Silk ikats of Central Asia – curator introduction

Curators Jackie Menzies and Christina Sumner introduce the exhibition Silk ikats from Central Asia, which brought together richly coloured robes, tunics and wall hangings, mainly from late 19th-century Uzbekistan.

Ikat is a term used to describe both a textile-dyeing technique and the textiles themselves. In Central Asia, ikat textiles had significant political, social and monetary value and great pride was taken in the aesthetic quality and bold originality of the designs, which came to symbolise the exoticism of the Islamic world.