Threads of Identity presents in depth embroideries and dress of the Rabaris of western India. In a pioneering approach to textile study, it synthesizes folk art and culture, history and anthropology. Here, for the first time the range of striking, elaborately embroidered textiles and exquisite jewellery worn by 12 Rabari subgroups are thoroughly documented. Looking deeper than documentation, Threads of Identity is equally about people. It portrays the Rabaris, proud, independent, deeply wedded to tradition, and explains the roles of embroidery and dress in their lives. In this vividly recreated context, Ms. Frater defines embroidery styles, and interprets elements of embroidery and dress. Patterns in variations express how, over more than 10 centuries, Rabaris migrated accross the subcontinent and spread into different regions.

Adapting to new environments, subgroups of Rabaris simultaneously preserved their identity. The balance maintained between tradition and change is tangibly expressed in Rabari adornment. Ms. Frater elucidates complex themes in a lucid, readable style. In the book's second half, she recounts intimate personal experiences with Rabaris bringing to life these nomads and especially their own sense of their arts. Threads of Identity offers the rare opportunity to comprehend more fully folk arts, people and, most important, the intertwining relationship between them.