6-day countdown to Silk Road Week! Pegasus - a fragment of silk sleeve - Antinoe - Inv. 26812.11- 5th to 7th C. AD. - Musée des Tissus et des Arts décoratifs, France

This imported silk was used in Egypt to decorate the sleeve of a wooden dress. Excavated in 1898 in Antinoe by Albert Gayet, the fragments were given to the Louvre (inv. E29210) and to Lyon.

The quality of this weft-faced compound twill is exceptional. The loom needed 204 pulley cords to weave it.

Both the technique and the motif of Pegasus prove the Persian origin of the #silk. The Sassanid dynasty adopted and modified antique motifs. The crescent and orb of the royal crown and the ribbons tied to legs of the horse symbolize the power of the Sassanid king and his apotheosis.

Credit line: © Lyon, musée des Tissus–Pierre Verrie

(Executive Editor: Ye Ke)