The 2025 “Textiles from the Nile Valley” conference will take place in Antwerp from 14 to 16 November at the Katoen Natie HeadquARTers. Organized by Professor Antoine De Moor, Dr. Cäcilia Fluck, Dr. Petra Linscheid, and Helena Vanloon, this year’s theme, “Pile textiles from Egypt and neighbouring countries,” explores early examples of pile weaving that represent the origins of carpet-making traditions.
According to Peter Bichler, a long-time observer of the series, “Textiles from the Nile Valley” is the most important international conference on archaeological textiles. He describes this year’s topic as especially intriguing: “These Egyptian pile fabrics serve as a kind of blueprint for the earliest carpets, providing direct evidence of the technical and artistic developments that later shaped the knotted carpet tradition.”
The event will open with a reception on Friday evening, followed by two days of presentations from leading textile scholars and conservators. Speakers will include Giovanni Tata, Alexandra Plesa, Elsa Yvanez, Veerle Van Keersen, Maria Mossakowska-Gaubert, and Cäcilia Fluck, among others. Their papers will examine finds from sites such as Fag el-Gamous, El-Deir, Berenike, Qubbet el-Hawa, and Kerma, as well as textile collections in Berlin, Copenhagen, and Chicago.
Saturday’s sessions will present new discoveries from Graeco-Roman cemeteries in the Fayum, cotton pile fabrics from El-Deir, and early Nubian pile weaves from Kerma dating to around 2500 BCE. Later talks will feature museum studies, including fragments from the Museum für Byzantinische Kunst in Berlin and the National Museum of Denmark, as well as analyses of early Islamic examples in the Phoebus Foundation’s collection. Sunday’s programme will broaden the focus with case studies on Tutankhamun textiles, conservation work on a mummy from Antinoë, and research connecting archaeological textiles to written and dyeing traditions.
The conference will also feature access to Katoen Natie’s extensive textile galleries and a book table for new publications. An optional group dinner at the nearby restaurant “De Natie” will allow participants to meet informally. Accommodation is recommended at the Holiday Inn Express Antwerp City, which offers a special conference rate.
Bichler emphasizes that the “Textiles from the Nile Valley” series continues to provide an essential meeting point for archaeologists, historians, and conservators. “By studying these early pile fabrics,” he notes, “we uncover not only the craftsmanship of ancient Egypt but also the shared roots of weaving cultures across the Mediterranean and Near East.”
The Antwerp conference is expected to highlight groundbreaking research and strengthen the international network of scholars devoted to ancient textile studies.