Inscribed Cotton from Yemen

It is hard to believe that the intricately decorated cotton hangings that make up this new show at the Textile Museum were produced in the 9th and 10th centuries, since their ink-drawn patterns and gilded edges seem as neat as something produced on a Macintosh computer. In addition to the religious invocations and elegies the words of these artifacts present, the show focuses on the patterns the words create, as well as the amazing craft of the weavers and goldsmiths that all contributed to this unusual and often breathtaking art.