With over 200 color illustrations, Byzantine Silk on the Silk Roads examines in detail the eclectic iconography of the Byzantine period and its impact on design and creativity today. Through an examination of the extraordinary variety of designs in these captivating silks, an international team of experts reveal that Byzantine culture was ever-moving and open to diverse influences across the length of the Silk Road. Commentaries from curators at key collections - including the Museum of Arts, Boston, the Smithsonian (Cooper Hewitt), the V&A and the Vatican - reveal the spread of silk embroidery and designs from East to West, and from West to East, from China to Rome, and from Constantinople to Korea. Drawing on exclusive imagery from worldwide collections within museums, churches and archives as case studies, their analysis of these unique woven silks explores the relationship between color and power, material culture and status, and offers broader insight into Byzantine culture, trade, society and ceremony. Byzantine Silk ... takes us on a journey from the past to the present, too, where Byzantine story-telling and image-making is revisited, through color, imagery and pattern, in contemporary fashion collections. Exploring Byzantine culture through a contemporary filter, the book shows how the Byzantine era still influences textile and fashion designers today in their choices of materials and colors, and their utilization of images and patterns, acting as a unique source of inspiration to designers and creators in the 21st century.

An illustrated exploration of Byzantine culture, its past history and its relevance to design today, looking at the style and influence of woven silk textiles.

About the Author
Ryoko Yamanaka Kondo is Emeritus Professor, Tohoku University of Art and Design, Yamagata, Japan and researcher at the Institute for European, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan. Sarah E. Braddock Clarke is Senior Lecturer and researcher, Falmouth University, UK and co-author of Digital Visions for Fashion + Textiles (2012), Techno Textiles 2 (2005), SportsTech (2002), and Techno Textiles (1998).

Reviews
Textile enthusiasts looking for a deeper dive into the specific history of Byzantine silk will appreciate Byzantine Silk on the Silk Roads ... The volume includes gorgeous and helpful color illustrations throughout, mainly photographs of silk textiles but also diagrams of the weaving process and images of Byzantine art to enhance the reader's understanding ... [An] encyclopedic reference volume for scholars who have serious interest in silk textiles. * Dress: The Journal of the Costume Society of America *
A wide-ranging exploration of the borderless terrains traversed by the alluring patterns and complex looms that created the most treasured cloths in the Medieval period and continue to inspire today. * Mary Schoeser, V&A, The Textile Society and the School of Textiles, UK *
As interesting to read as it is to look at. ... This sumptuous book is richly illustrated and almost as carefully crafted as the Byzantine silk of its title. * Newtown Review of Books *
A must-read for scholars and students of textile design ... Thoroughly researched and beautifully illustrated. * Steeve Buckridge, Grand Valley State University, USA *
A detailed, comprehensive and lavishly illustrated study of Byzantine Silk, offering a genuinely transcultural perspective on the manufacture and dissemination of these key textiles. * Craig Benjamin, Grand Valley State University, USA *



Book Information
ISBN 9781350099333
Author Sarah E. Braddock Clarke
Format Paperback
Page Count 400
Imprint Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC