Friedrich Spuhler. Early Islamic textiles from the Silk Road

Friedrich Spuhler
Dr Friedrich Spuhler is one of Europe’s most important rug scholars particularly on classical carpets. Former curator of the Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin, Spuhler has lectured all over the world and published articles in many important publications. He is the author of several books including two books on carpets and textiles in The al-Sabah Collection, Carpets from Islamic Lands and Pre-Islamic Carpets and Textiles from Eastern Lands.
Early Islamic textiles from the Silk Road
This lecture deals with more than 400 textile fragments we prepared for a third book on carpets and textiles in The al-Sabah Collection, focusing on the textile-treasures from Samagan, in the northern part of Afghanistan. The process of organising the objects will be discussed, as this was the first challenge to be addressed, given the enormous variety of designs. Methods used by the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Kunstgewerbe-Museum in Berlin, and the Textile Museum in Washington over the last century were reviewed and adapted to suit the collection. This gives us a historical overview and the easiest way to find related pieces. While talking about the objects, a selection of 50–60 pictures will be presented. These images will clarify the rationale for the groupings.