Blue Senmurv silk - 7/10 century

This silk was found in several places:

The most incredible site where such silk was discovered is Moshchevaya Balka, a necropolis of the Alain people. A whole caftan, sewn with this silk, was discovered there.
There is also a small fragment in the Saint-Leu church, near Paris, France, Carolingian empire.
A third fragment is stored at the Santa maria de l'Estay monastery in Spain, XIth century.

This silk was probably produced in Byzantium, then exported all over Europe. It is also possible that some brocades of this type comes from the Sassanid kingdom. It was used as a cloth for dressing, to covering the pillars, or to protect reliquaries. The motive, called "senmurv" or "simurgh" was very popular. It has probably appeared in Iran, and will be declined in many variants until the middle of the Middle Ages.

Price per meter.
75cm width.
Main fiber: silk. Other fibers: rayon.
Source: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O85315/the-senmurw-silk-woven-silk-unknown/