Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

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Man's coatfront, open

© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

  • Man's coat (back)
  • Man's coat (front)
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Man's coat

  • Description

    In the winter of 1868/69 the tea planter and explorer Robert Shaw travelled from northern India to Eastern Turkestan (now Xinjian, China). His journey was partly to help British India’s secret service in the exploration of Central Asia which was politically and geographically contested by the British Empire and Russia.

    Shaw was the first Englishman to visit Yarkand and Kashgar, and he related his adventures in his book Visits to High Tartary, Yarkand, and Kashgar. He described the splendid clothes he encountered and mentioned on several occasions receiving gifts of coats and other garments.

    The finest of these were presented by Yakub Beg, then ruler of Kashgar. Shaw’s detailed description makes the collection of Central Asian ikat garments one of the best recorded.

    This embroidered silk coat is referred to by Shaw in this passage from his book:

    "Kashgar, Tuesday, April 6th - This morning the Sircar [Treasurer] brought me as a parting present from the King … a robe of crimson satin, gorgeous with gold and embroidery..." (Robert Shaw, Visits to High Tartary, Yarkand and Kashgar, 1871)

  • Details

    show all
    Associated place
    Asia › China › Xinjiang › Kashgar (place of creation)
    Date
    1801 - 1869
    Associated people
    Robert Shaw (1839 - 1879) (owner)
    Material and technique
    silk, embroidered with silk and metal thread; ikat-dyed silk and cotton lining
    Dimensions
    width at sleeve 145 x 221 cm (height x width)
    width at hem 145 x 99 cm (height x width)
    Material index
    processed material › textile › silk,
    organic › animal › animal product › silk,
    processed material › metal,
    organic › vegetal › fibre › flax › linen,
    processed material › textile › linen
    Technique index
    woven,
    assembled › woven,
    needleworked › embroidered,
    dyed › resist dyed › ikat resist dyed,
    coloured › dyed › resist dyed › ikat resist dyed
    Object type index
    clothing › garment › coat,
    textile
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Transferred from the Indian Institute.
    Accession no.
    EAX.3975

  • Further reading

    Barnes, Ruth, ‘Dressing for the Great Game: the Robert Shaw Collection in the Ashmolean Museum’, Khil`a, 1, (2005), illus. p. 12 fig. 11

Location

    • currently in research collection

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

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