Zhou, Feng (2017). Glory on Silk: French Textiles 1700 to the Present, Hangzhou: China National Silk Museum, softback, 122 pp., fully illustrated in colour, in Chinese and English. Price: c. €12.

This is a catalogue to an exhibition held at the China National Silk Museum between October - December 2017. The items on display came from the museum’s collection. The book includes a general introduction to French silk textiles from the 1700’s onwards, a classification of the main types, a description of the main art historical developments and an indication of uses. The texts are in Chinese and English. The catalogue section of the book includes numerous dated examples – the majority are eighteenth century in date, which are divided according to art historical criteria: Baroque, Exoticism, Naturalistic, Rococo, and so forth. In addition to numerous figured textiles there are various hand painted examples.

Recommendation: A useful booklet for those interested in European silks, especially French forms. There is not a great deal of historical information, but the photographs of large pieces of cloth with complete repeats should be of interest to those working within the field of European silk textiles and related fashion.

Available from: China National Silk Museum, Hangzhou, China.

Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood