De auteur geeft in
dit boek een nieuwe methode tot classificatie van tapijten op
grond van structuur en motieven. De tapijten van verschillende
herkomstgebieden worden zo, op een voor ieder overzichtelijke
wijze, gegroepeerd. De prachtige kleurenfoto's en de
beschrijvingen geven een goed overzicht van 100 topstukken uit de
collectie van het Victoria & Albert museum in Londen.
Onderstaand de
flapinformatie.
Oriental carpets have always been prized in the West as items of luxury; they are also objects of great beauty, and an understanding of their structure is invaluable to a proper appreciation of them. In showcasing 100 superb examples from the V&A, this volume opens the door onto one of the richest and least explored areas of the collectoon.
One of the earliest recorded recipients of oriental carpets in the West was Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who during the reign of Henry VIII was presented
with 60 Turkish and Egyptian carpets as a diplomatic gift. Carpets became synonymous with wealth and fashionable living, and were often included in the portraits of the day. In the nineteenth century they were reappraised as examples of good design, and seen as a source of inspiration for the creative industries. William Morris himself was instrumental in
the purchase for the V&A in 1893 of the Ardabil Carpet, hailed in The Times as 'the
Finest Persian carpet in the world ...'.
It is only when we have an understanding of how carpets are made that we can explore the real nature of their design: how patterns evolve and straddle boundaries of time and place. An illustrated chapter on weaving and knotting methods is supplemented by
detailed structural analyses of each carpet: the result is a book that illuminates the subject and will be of immeasurable value to collectors, designers and textile historians alike.
Jennifer Wearden is curator of 20'h-century European textiles in the Department of Furniture, Textiles and Fashion at the Victoria & Albert Museum and was responsible for many of the oriental carpets from 1990 until their transfer to the Asian Department in 2003. She is co-author of three other V&A publications:
- Samplers (1999);
- Ottoman Embroidery (2001)
- Dress in Detail from around the World (2002).
gebonden, 144 blz., 100 afbeeldingen in kleur
