This authoritative reference work explores the rich heritage of embroidery across the Arab world from antiquity to the present day.

Winner of the 2017 Dartmouth Medal of the American Library Association Best Single Volume Reference/Humanities and Social Sciences: The PROSE Awards 2017 Named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year 2017 For thousands of years, embroidered textiles have been produced across North Africa and the Middle East to decorate public buildings, homes and animals as well as to clothe men, women and children. They have played an important role in the social and cultural lives of communities and peoples and have reflected the economic and political changes that have affected the region from the earliest times. The Encyclopedia of Embroidery from the Arab World is the first reference work to chart the history of embroidery from Ancient Egypt to the present day and to offer an authoritative guide to all the major embroidery traditions of the region. It maps the diversity of embroidery from the Maghreb to the Gulf states, from Turkey to Sudan; traces the impact of trade, commerce, politics and religion on materials, colors, styles and fashions; introduces the embroiderers, their materials, equipment and techniques; and highlights the artistic and design influences of embroidery, through to its use by modern fashion designers. Richly illustrated with over 800 images (750 in colour) of clothes, accessories, cushions, bed linen, curtains, floor coverings and wall hangings, many of which have never been published before, the Encyclopedia is an essential resource for students and scholars of the subject.

"With the Encyclopedia of Embroidery from the Arab World, Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood has produced the kind of volume that could only come from someone with many years of experience both in textile scholarship and with teaching hands-on textile crafts. Her expertise in the history and contemporary manifestations of these diverse traditions has resulted in an essential reference for scholars and textile artists alike." - Journal of Folklore Research

"An outstanding and comprehensive reference work ... The book is well-presented, well-designed and a well-planned study of embroidery from the Arab world. Its ease of use is a pleasure." - Reference Reviews

"This outstanding volume is the first to cover its colorful subject across the Arab world in both space and time." - Aramco World magazine

"What a wonderfully detailed, wide-ranging and informative volume ... This is a wonderful book. And I'm not the first reader to think so. It won this year's Dartmouth Medal ... A well-deserved accolade." - Context

"This encyclopedia is a scientifically sophisticated, visually impressive and extremely carefully crafted work that researches and documents one of the most beautiful and traditional cultural techniques of the Arab world. Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood has produced a great success. Anthropologists, historians, archaeologists and designers will be amongst the interested readers of this defining work on such a fascinating topic." - Jemen-Report (Bloomsbury translation)

"This beautifully executed reference volume… achieves encyclopedic breadth and comprehensive coverage without fragmenting its subject… The book features very high-quality color illustrations… photographs of embroiderers working, showing tools and methods; pattern diagrams; drawings of stitches; schematic drawings of garments; maps, and more. This volume is well-made, can be held easily, and when laid flat will stay open to a selected page without text vanishing into the gutter. It is a pleasure to use… There is no comparable reference work covering the full breadth of the subject, making Encyclopedia of Embroidery from the Arab World essential for research and academic libraries with textile collections." - Art Libraries Society of North America Reviews

"[This is] an encyclopedia of embroidery in the Arab world that is like no other book … It is an exhaustive reference and information work, which tries to answer well-founded texts and rich pictorial material on questions, and to provide assistance for the often difficult attribution and classification of embroidery by age and origin. (Bloomsbury translation)" - Preetorius Foundation

"This is not just a book. It is a legacy." - The Fabric Thread