Arts Society Chester travel the Silk Road

Chris Aslan gave a sold-out Day of Special Interest at The Arts Society Chester on Tues 20th January. In three separate talks, he took us on a breath-taking tour of large swathes of the world including the central Asia, the far east and the Americas.  In The Unravelling of the Silk Road, he journeyed through the history of three textiles (wool, silk and cotton) and how these influenced social and economic change in different cultures.

He was a truly engaging speaker, with excellent visuals, including some real-life examples of the fabrics he was talking about. While giving a historical perspective, he also told us about his own experience of living in central Asia. 

We learnt about how wool was spun into fabric that could be used in different ways, how a real yurt is constructed and decorated (all on the inside!) to house the nomadic tribes, how sheep evolved with enough wool to be sheared and how cochineal was used to produce the vivid red colours in some of the textiles (see photos)

We heard about the value of silk, including its use as currency, as it maintained its value above all else.  There was also an interesting snippet of how silkworms provided the epidemiological background for Louise Pasteur’s understanding of human disease.  And, of course, sumptuous slides showed how silk was made into garments and a huge variety of other items, including his own carpet workshop in Uzbekistan.

And then we turned to cotton, which is so successful it’s bound to be in your wardrobe.  We learned about the most expensive fabric in the world (Dakha muslin, which is now extinct as the plant that produced it has gone); that modern cotton is nearly all American, (the original was Indian); and that the circular object at the centre of the Indian flag was originally a cotton spinning wheel.  We also, sadly, learned about how the Indian cotton economy was exploited, transferring the lucrative parts of the industry to Britain at the expense of Indian workers, but cotton also became a form of resistance later (think Gandhi’s spinning wheel).  And finally, he spoke about suzani embroidery, a key part of a woman’s dowry, with intricate and complex patterns, sewn by the women and her family/friends.

It was a very enjoyable day.  Full marks to our Events team for choosing such an interesting speaker and topic. Books sold like hot cakes on the day, indicating how much the audience enjoyed it and wanted to learn more.  For those who missed it, Chris has a website here, which includes information on his books and the tours he curates to central Asia: https://chrisaslan.com/ .