A Fine Velvet Ikat Textile Exemplar 19th c

Purchased in Istanbul in 1996 for a private collection.

NOTES: 1. Ikats are the oldest known patterned textiles in the world. Though existing for thousands of years, these fabrics garnered fame in the nineteenth century, when the finest examples of them from Central Asia were used as a form of currency on the fabled Silk Road (a trade route across Asia that linked Europe to all of the peoples and cultures from Turkey to China.) Via the Silk Road, Ikats traveled by camel train in all directions and were traded for all manner of merchandise.

2. Ikat is a dyeing technique used to pattern textiles that employs a resist dyeing process on the yarns prior to dyeing and weaving the fabric. In ikat the resist is formed by binding individual yarns or bundles of yarns with a tight wrapping applied in the desired pattern. The yarns are then dyed.