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RR 2016/236 Encyclopedia of Embroidery from the Arab World Edited by Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood Bloomsbury Academic London and New York 2016 xiii + 685 pp. ISBN 978 0 8578 5397 4 £150 $240
Throughout the Arab world, embroidery textiles have been produced for thousands of years to decorate public buildings, homes and animals, as well as clothes for men, women and children. They have played an important part in the social and cultural lives of the communities of North Africa and the Middle East. Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood has now produced an outstanding and comprehensive reference work dealing with such domestic and functional embroidery from this region. She is not only the Editor but also the primary contributor, with support from other specialists and enthusiasts. 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.
The book is divided into four separate sections. Section 1 is devoted to background information covering foreign influences, hand and machine techniques, materials and embroidery equipment, including embroidery frames, thimbles and the dyeing of cloths, threads and yarns. The attention to detail is impressive and nothing seems to have been overlooked. We learn there are 18 different and decorative ways in Egypt to sew on a button; these are amply illustrated. And one way of keeping needles safe in Oman is for...