The shining cloth

"Embellishment with glittering substances is a worldwide and ancient practice.". "Combining an artist's eye with an in-depth knowledge of textile techniques, Victoria Rivers has spent more than a decade in her quest for the most spectacular examples of this universally appealing phenomenon. Drawing on an extraordinary array of specialist and inaccessible anthropological research from every continent, she examines the lustrous qualities of silk and the special dyeing techniques and other treatments that give fabric surfaces shimmering qualities; explores the use of gold, silver, metals, se...