An important Seljuq silk samit robe, Central Asia, 11th century

with front opening, flaring skirt, rounded neck and gently tapered sleeves, the samit fabric woven with cream, brown and magenta silk threads, with a design of offset roundels each enclosing paired confronting peacocks flanking a palmette standard reserved on a diamond trellis ground

This robe belongs to a rare group of early textiles that are distinguished by the use of the repeating roundel motif enclosing confronting or addorsed paired animals. These textiles were made throughout Asia from China to Byzantium and were derived  from Islamic and Chinese sources. The nomadic existence of the Central Asian tribesman meant they often wore their wealth. Textiles of great luxury were produced as indicators of their rank and status. Some of these luxury textiles had gold woven into the actual cloth, producing what was to become known as 'cloth of gold' (See Thompson 2004, p.72, for an example of a cloth of gold coat in the Museum of Islamic Art Qatar). Skilled textile workers were sourced from the lands they conquered and as a result a fusion of styles and techniques came about. Chinese and Iranian craftsmen were put alongside each other in the same workshop. Because of this their attribution has always proved problematic for historians. Ackerman and Pope identified seven Iranian weaving centres, some of which have since been re-classified (Pope 1938-9, vol III, pp.1995-2042). 

A Central Asian Mongol period robe is in the Aga Khan Collection, (London 2007, p.190 cat. B). An earlier fragment dated seventh/mid-eighth century from Iran or Iraq in the David Collection, von Folsach 2001, p.367, no.622, displays similar paired peacock roundels.