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When silk was gold : Central Asian and Chinese textiles / James C.Y. Watt, Anne E. Wardwell ; with an essay by Morris Rossabi.

by Watt, James C. Y.

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New York : Metropolitan Museum of Art in cooperation with the Cleveland Museum of Art : Distributed by H.N. Abrams, c1997.

Silk -- China -- Exhibitions.

Silk -- Asia, Central -- Exhibitions.

Textile fabrics -- China -- Exhibitions.

Textile fabrics -- Asia, Central -- Exhibitions.

Embroidery -- China -- Exhibitions.

Embroidery -- Asia, Central -- Exhibitions.

Electronic Resource

http://www.metmuseum.org/research/metpublications/When_Silk_Was_Gold_Central_Asian_and_Chinese_Textiles

Electronic Resource

https://archive.org/details/WhenSilkWasGoldCentralAsianChineseTextile

0870998277 (paperback)

9780870998270 (paperback)

0810965135 (Abrams)

9780810965133 (Abrams)

x, 238 pages : illustrations (some color), maps ; 31 cm

The Silk Trade in China and Central Asia / Morris Rossabi. Map of the Tang Dynasty and the Silk Roads, ca. 750. Map of the Northern Song, the Liao, and Their Neighbors. Map of the Southern Song, the Jin, and Their Neighbors. Map of the Mongol Empire -- 1. Early Exchanges: Silks from the 8th through the 11th Century -- 2. Kesi: Silk Tapestry -- 3. Brocades of the Jin and Mongol Periods -- 4. Luxury-Silk Weaving under the Mongols -- 5. Embroideries -- Glossary: Weaving Terms -- Glossary: Embroidery Stitches -- Glossary: Chinese and Japanese Names and Terms.

The material presented in this volume significantly extends what has been known to date of Asian textiles produced from the Tang (618-907) through the early Ming period (late 14th-early 15th century), and new documentation gives full recognition to the importance of luxury textiles in the history of Asian art. Costly silks and embroideries were the primary vehicle for the migration of motifs and styles from one part of Asia to another, particularly during the Tang and Mongol (1207-1368) periods. In addition, they provide material evidence of both the cultural and religious ties that linked ethnic groups and the impetus to artistic creativity that was inspired by exposure to foreign goods.

The demise of the Silk Roads and the end of expansionist policies, together with the rapid increase in maritime trade, brought to an end the vital economic and cultural interchange that had characterized the years preceding the death of the Ming-dynasty Yongle emperor in 1424. Overland, intrepid merchants no longer transported silks throughout Eurasia and weavers no longer traveled to distant lands. But the products that survive from that wondrous time attest to a glorious era - when silk was resplendent as gold.

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