About

Anne Hildyard started her "Treasures from the Silk Road" business over ten years ago. Having travelled overland from England to Central Asia, she was inspired by the ikat silk robes and embroideries of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan: "There is very little colour to be seen in the countryside, camels merge into the scrub desert, and even the vast Oxus river that we crossed to reach Uzbekistan was brown, but the women more than compensated. They are the real flowers of the desert, layer upon layer of exotic floral cotton, ikat silk, satin and velvet, embroidered and embellished, from the top of their gold embroidered caps to the toes of their velvet slippers, they are a mass of vibrant colour and texture."

On her return to Europe she was glad to find dealers in Istanbul that specialise in the textiles of Central Asia, and now makes several journeys to Turkey each year to replenish her stock and source items requested by her clients. As well as the robes and embroideries of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, she sells a variety of things made in Turkey.

We have not been able to display all the items for sale on this site, and there is always something new to be discovered in the bazaars of Istanbul. An ideal time to visit the Treasures from the Silk Road showroom at Plumber Cottage is when there is an 'Open Showroom' event (see Events page) when all the stock will be on display. If you would like an e-mailed reminder of these dates, do please ask to be included on the mailing list. The showroom is open by appointment throughout the year, see the Contact page for details and a map. Opportunities to find Treasures from the Silk Road elsewhere in the UK are to be found on the Events page.