The Textile Society of America has announced the winner of the 2011 R. L. Shep Ethnic Textiles Book Award to “Splendor and Pageantry: Textile Treasures from the Armenian Orthodox Churches of Istanbul” by Ronald Marchese, Marlene Breu and the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul.
The award was recently presented at the TSA symposium, Textiles & Politics, held in Washington D.C., September 19-23, 2012.
Splendor and Pageantry is a lavishly illustrated volume and represents the first-ever, in-depth examination of the Armenian textiles housed in the treasury of the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkey. The collection features artifacts dating back some 300 years and includes embroidered liturgical vestments, altar curtains, copes and miters gathered from the churches that served the Armenian community. Richly embroidered silks and velvets are embellished with gold and silver threads and pearls and feature a variety of motifs including minutely detailed crucifixion motifs.
“The volume represents a unique and important contribution to the study of textiles, Armenian history, and the material culture of religion” said Michele Hardy, TSA External Relations Director, to Jozan Magazine.
Links to bookstores: Splendor and Pageantry: Textile Treasures from the Armenian Orthodox Churches of Istanbul