Caftan
9th century
Silk
L 140 cm
Covered with splendid Persian silk, this caftan was
probably intended for a chief. Just how valuable such
silk was is shown by the fact that the king of Iran was
depicted in Sassanian reliefs wearing just such a
garment. Here we see a fabulous monster (a senmurv) in
a medallion set against an emerald-green background.
The caftan is made up of pieces of Soghdian, Byzantine
and Chinese textiles.
The cut of the caftan is typical of male garments found
in the burial site known as Moshchevaya Balka (in the
Northern Caucasus): cut on the straight with a closely
fitting upper part and a wide lower part, without a
fastening but with side slits made for greater
convenience on horseback. Very long fasteners would
have been attached to the braid trimmings. The revers
are trimmed with fur, and the whole caftan was lined
with squirrel fur.
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