A Mathematic Expression of Art: Sino-Iranian and Uighur Textile Interaction and the Turfan Textile Collection in Berlin

Abstract

This article presents some of the first technical and visual results of the analysis carried out on the Turfan Textile Collection in the Museum of Asian Art in Berlin; they will be incorporated into a forthcoming larger study. Dating to between the seventh and thirteenth centuries, the collection as a whole has disclosed a particular Iranian-Central Asian matrix that proves the transcultural interaction between heterogeneous groups of artisans. The study of mural paintings in Buddhist caves and the technical and visual comparison of the fragments with coeval or later pieces exemplifies the common mathematical thinking that led those groups to the combination of Sino-Iranian and Turkic elements in what became unique features in an evolving Central Asian textile production.