’s Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, played a signifcant role as merchants along the Silk Road and also as producers of silk fabrics. The cutting and seaming of the Oseberg fabrics suggest that these have been used as trimming. Comparison with similar silk fabrics elsewhere as well as the cutting and the variety of the material suggests that these silk strips could have been traded along the Silk Road.
Posted on: Sun, 15 Sep 2013 15:16:34 +0000
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