Byzantine Silk in the World

Byzantine Silk in the World is an art historical study of Byzantine silk from the sixth through the eleventh century when the production of silk emerged as an imperial industry and became central to Byzantine courtly life and imperial diplomacy. Focusing on four focal pieces that are well known in scholarship, we lay out broader issues of manufacture, acquisition, circulation, and venerable practices of collecting Byzantine silk outside the territorial sway of the empire in church treasuries across Europe. Our focal silks serve as touchpoints for understanding Byzantine silks as varied types of objects that were deliberately and meticulously designed for three-dimensional viewing. Perhaps more important, these focal pieces allow us to address issues of Byzantine, especially imperial, identity—from perspectives within the empire and without. 

Jennifer Ball is a professor of Byzantine art history at The City University of New York. Her publications focus primarily on textiles and dress.

Warren T. Woodfin is Kallinikeion Associate Professor of Byzantine Studies at Queens College and Art History and Medieval Studies at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.