Threads of Empire
A History of the World in Twelve Carpets
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Threads of Empire
Narrated by:
Alix Dunmore
Buy Now for ₹500.00
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Narrated by:
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Alix Dunmore
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Written by:
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Dorothy Armstrong
About this listen
'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.©2025 Dorothy Armstrong
Critic Reviews
Vivid . . . glittering
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)
A beguiling tour . . . The book displays deep learning, endless curiosity - and a conviction that seemingly mute objects can be anything but
Fascinating . . . Retrieves something of the history so long trodden underfoot. (Michael Prodger)
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)
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)
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)
Beautifully written and ceaselessly entertaining. If you read one book about carpets this year, make it this one (Alexander Larman, author)
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)
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