Trade, Temple and Court: Indian Textiles from the Tapi Collection

Ruth Barnes received a doctorate from the University of Oxford, based on her research published as The Ikat Textiles of Lamalera, A Study of an Eastern Indonesian Weaving Tradition. She has written numerous articles on eastern Indonesian weaving and related art forms, and also jointly editedDress and Gender: Making and Meaning in Cultural Context. Her current research is on historical aspects of the Indian Ocean trade network; as part of this investigation she has publishedIndian Block-Printed Textiles in Egypt: The Newberry Collection in the Ashmolean Museum.

Steven Cohen received his doctorate from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, on the subject of floorspreads in pre-Mughal India. Formerly Deputy Editor ofHalimagazine, and now an independent textile historian, he has specialised in the general study of Asian textiles, with early Indian woven silks, Indian knotted-pile carpets, and structural analysis as primary interests.

Rosemary Crill is Deputy Curator of the Indian & South-East Asian Department of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, where she specialises in Indian textiles and Rajasthani painting. Her publications includeHats from India, Tie-dyed Textiles of India(co-author),Colours of the Indus:Costume and Textiles of Pakistan(co-author),Indian Ikat Textiles,Marwar Painting:A History of the Jodhpur Style(IBH), andIndian Embroidery.