This volume in Thames & Hudson's celebrated series cataloging the
al-Sabah collection features a unique collection of carpets and textile
fragments from the pre-Islamic and early Islamic world. The Sasanian
fragments fill a substantial gap in the early history of pile carpets,
dating from the second to the eighth century AD, and make a valuable
contribution of the understanding of local artistic traditions.
The second half of the book is devoted to post-Sasanian and Sogdian
silks dating from the sixth to the tenth century. A wave of these
beautiful textiles has reached the West since the turn of the 21st
century, and here they are divided into variants featuring birds,
mammals, and mythological creatures, which retain their glowing colors
and lively charm.