Textiles of the Islamic World

The book covers textiles from the Ottoman world, Islamic Spain and north Africa, the Arab world, the Persian world, Central Asia, the Mughal world, east and southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The book aims to provide a broad survey of textiles produced today and in the past by those who profess the faith of Islam. The textiles are characterized by their avoidance of human and animal forms and their use of abstract designs and rich decoration. The techniques used to produce them are embroidery, applique, weaving, ikat and other forms of resist dyeing, block printing, oya (needle woven braid), beadwork, knitting, felting, crochet. The textiles are presented by country within each region. Each country's textiles are accompanied by text describing the historical and economic background in which they were created. If you are looking for a general overview of textiles from these regions, the book will serve your purpose. The photographs are of very high quality and the narrative is engaging. I gave the book a 5 because of the beauty of the cover, the informative narrative and the photographs. For the textiles themselves, I was left with a feeling that I had seen much of it before in other books, but I believe that is because of the "overview" character of the collection.

I highly recommed this book to anyone interested in the history of this subject! John does an excellant job! Their is a chapter dedicated to each region of the Islamic world. It's crammed full of color & blk/white photos!

The book was everything I hoped it would be. Will love it forever it will make a great addition to my Library. Will order from this seller again.

great reference

I needed material on this subject for a research project and couldn't find much out there, at least not in English. Then I found this book, and all I can say is its amazingly good. It covers so much material and it covers it in depth. It is also visually beautiful with many photographs of different types and patterns of textiles. If your interested in the topic, I can't recommend this book highly enough.

My beautiful book that was described as in a “ good” condition was actually in excellent condition. So carefully wrapped ….i could not have asked for more. I send my appreciation and thanks 🙏🏼

This textile book covers every corner of the Islamic world from Africa to Indonesia showing well illustrated examples from every area covered. It is a wonderful source for the specialist and for the keen enthusiast.

I bought this for my niece's birthday. Unfortunately she already has it, but it means that I can now have it!