Intern Sylvia Wu investigates the history and original use of a textile fragment from the Department of Islamic Art's collection.

Assistant Curator James Doyle analyzes a jade fragment from the Met's collection that may have originally formed the base of a scepter depicting the Maya god of lightning, K'awiil.

Former Intern Ursula Romero discusses digitizing textile sample books in Thomas J. Watson Library. 

Mellon Curatorial Fellow Rachel Parikh examines a shaffron (a piece of armor for a horse's head) potentially used by Indo-Islamic royalty.

Senior Book Conservation Coordinator Andrijana Sajic discusses three Asian textile sample books in the collection of Thomas J. Watson Library.

Research Volunteer Laura Beltran-Rubio highlights examples of Art Deco textile and fashion designs featured in French illustrated pattern books from The Met collection.

Research Assistant Carol Santoleri explores George Stubbs's groundbreaking 1766 treatise.

Guest blogger Walter B. Denny reflects upon his love of Islamic carpets and his two decades of working with the staff and resources of the Met's Antonio Ratti Textile Center.

The golden age of European navigation engendered a flourishing textile trade, causing a breathtaking variety of textile designs to travel across the globe. These textiles blended the traditional designs, skills, and tastes of the cultures that produced them with those of their destinations, resulting in objects that are both intrinsically beautiful and historically intriguing. While previous studies have focused on this story from the viewpoint of trade, Interwoven Globe is the first book to investigate it as a history of design—and to approach it from a universal perspective. Richly illustrated texts examine the interrelationship of textiles, commerce, and taste from the Age of Discovery to the 19th century, providing detailed discussions of more than 120 works. From India with its renowned mastery of dyed-and-painted cotton to the sumptuous silks of Japan and China, Turkey, and Iran, the paths of influence are traced westward to Europe and the Americas. Shaped by an emerging worldwide visual culture, the fashion for the "exotic" in textiles, as well as in other goods and art forms, gave rise to what can be called the first global style. Written by an interdisciplinary curatorial team, this fascinating exploration will appeal to readers interested in art history, fashion and style, textile design, and world events of the early modern period.

Assistant Curator James Doyle explores a house form on view in Design for Eternity: Architectural Models from the Ancient Americas thought to have served as a temporary dwelling for gods and goddesses in the human world.