Social Fabrics: Inscribed Textiles from Medieval Egyptian Tombs

McWilliams, Mary; Sokoly, Jochen (Editors)

ISBN 10: 0300260091 / ISBN 13: 9780300260090

Published by Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, M.A., 2022

About this Item

Paperback in very good condition. Published to accompany the exhibition 'Social Fabrics: Inscribed Textiles from Medieval Egyptian Tombs' held at Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, Massachusetts, from 22 January to 8 May 2022. Cover edges and corners are slightly bumped and rubbed. Binding is sound and pages are clear. LW.

Seller Inventory # 624664

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Social Fabrics: Inscribed Textiles from Medieval Egyptian Tombs
• Publisher: Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, M.A.
• Publication Date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0300260091
• ISBN 13: 9780300260090
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Very Good
• Book Type: Used
• Seller catalogs:
  • History - Medieval/The Middle Ages

About this title

Synopsis

Exploring prize textiles known as tiraz, whose meaning and materiality illuminate the interwoven communities of the medieval Islamic world

Social Fabrics looks at tiraz—highly prized textiles enhanced with woven, embroidered, or painted inscriptions in Arabic—to trace the structure of medieval Egyptian society during a transformative period. It reveals a story as interwoven and complex as these delicate objects themselves. A foundational introduction to the topic, this exhibition catalogue combines richly illustrated entries with essays on the history of Egypt at the time, the meaning and materiality of tiraz, and the history of collecting these objects in US institutions. Created throughout the region (including lands now in Iran, Iraq, and Yemen) in the centuries following the Arab Muslim conquest of Egypt, inscribed textiles were a visual form of communication in a society that was ethnically, linguistically, and religiously diverse. Those with inscriptions regulated by the government were particularly valued, proclaiming their owners’ membership in the ruling elite.

Distributed for the Harvard Art Museums

Exhibition Schedule:

Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA
(January 22–May 8, 2022)

About the Author

Mary McWilliams is Norma Jean Calderwood Curator of Islamic and Later Indian Art at the Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA. Jochen Sokoly is associate professor of art history of the Islamic world at Virginia Commonwealth University, School of the Arts, in Qatar.