Indigo in the Arab World (Hardcover)

This study sets out to provide coverage of the role of indigo in the Arab world, from its earliest history to the present day. It is based on fieldwork in all the principal countries concerned, as well as library and museum research, discussion with those working in related fields and personal experience of dyeing with indigo. The author surveys the story of indigo in antiquity, and then examines the record in the Arab world before Islam, during the Great Age of Islam, and in the subsequent centuries. She looks at all aspects in each period: technical, commercial, economic, and social, with reference to its importance in international trade and the impact of indigo products on Europe. The work covers each stage of indigo production, as well as the botanical and agricultural usages of indigo in the textile industry throughout the whole period, and the sundry purposes outside the field of textiles to which indigo has been put. The study ends with a brief look at indigo's future prospects.