Nomadic Felts: Artistic Traditions in World Cultures

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Description

Believed to be one of the earliest textiles, felt has been made by the nomadic peoples of Central Asia for over 2,500 years and the craft still thrives today as an integral part of their culture. Valued for both its functional and decorative qualities, felt is used to make yurts and all manner of objects relating to daily life, such as carpets, interior fittings, carrying bags, saddle cloths and clothing. The book looks in particular detail at the Turkic and Mongol traditions, which include felt from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Xinjiang and from Mongolia, Tibet, Bhutan and South-East Asia. As well as the history and technology of feltmaking, the book will explore patterns and symbolism. Illustrated with spectacular textiles from museums in Britain, the United States, Russia and Europe, as well as field photographs, archival material and details of motifs, this book will provide a unique insight into nomadic life as well as an inspirational source of designs for textile specialists.

Reviews

Factually and historically, Nomadic Felts is spell-binding! For feltmakers, students, textile specialists and researchers this is so informative. From the first chapter you will appreciate the deep significance of felt throughout many societies and the ethnography of feltmaking peoples. Not since Mary Burketts book The Art of the Felt Maker in 1979 has a book been published that enriches our understanding of felt in the past. It is full of magnificent illustrations that supplement the text while complementing the descriptions of the many patterns.' -- Ann Ross Felt Matters, Issue 102 March 2011 Textile researchers, art historians, and anthropologists will learn much from this text...Bunn succeeds in unveiling the startlingly broad cross-cultural salience and profound time depth of this fundamental fabric.' -- Hildi Hendrickson, Long Island University Journal of Anthropological Research 2011, volume 67

Author Bio

Stephanie Bunn is a lecturer at St Andrews University and an Honourary Research Fellow at Manchester University, as well as teaching occasionally for the Open University and the Central St Martin's School of Art. She has made several collections of felts for museums in Britain, and was anthropological consultant to the exhibition 'Striking Tents: Central Asian Nomad Felts from Kyrgyzstan' (Museum of Mankind, 1997).