The tombs are generally classed as belonging to the Scythian/Saka cultural zone. The burials contained the remains of (tattooed) men and women, but also of horses. There was even a four-wheeled chariot. Other objects indicate the central position of the area between China and the Iranian Plateau. One of the most spectacular finds was the so-called Pazyryk (pile) carpet, with Persian-style motifs.
The textile finds in the Pazyryk tombs and related sites in the same area are many and varied. They include embroidered silks from China. The largest of these derives from Kurgan 5. It was a fragment of undyed silk embroidered with birds and floral motifs, worked in chain stitch. Comparable embroideries are known from the fourth-third century finds from Mashan, Hubei, China. The Chinese embroidery found at Pazyryk was used to incorporate and decorate a saddle blanket (shabraque).
Local products were made of leather or felt. Leather garments or smaller panels could be decorated with metal foil, painting, or with fur or felt. Felt garments or panels were decorated with appliqué, cutwork, embroidery, metal foil, or they are being dyed. They could also be ornamented with horse hair or wool thread.
Source: RUBINSON, Karen S. (1990). 'The textiles from Pazyryk. A study in the transfer and transformation of artistic motifs, Expedition, Vol. 32, 1, pp. 49-61 (downloadable here).
Digital source of illustration (retrieved 14 February 2017).
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