South Asia (general) bibliography

Listed below are details of a few books (from my own collection) which feature the textiles of South Asia. Some books are solely devoted to a particular aspect of culture, including textiles, whilst others include a few pages of information within a wider study.

also see individual bibliographies for Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan as well as Burma

click bibliographies for more country or region specific bibliographies

	"The Chittagong Hill Tracts: Living in a Borderland" by Willem van Schendel, Wolfgang Mey & Aditya Kumar Dewan published by White Lotus in 2000 ISBN 974-8434-98-2 Examines the borderland between the three countries - Burma, India & Bangladesh - inhabited by 12 distinct ethnic groups with strong cultural and linguistic links with Southeast Asia. Black and white old photographs and colour recent showing area and people and including some costume.
	"Sari to Sarong: Five hundred years of Indian and Indonesian textile exchange" by Robyn Maxwell published by the National Gallery of Australia in 2003 ISBN 0-642-54113-2 The book to accompany the exhibition of the same name and based on the extensive collection in the National Gallery of Australia. Fine photographs
	"Woven Cargoes: Indian Textiles in the East" by John Guy published by Thames and Hudson in 1998 ISBN 0-500-01863-4 Fascinating volume on the trade in Indian textiles to Southeast and East Asia with excellent black & white and colour photos.
	"Islands and Ancestors: Indigenous Styles of Southeast Asia" edited by Douglas Newton and Jean Paul Barbier published in 1988 by Prestel ISBN 3-7913-0899-8 Essays on the art of the islands of southeast Asia - Taiwan, Indonesia, Borneo, Philippines with mainly black & white photos but a few colour. Published in conjunction with a two-part exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and drawing upon the extensive collection of the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva.
	"Textiles and the Tai Experience in Southeast Asia" by Mattiebelle Gittinger, H Leedom Lefferts Jr published by The Textile Museum, Washington 1992. ISBN 0-87405-030-8. Catalogue from 1992 exhibition at the museum. Mainly black and white photos but 23 colour plates. Detailed chapters from the authors on Tai texile forms, contexts and meanings, textiles in the service of Buddhism, in the service of Kings and in the service of self. Main focus on the Tai as majority populations in Thailand and Laos but also references to the 'strategically situated minorities' in Vietnam and Myanmar and the small minorities in China, India and Cambodia.
	"The Seven Sisters of India: Tribal Worlds between Tibet and Burma" by Aglaja Stirn & Peter van Ham published in 2000 by Prestel Verlag ISBN 3-7913-2399-7. India's remote Northeast comprising 7 states stretching from Tibet in the north to Myanmar in the south including Nagaland, Meghalaya and Assam. Individual chapters focus on different aspects of life, religious belief and ritual including one on weaving. Excellent quality photographs and informative text.
	"The Hidden World of the Naga: Living Traditions in Northeast India and Burma" by Aglaja Stirn & Peter van Ham published in 2003 by Prestel Verlag ISBN 3-7913-2878-6 First comprehensive examination of the tribal groups that for centuries have lived in relative isolation in the hills and mountains of Northeast India and Northwest Myanmar. Stunning new photos the book is 'a celebration of the Naga cultural realm covering aspects ranging from art and architecture to traditional customs, crafts and everyday life. Includes a chapter on weaving. Full of photos showing costume.
	"Textiles of Southeast Asia: Tradition, Trade and Transformation" by Robyn Maxwell published by Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd in 2003. ISBN 0-7946-0104-9. This is a reprinted edition of the book below with new colour plates, a corrected text, and a new foreword by Mattiebelle Gittinger. There is no doubt that the switch to colour of the majority of the plates makes a huge difference to this excellent major reference work.
	"Textiles of Southeast Asia: Tradition, Trade and Transformation" by Robyn Maxwell published by Oxford University Press, Australian National Gallery in 1990 and reprinted in 1994 ISBN 967-65-3060 3. Major reference work on the textiles of Southeast Asia. Central focus is the interplay between indigenous Southeast Asian traditions and the external cultural forces that have had a crucial part of the historical development and changing nature of the region's textile traditions. Needs careful (but rewarding) study as textiles from particular groups or areas appear throughout the volume illustrating different themes.

also see individual bibliographies for Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan as well as Burma

click bibliographies for more country or region specific bibliographies