Zumrad Ilyasova studied Art History, Ancient History and Middle Eastern Studies at the Universities of Heidelberg and Bern and is currently a PhD candidate at the eikones Graduate School at the University of Basel. Her work focuses on the representation of textile objects on Sogdian and Tokharistanian wall paintings from 6th—8th centuries Central Asia. She is particularly interested in disentangling the materiality of the painted silks, embroideries and carpets from the wall surface and exploring the tensions created within the dialogue between different artistic media.