textile - A cloth, usually made by weaving or knitting fiber or yarn; a fabric. Materials might include fibers of raffia, wool, cotton, linen, silk, or synthetics, among others.

Examples:

Egypt, Thebes, Sheet of Royal Linen, c. 1466 BCE, Dynasty 18, reign of Hatshepsut 6-7, linen, greatest width 63 3/8 inches (161 cm), greatest length 16 feet 11 inches (515 cm), weight 2.9 ounces (140 g), 118 warp, 77 weft per square inches (46 warp, 30 weft per square cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. See Egyptian art.

Russia, Eastern Altai, Pazyryk Burial Mound 5, Pile Carpet (fragment), 5th-4th centuries BCE, wool, length 183 cm, width 200 cm, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Mongolia, burial mound at Noin-ula, Embroidery with a Benedictory Motif, 1st century BCE, silk, 39.5 x 35.7 cm, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. See embroidery.

China, Silk Panel (fragment), 1st century CE, woven silk, 35 x 184 cm, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Persia / Iran or Egypt, Sasanian, Textile Fragment, 7th or 8th century CE, wool, cotton, 8 3/4 x 4 1/2 inches (22.2 x 11.4 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

Yemen, Tiraz fragment, 10th century CE, cotton, ink, and gold leaf, plain weave with painted decoration, 23 x 16 inches (58.4 x 40.6 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. See Islamic art.

Chinese, Cloth of Gold, after 1220, cloth of gold, lampas weave, silk and gold thread, height 134.5 cm, Cleveland Museum of Art. See Chinese art.

South America, Central Andes, Central Coast, Chancay, Openwork Headcloth, Late Intermediate Period, 1000-1470 CE, cotton, embroidered square mesh openwork, 32 x 32 inches (81 x 81 cm), Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory U, Atlanta, GA. See Pre-Columbian art.

Turkey, Animal Carpet, 14th century, wool, pile weave, wool pile on wool foundation, 85 symmetrical knots per square inch, 60 1/4 x 49 1/2 inches (153.04 x 125.73 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

Turkey, Dragon and Phoenix Carpet, beginning of the 15th century, wool, Museum for Islamic Art, Berlin. This East Asian dragon and phoenix motif arrived in Asia Minor with Mongolian marauders. See Islamic art.

Egypt, Mamluk, "Simonetti" Carpet, c. 1500, wool, pile weave, wool pile on wool foundation, c. 100 asymmetrical knots per square inch, 29 feet 7 inches x 7 feet 11 1/2 inches (896.62 x 238.76 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

French, Time, c. 1500-1510, tapestry with wool and silk, Cleveland Museum of Art.

Turkey, Pile Carpet, second half of the 16th century, wool, 331 x 188 cm, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Turkey, Bursa or Istanbul, Ottoman, Textile fragment, second half of the 16th century, silk and metal thread, a compound weave (satin and twill), 48 x 26 1/2 inches (121.9 x 67.3 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. See Islamic art.

Persia / Iran, Safavid dynasty, Flowering Plant beside a Pond, first half of 17th century, silk: cut, voided satin, velvet, brocaded, Worcester Art Museum, MA. See Islamic art.

India, Mughal dynasty, Reign of Shah Jahan, Tree Rug, first half of the 17th century, wool and cotton, 89 1/2 x 75 1/2 inches (227 x 192 cm), Frick Collection, NY.

India, Mughal dynasty, Reign of Shah Jahan, Carpet with Floral Pattern, first half of the 17th century, wool and cotton, 76 x 46 inches (193.04 x 116.8 cm), Frick Collection, NY.

England, Needlework Framed Picture, third quarter of the 17th century, silk on canvas, 13 x 20 1/2 inches (33 x 52.1 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

France, Paris, Air, c. 1683, petit point hanging made with silk, wool, metal thread on canvas 316 stitches per square inch, 49 stitches per square cm, 14 feet x 9 feet (426.7 x 274.3 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

Savonnerie Manufactory (Paris, France), Music, c. 1685-1697, XVII century, carpet made with wool Ghiordes knot, 90 knots per square inch, width 16 feet (487.7 cm), length 29 feet 6 inches (899.2 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

France, Flounce of Guipure Lace, late 17th-early 18th centuries, linen thread, needlepoint, 60 x 177 cm, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Belgium, Brussels, Flemish, Lace: Rabat, mid-18th century, 12 1/2 x 17 1/2 inches (31.8 x 44.5 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

Indonesia, Sumatra, south central Lampung region, Lampung people, Ceremonial Banner, 18th century, cotton, beads, nassa shells, fiber, length 48 1/2 inches (123.2 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. This banner is of a type called a "ship cloth", and is perhaps the finest surviving example.

Ghana, Blanket, 19th century, cotton, wool, 51 inches x 10 feet (129.5 x 304.8 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. See African art.

United States, Arizona, Navajo peoples, Wearing Blanket, 1860-70, wool, 69 x 48 inches (175.3 x 121.9 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

United States, New York, Crazy Quilt, c. 1890, silk, velvet, ribbons, cotton, 60 3/4 x 52 inches (154.3 cm x 132.1 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

Designed by William Morris (British, 1834-1896), made/manufactured by Morris and Company, Merton Abbey, England, Length of Printed Cotton, 19th-20th century, cotton, 8 feet 7 1/2 x 38 1/4 inches (262.9 x 97.2 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. See Arts and Crafts Movement.

Anni Albers (born Analise Fleischman, married Josef Albers) (German, 1899-1994), Design for Wall Hanging, 1926, gouache and pencil on paper, 14 x 11 1/2 inches (35.6 x 29.2 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY. See Bauhaus and design.

Claire Zeisler (American, 1903-1991), Tri-Color Arch, 1983-84, hemp, synthetic fiber, top: 74 x 11 inches (183 x 27.9 cm), height of bottom 58 inches (147.3 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

• The History of Costume. A book web site with full color plates originally published in the late nineteenth century.
  
  
• The Textile Museum.
  
  
• Internet Centre for Canadian Fashion and Design. This site centers on the fashion and design industries in Canada. It also has links to other worldwide fashion and design resources. The fashion section includes a useful online textiles dictionary:
  
  
• Textile Dictionary. All terms are divided into four categories: cotton; silk and silk imitation; worsted, wool and hair; other cellulose fabrics. Each term description includes the fibre of the textile, the weave, its characteristics and uses.
  
  
• A Textile Glossary by Mervil Knutson.
  
  
• Needlework: Wonderful Stitches.
  
  
• For quilters: Quilter's Online Resource.
  
  
• Kaye Wood's Quilting and Sewing Site offers an online dictionary of quilting and sewing terms.
  
  
• Sources of sewing patterns: Butterick, McCall's Patterns, Simplicity, and Vogue Patterns.
  
  
• Marla Mallett Textiles displays more than 1400 photos of tapestries and other textiles from around the world. Marla also offers great information on the structures and techniques used by textile artisans, and articles on folk art tapestries and mounting and hanging textile art. Contact Marla Mallett, 1690 Johnson Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30306.

Also see basket, canvas, chinoiserie, costume, embroidery, Index of American Design, mola, Mughal dynasty, sampler, tapestry, tartan, and wire.

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