Images and information from Phaidon: Islamic Arts, Jonathon Bloom and Sheila Blair, Phaidon Press Limited, 2003, Actual garment located in the Hermitage Museum.
Silk, lined with fur, discovered in a grave at Moshchevaya Balka, Height: 1.39 m or 4ft 6.1/4 in.
Musuem description from The Hermitage:
Caftan
9th century
Silk L 140 cm
Covered with splendid Persian silk, this caftan was probably intended for a chief. Just how valuable such silk was is shown by the fact that the king of Iran was depicted in Sassanian reliefs wearing just such a garment. Here we see a fabulous monster (a senmurv) in a medallion set against an emerald-green background. The caftan is made up of pieces of Soghdian, Byzantine and Chinese textiles.
The cut of the caftan is typical of male garments found in the burial site known as Moshchevaya Balka (in the Northern Caucasus): cut on the straight with a closely fitting upper part and a wide lower part, without a fastening but with side slits made for greater convenience on horseback. Very long fasteners would have been attached to the braid trimmings. The revers are trimmed with fur, and the whole caftan was lined with squirrel fur.
Detail Views
Drawing by Melinda Haren
Images and information from Phaidon: Islamic Arts, Jonathon Bloom and Sheila Blair, Phaidon Press Limited, 2003, Actual garment located in the Hermitage Museum.
This picture, showing a similar caftan opened up, is from Riding Costume in Egypt, Origin and Appearance, Cacilia Fluck & Gillian Vogelsand-Eastwood (editors), Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands, 2004
The following pictures are from Riboud, K. A Newly Excavated Caftan From The Northern Caufasus. Textile Museum Journal. Volume IV. Number 3. 1976; 21-42
Reverse side of caftan shwoing the edging made out of blue and white Sogdian figured silk
Front of the Caftan Prior to Reconstruction
Back of the Caftan Prior to Reconstruction
