Islamic Textiles

London: British Museum Press, 1995. Hardcover. VG/VG (Art museum ex-lib. copy with minimal marks: spine sticker, inside back bar code, notations on ffep, and blind stamp on half title. DJ in excellent condition, as is book over-all.). Black cloth/boards; gilt lettering. Glossy, color-illus. dj with white lettering on black spine. 192 pp. with 78 color and 56 bw illus. "From the fine linens of medieval Egypt to the sumptuous silks and velvets of the Ottoman empire, textiles produced in the heartlands of the Islamic world have for centuries been highly valued and transported over vast distances. Whether offered as tribute, worn to express status or belief, or simply bought and sold by merchants and travellers from many countries, textiles have played a crucial cultural and economic role in Islamic society, where often a majority of the population earned a living from their manufacture and trade. The distinctive patterns and motifs were also to have an enduring effect on European design." "The book begins with a description of materials and technical processes before moving chronologically from the early Islamic period through to the twentieth century. Exploring this rich tradition from the combined perspective of an art historian and textile expert, Dr Baker draws on a wide variety of evidence - from documents, photographs and examples of textiles from museum collections all over the world - to tell the fascinating story of Islamic textiles in a new way."--Jacket.