Overview

'A fascinating alternative history covering 2,500 years and a geographical span from Japan to California' NEW STATESMAN 'A revelation . . . The tale of each carpet as Armstrong tells it is untidy and tragic and comical all at once' TESSA HADLEY On the saddles of warlords, draping the walls of palaces, under the feet of presidents, dictators and religious leaders: where there is power, there have been carpets. Threads of Empire is a vivid new history of global power told through the stories of the world's most fascinating rugs. From colonial bureaucrats to Lutheran priests, oil barons to Islamic rules, Scythian chieftains to Churchill and Stalin, textile scholar Dorothy Armstrong explores how these objects have always travelled in the slipstream of power - and how the unwritten histories of those who made them are woven into the fabric beneath our feet.

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9781399614245

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Reviews

Vivid . . . glittering -- Best Books of 2025 * New Yorker * A revelation, about the making of carpets, and of markets, and of aesthetic taste. This beautiful book balances Dorothy Armstrong's expertise and her enthralling storytelling perfectly. The tale of each carpet as she tells it is untidy and tragic and comical all at once -- Tessa Hadley, author * THE PAST * A beguiling tour . . . The book displays deep learning, endless curiosity - and a conviction that seemingly mute objects can be anything but * Wall Street Journal * Fascinating . . . Retrieves something of the history so long trodden underfoot. -- Michael Prodger * New Statesman * Who knew that carpets contained such a wealth of fascinating history? Dorothy Armstrong for one, and she shares a lifetime's passion with enviable elegance, weaving her way across centuries and continents. The vocabulary of storytelling is threaded with metaphors straight from the loom; this book shows us why -- Oliver Soden, author * MASQUERADE * A fascinating exploration of the part twelve carpets have played in world events. Carpets, usually woven by nameless women, have been desired throughout history by sultans and holy men, tycoons and tyrants, and their histories shed light on power dynamics across the ages . . . the book contains exquisite images and descriptions of some of the rarest and most important carpets ever made . . . Always at the forefront of Armstrong's accounts of these carpets are their anonymous makers: craftspeople, prisoners, women and children - marginalised, often itinerant, almost always on the wrong side of history -- Lucy Moore * Literary Review * Whether you are a consummate carpet connoisseur or a complete carpet newbie, I defy you not to get wrapped up in Armstrong's beautifully crafted book. An utterly all-encompassing and life-affirming read -- Helena Gumley-Mason, Head of Carpets and Tapestries at Bonhams Armstrong steers us in pursuit of shoals of apparent red herrings, invariably returning to the point of departure with a cleverly honed message. Each chapter is a woven masterpiece of unexpected twists and lightly worn research -- Berrin Torolsan * World of Interiors * Beautifully written and ceaselessly entertaining. If you read one book about carpets this year, make it this one -- Alexander Larman, author * POWER AND GLORY * A wonderfully conceived and very engagingly written window onto global culture, history and politics through the prism of carpets. Products of unknown, unnamed and often illiterate artists of the highest skill, especially from the continent of Asia, these textiles have formed the home-settings of nomadic and settled peoples from lowly farmers to the highest aristocracy, across the world. Armstrong's enthusiasm, historical and technical command of her field, and her deep knowledge of so much of world history shines through like a bolt of enlivening sunshine -- Jaś Elsner, author * ROMAN EYES * I am much enjoying this absorbing history of the world through the stories of twelve notable carpets. It tells engrossing tales of emperors, shahs, sultans and samurai, as well as the poor illiterate weavers who made them, and in the process sheds surprising light on the workings of empire -- Caroline Sanderson * The Bookseller * A carpet has many stories to tell, from the time and place where it was woven by hand through to the time and place where it was used and cherished. This book helps us to locate that object in a unique way thanks to the many layered perspective that the author offers interweaving the personal and global, the political and the cultural, the historic and the intangible into a narrative that puts carpets, perhaps unknowingly, at the centre of the human experience -- Ben Evans, editor * Hali Magazine * Handwoven carpets have long been regarded as a hallmark of civilisation. Sought after by the rich and powerful alike as markers of status they have likewise been acquired as trophies by conquerors keen to cement their victories. This excellent study by Dorothy Armstrong shows how, over millennia, these ultimate status symbols have both defined and been defined by the political cultures that produced them -- Ali M. Ansari, author * IRAN * Meticulously researched . . . An intriguing, revelatory historical perspective -- Kirkus (starred review)

A revelation, about the making of carpets, and of markets, and of aesthetic taste. This beautiful book balances Dorothy Armstrong's expertise and her enthralling storytelling perfectly. The tale of each carpet as she tells it is untidy and tragic and comical all at once -- Tessa Hadley, author * THE PAST * Who knew that carpets contained such a wealth of fascinating history? Dorothy Armstrong for one, and she shares a lifetime's passion with enviable elegance, weaving her way across centuries and continents. The vocabulary of storytelling is threaded with metaphors straight from the loom; this book shows us why -- Oliver Soden, author * MASQUERADE * Beautifully written and ceaselessly entertaining. If you read one book about carpets this year, make it this one -- Alexander Larman, author * POWER AND GLORY * A wonderfully conceived and very engagingly written window onto global culture, history and politics through the prism of carpets. Products of unknown, unnamed and often illiterate artists of the highest skill, especially from the continent of Asia, these textiles have formed the home-settings of nomadic and settled peoples from lowly farmers to the highest aristocracy, across the world. Armstrong's enthusiasm, historical and technical command of her field, and her deep knowledge of so much of world history shines through like a bolt of enlivening sunshine -- Jaś Elsner, author * ROMAN EYES * A carpet has many stories to tell, from the time and place where it was woven by hand through to the time and place where it was used and cherished. This book helps us to locate that object in a unique way thanks to the many layered perspective that the author offers interweaving the personal and global, the political and the cultural, the historic and the intangible into a narrative that puts carpets, perhaps unknowingly, at the centre of the human experience -- Ben Evans, editor * Hali Magazine * Handwoven carpets have long been regarded as a hallmark of civilisation. Sought after by the rich and powerful alike as markers of status they have likewise been acquired as trophies by conquerors keen to cement their victories. This excellent study by Dorothy Armstrong shows how, over millennia, these ultimate status symbols have both defined and been defined by the political cultures that produced them -- Ali M. Ansari, author * IRAN * I am much enjoying this absorbing history of the world through the stories of twelve notable carpets. It tells engrossing tales of emperors, shahs, sultans and samurai, as well as the poor illiterate weavers who made them, and in the process sheds surprising light on the workings of empire -- Caroline Sanderson * The Bookseller * A fascinating exploration of the part twelve carpets have played in world events. Carpets, usually woven by nameless women, have been desired throughout history by sultans and holy men, tycoons and tyrants, and their histories shed light on power dynamics across the ages . . . the book contains exquisite images and descriptions of some of the rarest and most important carpets ever made . . . Always at the forefront of Armstrong's accounts of these carpets are their anonymous makers: craftspeople, prisoners, women and children - marginalised, often itinerant, almost always on the wrong side of history -- Lucy Moore * Literary Review * [Carpets] she chooses for her fascinating alternative history cover 2,500 years and a geographical span from Japan to California via the weaving heartlands of the ""stans"" of Central Asia. They survived in a frozen Scythian tomb, stitched into the armour of a medieval Japanese samurai and in the Lutheran churches of Transylvania. Each has a story. Armstrong's account of the unshowy carpet clinically designated ""9-67"" in the Burrell Collection in Glasgow, for example, touches on Egypt's Mamluks, Richard the Lionheart and Saladin, the Ottoman Sultan Selim the Grim and a Scottish shipping merchant - yet little about it can be definitively proved. Here, as with all her carpets, she retrieves something of the history so long trodden underfoot. -- Michael Prodger * New Statesman * Meticulously researched . . . An intriguing, revelatory historical perspective -- Kirkus (starred review)

Vivid . . . glittering * New Yorker * A revelation, about the making of carpets, and of markets, and of aesthetic taste. This beautiful book balances Dorothy Armstrong's expertise and her enthralling storytelling perfectly. The tale of each carpet as she tells it is untidy and tragic and comical all at once -- Tessa Hadley, author * THE PAST * A beguiling tour . . . The book displays deep learning, endless curiosity - and a conviction that seemingly mute objects can be anything but * Wall Street Journal * Fascinating . . . Retrieves something of the history so long trodden underfoot. -- Michael Prodger * New Statesman * Who knew that carpets contained such a wealth of fascinating history? Dorothy Armstrong for one, and she shares a lifetime's passion with enviable elegance, weaving her way across centuries and continents. The vocabulary of storytelling is threaded with metaphors straight from the loom; this book shows us why -- Oliver Soden, author * MASQUERADE * A fascinating exploration of the part twelve carpets have played in world events. Carpets, usually woven by nameless women, have been desired throughout history by sultans and holy men, tycoons and tyrants, and their histories shed light on power dynamics across the ages . . . the book contains exquisite images and descriptions of some of the rarest and most important carpets ever made . . . Always at the forefront of Armstrong's accounts of these carpets are their anonymous makers: craftspeople, prisoners, women and children - marginalised, often itinerant, almost always on the wrong side of history -- Lucy Moore * Literary Review * Whether you are a consummate carpet connoisseur or a complete carpet newbie, I defy you not to get wrapped up in Armstrong's beautifully crafted book. An utterly all-encompassing and life-affirming read -- Helena Gumley-Mason, Head of Carpets and Tapestries at Bonhams Armstrong steers us in pursuit of shoals of apparent red herrings, invariably returning to the point of departure with a cleverly honed message. Each chapter is a woven masterpiece of unexpected twists and lightly worn research -- Berrin Torolsan * World of Interiors * Beautifully written and ceaselessly entertaining. If you read one book about carpets this year, make it this one -- Alexander Larman, author * POWER AND GLORY * A wonderfully conceived and very engagingly written window onto global culture, history and politics through the prism of carpets. Products of unknown, unnamed and often illiterate artists of the highest skill, especially from the continent of Asia, these textiles have formed the home-settings of nomadic and settled peoples from lowly farmers to the highest aristocracy, across the world. Armstrong's enthusiasm, historical and technical command of her field, and her deep knowledge of so much of world history shines through like a bolt of enlivening sunshine -- Jaś Elsner, author * ROMAN EYES * I am much enjoying this absorbing history of the world through the stories of twelve notable carpets. It tells engrossing tales of emperors, shahs, sultans and samurai, as well as the poor illiterate weavers who made them, and in the process sheds surprising light on the workings of empire -- Caroline Sanderson * The Bookseller * A carpet has many stories to tell, from the time and place where it was woven by hand through to the time and place where it was used and cherished. This book helps us to locate that object in a unique way thanks to the many layered perspective that the author offers interweaving the personal and global, the political and the cultural, the historic and the intangible into a narrative that puts carpets, perhaps unknowingly, at the centre of the human experience -- Ben Evans, editor * Hali Magazine * Handwoven carpets have long been regarded as a hallmark of civilisation. Sought after by the rich and powerful alike as markers of status they have likewise been acquired as trophies by conquerors keen to cement their victories. This excellent study by Dorothy Armstrong shows how, over millennia, these ultimate status symbols have both defined and been defined by the political cultures that produced them -- Ali M. Ansari, author * IRAN * Meticulously researched . . . An intriguing, revelatory historical perspective -- Kirkus (starred review)

A revelation, about the making of carpets, and of markets, and of aesthetic taste. This beautiful book balances Dorothy Armstrong's expertise and her enthralling storytelling perfectly. The tale of each carpet as she tells it is untidy and tragic and comical all at once -- Tessa Hadley, author * THE PAST * Each chapter is a woven masterpiece of unexpected twists and lightly worn research. The author sets out to capture the history of humanity through a quirkily narrow lens, and, my, has she succeeded -- Berrin Torolsan * World of Interiors * Who knew that carpets contained such a wealth of fascinating history? Dorothy Armstrong for one, and she shares a lifetime's passion with enviable elegance, weaving her way across centuries and continents. The vocabulary of storytelling is threaded with metaphors straight from the loom; this book shows us why -- Oliver Soden, author * MASQUERADE * Fascinating . . . Retrieves something of the history so long trodden underfoot. -- Michael Prodger * New Statesman * A fascinating exploration of the part twelve carpets have played in world events. Carpets, usually woven by nameless women, have been desired throughout history by sultans and holy men, tycoons and tyrants, and their histories shed light on power dynamics across the ages . . . the book contains exquisite images and descriptions of some of the rarest and most important carpets ever made . . . Always at the forefront of Armstrong's accounts of these carpets are their anonymous makers: craftspeople, prisoners, women and children - marginalised, often itinerant, almost always on the wrong side of history -- Lucy Moore * Literary Review * Beautifully written and ceaselessly entertaining. If you read one book about carpets this year, make it this one -- Alexander Larman, author * POWER AND GLORY * A wonderfully conceived and very engagingly written window onto global culture, history and politics through the prism of carpets. Products of unknown, unnamed and often illiterate artists of the highest skill, especially from the continent of Asia, these textiles have formed the home-settings of nomadic and settled peoples from lowly farmers to the highest aristocracy, across the world. Armstrong's enthusiasm, historical and technical command of her field, and her deep knowledge of so much of world history shines through like a bolt of enlivening sunshine -- Jaś Elsner, author * ROMAN EYES * A carpet has many stories to tell, from the time and place where it was woven by hand through to the time and place where it was used and cherished. This book helps us to locate that object in a unique way thanks to the many layered perspective that the author offers interweaving the personal and global, the political and the cultural, the historic and the intangible into a narrative that puts carpets, perhaps unknowingly, at the centre of the human experience -- Ben Evans, editor * Hali Magazine * Handwoven carpets have long been regarded as a hallmark of civilisation. Sought after by the rich and powerful alike as markers of status they have likewise been acquired as trophies by conquerors keen to cement their victories. This excellent study by Dorothy Armstrong shows how, over millennia, these ultimate status symbols have both defined and been defined by the political cultures that produced them -- Ali M. Ansari, author * IRAN * I am much enjoying this absorbing history of the world through the stories of twelve notable carpets. It tells engrossing tales of emperors, shahs, sultans and samurai, as well as the poor illiterate weavers who made them, and in the process sheds surprising light on the workings of empire -- Caroline Sanderson * The Bookseller * Meticulously researched . . . An intriguing, revelatory historical perspective -- Kirkus (starred review)

A revelation, about the making of carpets, and of markets, and of aesthetic taste. This beautiful book balances Dorothy Armstrong's expertise and her enthralling storytelling perfectly. The tale of each carpet as she tells it is untidy and tragic and comical all at once -- Tessa Hadley, author * THE PAST * Fascinating . . . Retrieves something of the history so long trodden underfoot. -- Michael Prodger * New Statesman * Who knew that carpets contained such a wealth of fascinating history? Dorothy Armstrong for one, and she shares a lifetime's passion with enviable elegance, weaving her way across centuries and continents. The vocabulary of storytelling is threaded with metaphors straight from the loom; this book shows us why -- Oliver Soden, author * MASQUERADE * A fascinating exploration of the part twelve carpets have played in world events. Carpets, usually woven by nameless women, have been desired throughout history by sultans and holy men, tycoons and tyrants, and their histories shed light on power dynamics across the ages . . . the book contains exquisite images and descriptions of some of the rarest and most important carpets ever made . . . Always at the forefront of Armstrong's accounts of these carpets are their anonymous makers: craftspeople, prisoners, women and children - marginalised, often itinerant, almost always on the wrong side of history -- Lucy Moore * Literary Review * Armstrong steers us in pursuit of shoals of apparent red herrings, invariably returning to the point of departure with a cleverly honed message. Each chapter is a woven masterpiece of unexpected twists and lightly worn research -- Berrin Torolsan * World of Interiors * Beautifully written and ceaselessly entertaining. If you read one book about carpets this year, make it this one -- Alexander Larman, author * POWER AND GLORY * A wonderfully conceived and very engagingly written window onto global culture, history and politics through the prism of carpets. Products of unknown, unnamed and often illiterate artists of the highest skill, especially from the continent of Asia, these textiles have formed the home-settings of nomadic and settled peoples from lowly farmers to the highest aristocracy, across the world. Armstrong's enthusiasm, historical and technical command of her field, and her deep knowledge of so much of world history shines through like a bolt of enlivening sunshine -- Jaś Elsner, author * ROMAN EYES * I am much enjoying this absorbing history of the world through the stories of twelve notable carpets. It tells engrossing tales of emperors, shahs, sultans and samurai, as well as the poor illiterate weavers who made them, and in the process sheds surprising light on the workings of empire -- Caroline Sanderson * The Bookseller * A carpet has many stories to tell, from the time and place where it was woven by hand through to the time and place where it was used and cherished. This book helps us to locate that object in a unique way thanks to the many layered perspective that the author offers interweaving the personal and global, the political and the cultural, the historic and the intangible into a narrative that puts carpets, perhaps unknowingly, at the centre of the human experience -- Ben Evans, editor * Hali Magazine * Handwoven carpets have long been regarded as a hallmark of civilisation. Sought after by the rich and powerful alike as markers of status they have likewise been acquired as trophies by conquerors keen to cement their victories. This excellent study by Dorothy Armstrong shows how, over millennia, these ultimate status symbols have both defined and been defined by the political cultures that produced them -- Ali M. Ansari, author * IRAN * Meticulously researched . . . An intriguing, revelatory historical perspective -- Kirkus (starred review)

Author Information

Dorothy Armstrong is a historian of the material culture of South, Central and West Asia. She has taught at the Royal College of Art, Edinburgh College of Art and the University of Oxford. She was the Beattie Fellow in Carpet Studies at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, where she is now honorary research fellow. Threads of Empire is her first book.

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