The Turban

A History from East to West

Chris Filstrup, Jane Merrill

$49.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Reaktion Books
01 June 2025

History of fashion; History; Fashion & society

Unravel the fascinating history of the turban, from its origins to its religious uses and its appearance in contemporary fashion and culture.

A turban is a strip of cloth folded and wrapped around the head; however, this description includes multifarious forms across space and time. This book follows the turban as it moves from the Arabian Peninsula through the Ottoman Empire to Europe and the Americas. It directs the reader's gaze from traditional and religious uses of the turban into the realms of international trade, Renaissance art and contemporary fashions. Turbans, as this book shows, have moved in and out of Western culture, at times considered archaic and forgotten, then noticed and reinstated as major accessories. Today Sikh men are recognized by their distinctive headwraps, and the turban remains an important part of Black culture. This book explores the turban's many adaptations worldwide.

'I'm impressed by the scope of this study, from the turban as a marker of religious affiliation to a prop for Rembrandt to a distinctive fashion for women. Headgear off to Filstrup and Merrill.'

Gay Talese, journalist and author

By: Chris Filstrup, Jane Merrill
Imprint: Reaktion Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781836390749
ISBN 10: 1836390742
Pages: 264
Publication Date: 01 June 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Chris Filstrup was Chief of the Oriental Division at the New York Public Library and Dean of Libraries at Stony Brook University. He is co-author, with Jane Merrill, of The Wedding Night (2011), among other titles. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia. Jane Merrill has written for many national u.s. magazines and is the author of The Showgirl Costume (2018) and other cultural histories. She lives in Saint George, Maine.

Reviews for The Turban: A History from East to West

I'm impressed by the scope of this study, from the turban as a marker of religious affiliation to a prop for Rembrandt to a distinctive fashion for women. Headgear off to Filstrup and Merrill. * Gay Talese * The Turban is a lively romp through the history and geography of this now ubiquitous headgear. The book offers unexpected nuggets from ancient origins in Asia to the turban's function in contemporary fashion. * Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, Marquand Professor of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University *