Saturday 14 October, 2023
4:30pm BST - 5:30pm BST
In-person lecture at the Weston Room in the Hostry of Norwich Cathedral.
50 min lecture followed by Q&A.
Free and open to all, booking essential.
Please email conferences@sainsbury-institute.org or call us on +44 (0) 1603 597507 to book your place.
Doors will open at 16:15.
Speaker
Dr Feng Zhao (Honorary Director, China National Silk Museum)
About the Talk
There are many early silk textiles excavated or preserved along the East Silk Roads, including China, Mongolia, Japan and the Korean Peninsula. Most date back to the 5th century BCE to the 10th century CE, such as Niya, Loulan, Zakunluk, Shanpula, Yingpan around the Taklamkan desert, and Turfan in Xinjiang, Dunhuang and Tianzhu in Gansu, and Dulan in Qinghai. Textiles preserved at Shosoin and Horliuji, Nara are also significant to Silk Road Textile studies. Many have been carefully restored and subsequently displayed and published. Fibres, dyes, weave structure, tailoring layout and pattern designs were also studied. Researchers, conservators and curators are now working together on many related projects, such as the Interactive Silk Map of World and Silk Road Online Museum. This talk will address some of these recent projects and research.
About the Speaker
Dr Feng Zhao is a Chinese textile specialist with an interest in Silk Road textiles, and Dean of the School of Art and Archaeology at Zhejiang University. Dr Zhao has worked at the China National Silk Museum (NSM) for more than 30 years, and became the Director in 2009. His research focuses on interdisciplinary research of textiles and cultural exchange along the Silk Roads. During his time as Director, he has transformed the NSM into a leading centre for the preservation, study, and appreciation of silk as a significant art medium. He is also President of the Costume and Design Museum Committee in Chinese Museums Association (ICOM-China), and has undertaken positions as a visiting researcher at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1997-98), Royal Ontario Museum (1999), and The British Museum (2006).
Image: Feng Zhao visited 2018 Xuewei tomb No. 1 in Reshui cemetery, Dulan County, Qinghai, 2021