Amanda Phillips (DPhil, Oxon) is Associate Professor of Art History, specialising in the art and material culture of the Islamic World. She researches and writes on the Ottoman Empire and its craft traditions, as well on the histories of consumption and technology. She recently spent a year in Turkey as a Fulbright Senior Researcher, based at Koç University's Department of Archaeology and History of Art. In the Unıversity of Virginia's Department of Art, Amanda teaches at both graduate and undergraduate levels, as well as in the Engagements curriculum for incoming first years. She is currently Director of Graduate Studies in Art and Architectural History.
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Featured Object: Kesi! Tapestry weaving with such fine materials is next-level. A tiger chases a deer through an enchanted forest, on both sides of the fabric, all made of silk and gold. This is only a detail of a longer piece; colleagues in Cleveland suggest it was made as yardage for clothing but ended up used as a cover for leaves of text. It was probably made in China (though it is not entirely clearly where), and the motifs are selected from a number of sources, by artists who were clearly having a ball.
Kesi, silk and gold thread, ca. 1000s or 1100s.
Cleveland Museum of Art, inv. no. 1988.100.