Kaftans, Carpets, and the Kaaba: Textiles in the Islamic World

Textiles are a preeminent artform across the Islamic world—from Iberia to Indonesia and beyond. For the 1400 years since Islam first emerged from the Arabian Peninsula, textiles have played key roles in the daily lives, ceremonies, and rituals of Muslims in many different cultures and contexts. This talk will explore various highlights of textile arts from Muslim-majority cultures around the world. From the clothes people wore on special occasions or were buried in, to the carpets they knelt on to pray and the extravagant tents they traveled in, or those they touched to feel closer to God—textiles are and have always been more than merely functional and/or beautiful, they are deeply meaningful in myriad ways.

Ashley Dimmig, director, Crossman Gallery

Thursday, March 7