"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 and After the Funeral "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." - Jas Elsner, author of Roman Eyes: Visuality and Subjectivity in Art and Text "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, this ultimate of status symbols has both defined and been defined by the political cultures that produced them." - Professor Ali Ansari Director of the Institute for Iranian Studies at St. Andrews University, Scotland, and regular contributor to the podcast The Rest is History .