Unwrapping the Textile Traditions of Madagascar presents the first extensive treatment of Madagascar's textile traditions region by region, giving a systematic overview of the woven products of each part of the country. It includes types of cloth that have previously been overlooked and explores contrasting uses and meanings among the highly varied cultures of the island. It also publishes for the first time many of the remarkable cloths from the collection assembled by Ralph Linton in 1926 and 1927 for the Field Museum.which represents perhaps as much as 50 percent of the textile heritage of Madagascar.

Beautiful color illustrations and scholarly commentary make this book useful for scholars, connoisseurs, and heritage-preservation experts, as well as weavers interested in reviving traditional techniques and designs.

Chapurukha M. Kusimba is associate curator of African archaeology and ethnology, J. Claire Odland is a museum associate, and Bennet Bronson is curator of Asian archaeology and ethnology, all at the Field Museum in Chicago. Other contributors include Sarah Fee, Rebecca L. Green, Edgar Krebs, Ralph Linton, Liliana Mosca, Simon Peers, Richard Peigler, Chantal Radimilahy, Michel Razafiarivony, and Wendy Walker.