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Carpets from East and West
Online course
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Our courses are built using the latest Microsoft software. Tune in to expert lectures live or catch up on demand. Join discussions and continue your learning with downloadable handouts and presentations. Find out more >>
This online art history course invites you to immerse yourself in the world of carpet history over twelve fascinating weeks. Long established as indicators of wealth and good taste, hand-knotted carpets have furnished the most important and the humblest dwellings.
Learn about the history of carpets from our world-class experts wherever you are, whenever suits you: watch lectures live or view the recording later in your own time. You can experience the full breadth and depth of the V&A's collections with 24 hours of study over 12 weeks. Learn at your own pace: lecture recordings and study materials, lecture notes, copies of the presentations, and additional study materials are available in our secure Microsoft Teams environment for 12 weeks after the course ends, so you'll never miss a thing. And finally, join the conversation: share your perspective with your fellow students, and support each other in your further enquiries outside of class time.
Learn about the history of carpets from our world-class experts wherever you are, whenever suits you: watch lectures live or view the recording later in your own time. You can experience the full breadth and depth of the V&A's collections with 24 hours of study over 12 weeks. Learn at your own pace: lecture recordings and study materials, lecture notes, copies of the presentations, and additional study materials are available in our secure Microsoft Teams environment for 12 weeks after the course ends, so you'll never miss a thing. And finally, join the conversation: share your perspective with your fellow students, and support each other in your further enquiries outside of class time.
Course Leader
Jennifer Wearden
Jennifer Wearden was a V&A textile curator for 28 years, responsible for the V&A’s collection of Turkish, Persian, Caucasian, Central Asian and European carpets. She has authored/co-authored publications such as Samplers, Ottoman Embroidery, World Dress in Detail, Oriental Carpets, Iranian Textiles and lead and lectures on V&A Academy courses.
Thank you all for a fascinating twelve weeks. I have learnt so much! Previous V&A Academy student
Course overview
We invite you to immerse yourself in the fascinating world of carpets. Long established as indicators of wealth and good taste, hand-knotted carpets have furnished the most important and the humblest dwellings. They have been used in palaces and places of worship, in the tents of nomadic people and even buried with the dead. Displayed in great museums and sold in department stores, carpets can be every-day furnishings or items of great luxury. Learn how they were traded, from the Middle Ages to the present day, and how they were used and copied in Europe. Study how carpets are designed and how they are made – by hand and by machine – and how this can enable you to judge their relative quality for yourself.
Guest speakers include Jodie Hatton, Design Manager Europe at Brintons Carpets Ltd who have been making carpets in Kidderminster since 1783 and Bruce Lepere, Buyer for The Liberty Oriental Carpet Department one of the oldest sections of Liberty’s London store.
V&A Members can book from 10.00 (BST) on Friday 11 October 2024. General booking will open at 10.00 (BST) on Monday 21 October 2024.
Our courses are built using the latest Microsoft software. Tune in to expert lectures live or catch up on demand. Join discussions and continue your learning with downloadable handouts and presentations. Find out more >>
Enrol now
Online course: Carpets from East and West
16 January 2025 - 3 April 2025
£250.00
Need help enrolling? Talk to the admissions team:
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Open 10.00 - 13.00, Monday to Sunday (closed 24-26 December)
Related events
Header image: Medallion carpet known as the 'Ardabil Carpet', wool pile on silk foundation, design of central medallion with two hanging lamps, Safavid Iran, dated 946H, 1539-1540. Museum Ref. 272-1893