This major new work comprises more than 1 000 images that highlight the beauty subtlety simplicity or complexity of textiles created around the world. The juxtaposition of historical & contemporary examples highlights the skill & imagination of textile designers throughout history as well as the remarkable range of achievements. Thematic illustrated sections present in-depth knowledge & sweeping insights into the role textiles have played throughout all human civilization & illuminate the ways in which structure or surface decoration or embellishment enhance this most tactile of arts. With a definitive text by Mary Schoeser drawing together knowledge gathered over a liftime of immersion in the textile arts no other book in the vast literature on the subject has so comprehensively celebrated the spectacular & enduring appeal of textiles.