Handmade pile and flat-woven patterned rugs have been made across Eurasia from at least the 5th century BCE. As well as their use in their places of production, they have been traded and used worldwide and have become highly collectible artefacts.

This day school will offer an introduction to the carpets produced in the Islamic world. Although their distinctive designs and weaving techniques are part of global cultural heritage, in fact, many of these objects, including the most sumptuous examples, remain associated with the Islamic Middle East. The day will examine a variety of carpet types and groups from this tradition and shed light on their production and economic value, as well as on the practical and cultural roles that they played across history, geographies and societies.

Held in collaboration with the Ashmolean Museum.

Tutors:

Dr Dorothy Armstrong
May Beattie Visiting Fellow in Carpet Studies, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Dr Francesca Leoni
Assistant Keeper and Curator of Islamic Art, Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology