TRC recent acquisitions and recommended books
There are many books on textiles, clothing and accessories and related subjects now available, and we are often asked to recommend books for students, academics and the general public. So the TRC is now starting a webpage about recent acquisitions to the our library that we feel will be of interest to 'textile' people. Some of these books are of general interest, others intended for specialists. Not all books are new to the market, but they form an important part of the TRC's ever expanding library. The books discussed below are arranged alphabetically by title. For the February 2014 list, click here.
TRC new acquisitions and recommended books, December 2013
Egyptian Textiles Museum, by Mohammed Abas Mohammed SELEM, and Somiya Abd AL-KHALEK. Ministry of Culture, Supreme Council of Antiquities, Cairo, 2010. Hardback, fully illustrated in colour, short bibliography, pp. 228, Price: Egyptian pounds, 180 (about €18).
A beautifully illustrated catalogue of many of the textiles on display in the Egyptian Textiles Museum (121 El Muez St., behind Wekalet Sobhy Zakaria, Cairo). The museum is situated in an impressive building originally built by order of Muhammed Ali Pasha in 1828. It was initially used as a charitable educational facility and later became known as the Nahaseen School. The building became the Egyptian Textiles Museum in 2010. The elaborately illustrated catalogue depicts textiles form the Pharaonic period to the early 20th century. Many of the objects depicted in the book are on display in the museum. The collection is one of the best collections of archaeological and historic textiles to be found from this area of the Middle East. The book is well worth looking at and a visit to the museum is recommended.
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Embroidered with White: The 18th century fashion for Dresden lace and other whiteworked accessories, by Heather TOOMER, 2008. Private publication by Heather Toomer Antique Lace. ISBN: 978-0-9542730-2-6. Card cover, fully illustrated with b/w and colour illustrations, patterns for garments, as well as embroidery techniques. Bibliography, glossary, index. Price: £19.75.
An interesting booklet with detailed information about the different types of whitework embroidery that was popular in 18th century Europe. The author discusses the different forms of whitework, how it was produced, who produced it, and how this form of embroidery was used for men and women's clothing.
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Golden Spider Silk, by Simon PEERS, V & A Publishing, London, 2012. ISBN: 978-1851776870. Card cover, bibliography, pp. 48, fully illustrated with b/w and colour illustrations. Price: £5.
Accompanying book to a small exhibition held at the Victoria and Albert Museum about the use of golden thread from a giant spider living on the island of Madagascar. The spiders (Nephila) live in small boxes and produce a silk thread that is threaded through a small hole in the box, wound onto bobbins and then woven into an exotic and very expensive cloth. An intriguing subject.
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Algéroises. Histoire d'un costume méditerranéen, by Leyla BELKAÏD, Édisud. Aix-en-Provence, 1998. ASIN: B00251CU5U. Hardback, bibliography and index, pp. 187. Price: c. €20.
A well-illustrated book with discussions concerning the history and regional variations of Algerian garments for women. There are illustrations depicting the garments of women's clothing from this region of North Africa from the Roman period to the present day. It discusses materials, means of decoration and so forth and then individual garment types, notably chemises, dresses, headgear, veils, rather than, for example, regional variations in costume forms.
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The Jewish Wardrobe: From the collection of the Israel Museum, by (ed.) Esther JUHASZ, 5 Continents Edition, Jerusalem, 2012. ISBN: 978-8874396023. Card cover, fully illustrated in b/w and colour photographs, pp. 367, bibliography, glossary and index. Price: 245 Israeli shekels, c. €50.
A detailed description and historical discussions about a wide range of men's and women's dress and accessories in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. The subjects discussed include fashion Jewish dress (the main garment forms from many different countries and groups), religious garments, garments of various stages of life, and finally the dynamics of transition. The latter section includes dress and multiple identity, modernization and the use of garments during and after death. There is also an extensive bibliography and glossary.
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Manuel de Broderie Marocaine Classique, by Fatima ALAOUI. Private Publication, Sale: no date, but probably 1970s. Card cover, blue and red illustrations, pp. 23, short introduction in Arabic and French.
A booklet with numerous designs for geometric patterns to be worked in double running stitch (also known as Holbein stitch), a form of work associated with various Moroccan cities, notably Fes and Salé. The designs range from simple, repeating patterns to very complex forms.
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Qasr Ibrim: The Textiles from the Cathedral Cemetery, by Elisabeth CROWFOOT (and Nettie Adams), Egypt Exploration Society Memoir 96, London, 2012. ISNB 978-0856981999. Soft back, illustrated, pp. 56. Price: £35 (about €42).
Elizabeth Crowfoot was a specialist in archaeological and ancient textiles. In 1976 she was invited to join the Egypt Exploration Society's expedition to Qasr Ibrim in southern Egypt. She retired from the Qasr Ibrim project in 1984. Over the decades of excavation work the site produced a wide range of textiles, garments and accessories, dating from the 25th Dynasty to the late Ottoman Period (ending in 1812). In addition there were a number of burials found in the Cathedral cemetery and this publication includes detailed descriptions of the main pieces from this area of the site.
Miss Crowfoot had completed the Cathedral text before her death in 2005 and it has been edited for publication by Nettie Adams. This is a specialist book and not really for the general public. It includes a range of details that are of interest to anyone working on the history of Middle Eastern textiles, especially her discussion concerning the various examples of tiraz that were found at Ibrim.
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Reconstructing Ancient Linen Body Armor. Unravelling the Linothorax mystery, by Gregory S. ALDRETE, Scott BARTELL and Alicia ALDRETE. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2013. ISBN: 13-978-1421408-19-4. Hardback, with b/w and some colour illustrations, glossary, bibliography, index, pp. 304. Price: US$29.95.
The book is a report on a research project by a team from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay that started in 2005, into a well-known piece of body armour from the ancient world, the Linothorax, or 'Cuirass of Linen.' This piece of armour, however, had never been studied in detail. The book contains a series of chapters dealing respectively with literary evidence, types of (linen) body armour, the materials used, a report on the reconstruction of the linothorax and on the arrow test methodology, and on the results of arrow tests, wearability tests, and finally on economic and social aspects. The book also contains a database of visual sources for this type of body armour. An interesting book, which sounds dull, but it is not!
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Renaissance Velvets, by Lisa MONNAS, V&A Publishing, London, 2012. ISBN: 978-185177-656-6. Hardback, fully illustrated in b/w and colour, bibliography, glossary, pp. 159. Price: £35 (about €42).
A catalogue to 50 items from the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection of Renaissance period velvets including complete garments, ecclesiastical vestments and a wide selection of fragments. These European textiles range in date from the second half of the 13th to the 16th century. The book includes a catalogue of mainly Italian pieces, with a discussion of their historical context, equipment needed to produce them, as well as weave analysis details and diagrams. This book will be of interested to those working in the field of medieval and Renaissance period textile and costumes, as well as historians.
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Threads of Identity: Preserving Palestinian Costume and Heritage, by Widad Kamel KAWAR, Rimal Publications, Nicosia 2011. ISBN: 978-9963-610-41-9. Card cover, fully illustrated in b/w and colour photographs, short glossary and bibliography, pp. 449.
A personal history of 20th century Palestinian clothing through the eyes of the women who made and wore the garments. Many of these women were personal friends of the author, Widad Kawar. She is a famous collector and disseminator of information about Palestinian life and culture. All of the garments and accessories illustrated come from the Widad Kawar collection, which is housed in Amman, Jordan. The combination of personal stories, historical details and high quality illustrations of garments provides a unique insight into a virtually vanished aspect of Middle Eastern life.
