Originally published: London: British Museum Press, 1993.

A lively and innovative collection of new and recent writings on the cultural contexts of textiles The study of textile culture is a dynamic field of scholarship which spans disciplines and crosses traditional academic boundaries. A Companion to Textile Culture is an expertly curated compendium of new scholarship on both the historical and contemporary cultural dimensions of textiles, bringing together the work of an interdisciplinary team of recognized experts in the field. The Companion provides an expansive examination of textiles within the broader area of visual and material culture, and addresses key issues central to the contemporary study of the subject. A wide range of methodological and theoretical approaches to the subject are explored—technological, anthropological, philosophical, and psychoanalytical, amongst others—and developments that have influenced academic writing about textiles over the past decade are discussed in detail. Uniquely, the text embraces archaeological textiles from the first millennium AD as well as contemporary art and performance work that is still ongoing. This authoritative volume: Offers a balanced presentation of writings from academics, artists, and curators Presents writings from disciplines including histories of art and design, world history, anthropology, archaeology, and literary studies Covers an exceptionally broad chronological and geographical range Provides diverse global, transnational, and narrative perspectives Included numerous images throughout the text to illustrate key concepts A Companion to Textile Culture is an essential resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students, instructors, and researchers of textile history, contemporary textiles, art and design, visual and material culture, textile crafts, and museology.

A stunning introduction to the material culture of some of the great civilizations of Asia Iran was the home of some of the greatest civilizations of both the ancient and medieval worlds, but these achievements remain poorly known and largely misunderstood outside the country. Epic Iran tells the story of Iran from pre-Islamic through modern times and provides an opportunity to see pieces from key museum and private collections. This book combines the ancient and Islamic periods and continues the narrative into the contemporary world. It shows how civilized life emerged in Iran around 3,200 BC and how a distinctive Iranian identity formed 2,500 years ago has survived until today, expressed in the Persian language and in religious affiliations. Lavishly illustrated, some 250 images showcase pieces including goldwork, ceramics, glass, illustrated manuscripts, textiles, carpets, oil paintings, drawings, and photographs. Alongside the historical sweep are examples from contemporary artists and makers, demonstrating the rich antecedents still influencing some modern-day practitioners.

The primary goal of this book is to show how much ingenuity man has needed to employ in order to make blue materials. From Egyptian blue to copper phtalocyanine, ranging through Maya and Han blues, smalt, blue ashes, Prussian blue and artificial ultramarine, we cannot help but be in awe of the variety of technical solutions found.

Although none of the luxury fibres, including silk, is produced in large quantities, their particular and unique qualities of fineness, softness, warmth and pleasurable handle mean that they occupy a very important place in the luxury apparel and fine furnishing trades.This book covers all aspects of the growth, physical characteristics, production, marketing and consumption of silk, mohair, cashmere, camelhair, Alpaca, Llama, Vicuna, Guanaco, Yak and Musk Ox fibres. The image of these fabrics is of course all important and the book describes in detail those rare occasions when a lower priced and lower quality version of a luxury fibre has damaged its overall reputation. Some natural fibres covered here including spider silk are also increasingly finding applications within the technical textiles sector where their high performance thermal properties and bio-mimetic qualities in particular, are very useful.This is an essential reference for all those involved in any part of the luxury fibre trade. - Covers all aspects of the growth, physical characteristics, production, marketing and consumption of silk, mohair, cashmere, camelhair, Alpaca, Llama, Vicuna, Guanaco, Yak and Musk Ox fibres - Describes the rare occasions when a lower priced and lower quality version of a luxury fibre has damaged its overall reputation