Pull of the Thread

Sheila Fruman, fascinated by the textiles and handmade carpets she saw when she traveled overland in 1969 from Turkey to India, tells the stories of nine intrepid adventurers who have combed the streets and bazaars of Central and South Asia finding, researching, collecting and selling antique Kashmir shawls, embroidered Uzbek textiles and robes, Anatolian kilims, Turkmen carpets and many other textile treasures to interested Westerners.

These stories capture the post-World War II era’s free spirit that briefly coincided with economic prosperity and open borders. With over 200 color illustrations, the book shows how the indigenous designs and motifs popularized in the US and Europe by these textile travelers can now be found in anything from haute couture to high-end interior design to mass-marketed bedding, tableware and clothing.

The dealers and collectors who have spent their lives seeking these complex pieces of the past have intriguing stories to tell and collections of some of the finest textiles of their kind in the world. Taken together, their stories are an enlightening guide to understanding how we connect to the past, and how textiles connect the world.

Sheila Fruman’s travels in 1969 from London to Mumbai aroused a keen interest in textiles and carpets. After a 25-year career in politics in her native Canada and, later, working in post-conflict countries to support democratisation, she has pursued her love of handmade antique textiles and authored a book about fellow textile travelers.