Central Asian Textiles
The Neville Kingston Collection
Dr Snezhanna Atamova & Dr Tereza Hejzlarová
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Description
For thousands of years, the peoples of Central Asia have created spectacular textiles for every aspect of life. Infinite care, resources and time have gone into making elaborate costumes (connoting the wearer’s identity and place in society), equestrian items, and exquisite furnishings for settled as well as nomadic lifestyles. Items of dress were decorated literally from top to toe: boots were embroidered with metal thread, while hats were stitched, appliquéd and felted. The women of a family would come together to embroider dazzling suzanis to form part of a bride’s dowry; master dyers and weavers would craft vibrant ikat hangings. Combined, these objects tell an evocative story of life along the Silk Road in times past. This book brings together outstanding textiles from the Neville Kingston Collection, featuring many previously unpublished pieces. It is the second volume to document this exceptional English collection; Turkmen Carpets: The Neville Kingston Collection was published in 2016.
About the Author
Dr Snezhanna Atanova A leading anthropologist of Central Asia, based at Nazarbayev University in Astana. Dr Atanova has spent over fifteen years studying the textiles and material culture of Kazakhstan and beyond, including significant archaeological work on rare Golden Horde-era fabrics. Her fieldwork and scholarship bring a rich understanding of the Silk Road's textile traditions to life. Dr Tereza Hejzlarová A leading ethnologist of Central Asia and Siberia, based at Palacký University Olomouc. With years of field research across Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and the Altai Republic, Dr Hejzlarová has built an unparalleled understanding of the textile and craft traditions of the region's Turkic peoples, and the ways in which these objects express identity, ritual and belonging.
