The Turban: A History from East to West

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 of the garment 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 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.

Chris Filstrup was chief of the Oriental Division at the New York Public Library and dean of libraries at Stony Brook University. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia. Jane Merrill has written for many national magazines and is the author of The Showgirl Costume and other cultural histories. She lives in Saint George, Maine. Together, Filstrup and Merrill are coauthors of The Wedding Night.