* Introduction to an unbelievably rich but previously unknown British private collection of Turkmen tribal carpets, rugs and trappings* Written by the leading expert of Turkmen textiles* See also Turkmen Carpets: The Hoffmeister Collection ISBN 9783897903425 by Elena TsarevaThe publication introduces for the first time the extraordinarily rich yet previously unknown British collection of Turkmen tribal carpets, rugs and trappings by Neville Kingston. The exceptional private collection forms the departure point for an exciting account of the development of the Turkmen weaving tradition, which lies at the heart of Eurasian textiles.Thanks to Elena Tsareva's extensive study of the art of Turkmen carpets in the light of archeological and historical data, a complex picture of central Asian textiles has emerged. It shows how every epoch has contributed to the fundamentals of carpet-weaving and enriched it with new motifs, compositions and techniques.

Looks at the designs, motifs, and patterns of weaving patterns of rugs from the Middle East and Central Asia.

The engaging and accessible volume offers invaluable insights and novel perspectives on what is perhaps the most iconic of all Islamic art forms: the handwoven carpet. With a history stretching back to the fourteenth century and a geographic reach spanning Europe to Eurasia, Mongolia to the Middle East, Islamic carpets boast a degree of innovation and technical skill to rival the world's most exalted works of art. Beauty and brilliance emerge in equal measure from carpets of all forms be they colossal silk rugs exchanged as gifts by sultans and kings or small and sturdy textiles woven for use in nomadic encampments. Some sixty superlatives examples from the Metropolitan Museum's collection—from Persia, India, Turkey, North Africa, and across the Islamic world—are presented here in lavish detail, with concise and approachable texts that position each work in historical and cultural context. Beginning with a discussion of materials and techniques, How to Read Islamic Carpets offers a comprehensive introduction to this captivating art form, and reveals the lasting influence of carpet-weaving traditions in lands far beyond the Islamic world.

This catalogue explores extraordinary silver jewellery created by Turkmen tribal craftsmen and urban silversmiths throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. It presents nearly 200 pieces in glorious detail, ranging from crowns and headdresses to armbands and rings, and featuring accents of carnelian, turquoise, and other stones.

Published to accompany the exhibition held at the Textile Museum, Washington DC, 13 September 2002 - 16 February 2002.

Three of the papers were presented to the Ethnohistory Workshop at the University of Pennsylvania during 1983-84; the others were presented at a Symposium on the Relationship between Commodities and Culture, held May 23-25, 1984, in Philadelphia. Includes bibliographies and index.

Family guide, Dazzling details in folded front cover.

This volume offers an integrative approach to the application of evolutionary theory in studies of cultural transmission and social evolution and reveals the enormous range of ways in which Darwinian ideas can lead to productive empirical research, the touchstone of any worthwhile theoretical perspective. While many recent works on cultural evolution adopt a specific theoretical framework, such as dual inheritance theory or human behavioral ecology, Pattern and Process in Cultural Evolution emphasizes empirical analysis and includes authors who employ a range of backgrounds and methods to address aspects of culture from an evolutionary perspective. Editor Stephen Shennan has assembled archaeologists, evolutionary theorists, and ethnographers, whose essays cover a broad range of time periods, localities, cultural groups, and artifacts.