This is the classic comprehensive colour survey of textile art and production worldwide from prehistory to the present day. It is both an authoritative work of reference and a visual delight. The book opens with an expert guide to nine fundamental textile techniques from rug weaving and tapestry to felt and bark cloth. Each is clearly explained using line drawings and close-up colour details from actual textiles to show how people from many different traditions have made and decorated cloth through the centuries. The breathtaking wealth of illustrations drawn from major collections all over the world many never published before includes costumes period interiors archive photographs and a huge variety of fabrics.