Zandaniji Silk

Zandjaniji Silk

Central Asian tribes on China’s border received silk from the Chinese which they traded westward. This created weaving along the silk route which spawned new and creative woven silk products including one type we know as Zandaniji from the town of Zandan or Zandana near Bukhara in what is now called Uzbekistan. Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Jafar Narshakhi's History of Bukhara written 943-944 AD (332 AH) attributes these originally to Zandan and then spreading to other towns in the region.

Confronting lions and palm tree, fragment of a textile said to be from Zandana, near Bukhara, Uzbekistan, eighth century. Silk compound twill, 2' 11” x 2' 9 1/2” The Islamic World Gardiner

Here we have a few examples of Zandanijian silk Brocade. This is a type that we have a large number of extant examples from the churches and cathedrals of Europe to the graves of Tibetan chieftains in Reshui, Dulan County, Qinghai Province, China..

V&A Pattern woven polychrome silk Central Asia 800 to 1000 AD

From the V&AYellowish ground (possibly originally red) and dark greenish patterns with symmetric decoration consisting of two roundels containing a confronted pair of lions, palm-trees and other symbols. Addorsed foxes and hounds occupy the space between these roundels and a stylized tree possibly a date-tree divides the plane symmetrically. Samite: 1/2 twill, 1 binding, 3 pattern warps, 3 pattern wefts; warps silk undyed and weft silk undyed, tan, blue and blue-green.

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O84925/woven-silk-unknown/

Color is important in these. They often use Chinese colors particularly chartreuse, orange, and pink.  at the same time Persian silks are thought to be primarily dark blue and gray.

Production began in the pre Islamic period from the 5th century on. The production continued  well into the post  Islamic conquest likely into the period of the Mongol invasion.

The Verdun cathedral Zandaniji now in the V&A

V&A Descriptive Line:

Middle East, Textiles; Fragment, yellow and green compound silk twill with confronted lions in roundels, Sogdian Central Asia, possibly Bukhara, Uzbekistan, 800-1000