Berkeley, CA—Resplendent Dress from Southeastern Europe: a History in Layers, by Elizabeth Wayland Barber and Barbara Belle Sloan, editors, earned the 2013 R. L. Shep Ethnic Textile Book Award from the Textile Society of America, according to TSA Awards Co-Chair Jill D’Alessandro of the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco and TSA President Roxane Shaughnessy of the Textile Museum of Canada.
The 2013 selection committee consisted of Claire Odland, Ruth Barnes, and Cecilia Anderson.
This lavishly illustrated text, featuring 285 color images, accompanied an exhibition mounted at the Fowler Museum at the University of California in Los Angeles. The authors demonstrate the evolution of embellishment and culture as expressed through dress: “by 1900, a southeastern European village woman’s apparel consisted of millennia of layered history. With a glance at her, the onlooker could read not only her marital status but also her religion, wealth, textile skills, and more.”
The book unfolds from Europe’s Paleolithic past to post-war (post-Yugoslavian) Balkan society. With this broad sweep the different facets connect to tell a compelling story. The final chapter is an account of how these garments were collected and later studied at the Fowler museum at UCLA.
The Textile Society of America is pleased to solicit nominations for the R. L. Shep Ethnic Textile Book Award for books published in 2014.This year, nominations will be submitted through the TSA web- page at https://textilesocietyofamerica.org/nominate-a-book/.
Given annually, the award is meant to encourage the study and understanding of ethnic textile traditions by recognizing exceptional scholarship in the field. The award consists of a cash prize, funded by an endowment established by R. L. Shep in 2000. The Textile Society of America administers the endowment through an independent committee appointed by the Board of Directors. Current committee and TSA Board members are ineligible for the award.
Nominations are open to English-‐language books (including bilingual publications in which all essential information appears in English). For the purpose of the award, “ethnic” textiles are defined as the non-‐industrial textiles of Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Native and Latin America, as well as those in identifiable cultural groups in Europe and North America. Books of a variety of formats, including monographs, anthologies, and exhibition catalogs may be nominated. Original, scholarly research that is clearly communicated is the principal criteria for the prize-‐winning book. Author-‐nominated works are welcome. The 2014 award will be presented at an awards banquet held during the 15th Biennial TSA Symposium in Savannah, Georgia, October 19-23, 2016. Please note that three copies of each publication will be required for the judging process. For additional information, contact committee chair, Pat Hickman at phickman@hawaii.edu.
Wendy Weiss
TSA External Relations Director
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