Venue
Ashmolean Museum, Beaumont Street, Oxford OX1 2PH.

Dates
30-31 August 2003.

Conference Convenors
Jon Thompson,
Willem Floor. 

Organised by
The Iran Heritage Foundation and
The Beattie Carpet Archive at the Ashmolean Museum (University of Oxford).

Supported by
The British Academy.

Introduction
Currently there is a gap between historians of the social, economic and literary life of the Iranian World and scholars focused primarily on objects. Opportunities for the development of new insights through interdisciplinary contacts are rare. The publication of the proceedings of an interdisciplinary conference held in 1983, Carpets of the Mediterranean Countries 1400-1600, which has been described as "the most important single work published on the subject in the last 40 years", provides evidence of the value of such meetings in a field which for too long has been out of the mainstream of scholarship.

Now that carpet studies has, for the first time, been given a recognized place at the University of Oxford, it is timely that a serious attempt be made to bring together scholars from different disciplines whose individual expertise could illuminate different aspects of the history of carpets and textiles. A conference is therefore planned that will focus on carpets and textiles of the Iranian World, concentrating on the Timurid and Safavid periods. The approach will be interdisciplinary rather that object-orientated. The thematic outline below shows a few of the research issues that will be discussed.

• Art historical matters and questions
• The organization of carpet and textile production
• The social function and importance of carpets and textiles
• Cross border influences
• Trade & economy
• Studies of objects
• The history of technology 
• The application of scientific techniques to art historical problem  

Speakers include: Prof. Walter B. Denny (U. of Massachusets); Dr Yolande Crowe (Geneva); Dr Christine Klose (Hamburg); Dr Rene Bekius (Inst. Of Social Sciences, The Hague); Dr Steven Cohen (London); Dr Willem Floor (Bethesda); Jennifer Scarce (formerly of the Royal Musuem of Scotland); Dr Jon Thompson (Ashmolean Museum, U. of  Oxford); Dr Mary Anderson McWilliams (Arthur M. Sackler Museum, U. of Harvard).

Accommodation
College accommodation can be arranged, if required (32.75 Pounds single/58 Pounds ensuite/87 Pounds twin per night).
 
Registration Fee
40 Pounds, 20 Pounds concessions (includes buffet lunch).

Enquiries
emma.dick@ashmus.ox.ac.uk, tel: 44 1865 278076,  fax: 44 1865 278078.