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Textiles: Prehistory to 1700
Online course
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Join us as we explore the history of textiles. Using archaeological fragments and more recent textiles and paintings, we will learn how technologies and designs developed and how textiles have been used as symbols of wealth and prestige.
Learn from our world-class experts wherever you are, whenever suits you: watch lectures live or view the recording later in your own time. You can experience the full breadth and depth of the V&A's collections with more than 40 hours of study over 12 weeks. Learn at your own pace: lecture recordings and study materials, lecture notes, copies of the presentations, and additional study materials are available in our secure Microsoft Teams environment for up to 12 weeks after the course ends, so you'll never miss a thing. And finally, join the conversation: share your perspective with your fellow students, and support each other in your further enquiries outside of class time.
Course Director
Jennifer Wearden
Jennifer Wearden was Senior Curator of Textiles in the Department of Furniture, Textiles & Fashion Museum until 2005. With experience of the textile industry in Lancashire and 28 years working with the V&A's textile collection, she has co-authored several popular V&A books and has devised and run highly successful courses on textiles and dress.
Thank you you all for a fascinating twelve weeks. I have learnt so much! Previous V&A Academy student on Jennifer's Birth of Style course
Course overview
Textiles are very fragile and although they may once have been fabrics of great beauty, they do not last. However, with the development of archaeology and where favourable conditions have allowed cloth to survive, we can learn a lot about the textile skills of our ancestors and what they were weaving, embroidering and wearing.
After an introduction to fibres, structures and dyes, this textiles course will explore archaeological textiles from Asia, the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and South America and see how technologies and designs developed and spread. Moving into the Middle Ages and then into the 16th and 17th centuries, our knowledge of textiles will increase from a study of paintings and surviving pieces and we will see how textiles were used as furnishings, ecclesiastical vestments and fashionable clothing and how they could be ‘read’ as indicators of wealth, learning and status.
Guest Speakers include:
Dr Mary Brooks, University of Durham;
Benjamin Hinson, Curator, Middle Eastern Collection V&A Asian Department; and independent scholars Dr Alexandra Makin, Dr Gillian White, Frances Pritchard, Lisa Monnas, Jacqueline Simcox and Toni Buckby
Dr Mary Brooks, University of Durham;
Benjamin Hinson, Curator, Middle Eastern Collection V&A Asian Department; and independent scholars Dr Alexandra Makin, Dr Gillian White, Frances Pritchard, Lisa Monnas, Jacqueline Simcox and Toni Buckby
V&A Academy Online. A learning environment you can trust.
V&A Academy Online courses are built using the latest Microsoft software. Tune in to expert lectures live, or catch up later on demand. Download handouts and presentations. Join the discussion in a secure, closed class environment, wherever you are.
Enrol now
Online course: Textiles: Prehistory to 1700
21 September 2023 - 7 December 2023
£395.00
Call to book +44 (0)20 7942 2000
Need help enrolling? Talk to the admissions team:
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Open 10.00 - 13.00, Monday to Sunday (closed 24-26 December)
