Central Asia – Long Before the Silk Road Presented by Margy Norrish
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Westminster Presbyterian Church, Santa Fe
Most of us are familiar with the historic trade route called the Silk Road that existed for nearly 1000 years. Many have visited the trade cities of Bakara and Samarkand and Merv as they have become popular as tourist destinations. What most do not realize is that there existed a widely used trade route through Central Asia nearly 3,000 years BEFORE the so-called Silk Road. Three distinct cultures participated in this endeavor: Middle East nomadic pastoral groups, the highly civilized culture of China, and Mongol and barbarian hordes from the north. Each group made enormous contributions to textile history with their dress and costumes, from simple garments to the elaborately embroidered and surface embellished. In addition to a brief history of Central Asia and the geography of this vast land we will discuss each of these three groups to discover their textile techniques and traditions.
Margy Norrish has studied, researched, and appraised textiles for more than 20 years. A member of the Textile Society of America, Textile Museum, and former Friend of the Textile Department of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston she has attended numerous seminars and workshops in textile history and identification. Currently, Margy is researching and writing an introductory course in Textile History, from prehistoric to modern textiles.
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