Nathalie Rothstein Silk Symposium and Award Announced

Natalie Rothstein (21st June 1930 -18th February 2010) was a much admired museum curator and textile scholar. She became the leading international authority on Spitalfields silks and was an outstanding curator at the V & A Museum where she worked in various posts from 1952-1990. As well as her curatorial work, Natalie enjoyed mentoring younger staff and was always concerned that research into textiles should continue. Her specialist field of study was the English silk industry from 1600-1850. Silk Designs of the Eighteenth Century in the Collection of the Victorian and Albert Museum (1990) was her masterpiece and is an invaluable work of reference.

The Natalie Rothstein Award
The award will be given for a piece of critical writing, which reflects new research. The sum of £1,000 will be awarded for an essay which should be no more that 5,000 words in length, on a subject of any type, which represents a continuity of Natalie's research interests and philosophies. This includes a wide range of topics, for example: textile techniques, business ethics, botanical drawing, the business of being a designer, the curatorial role, the 18th century, the Huguenots and silk. We would also welcome essays that demonstrate knowledge of the significance of textile archives. Scholars whose topics embrace the subject of silk are also invited to submit a paper for the symposium outlined below.
The deadline is 31st August 2012 and the award will be announced at the Silk Symposium in spring 2013.


Criteria:
The Award is aimed at individual researchers, postgraduate or PhD students in the field of textile or dress history.
• The work must reflect new findings in the history of silk. It should be research based with a theoretical approach.

How to submit:
• A written paper not more than 5000 words ( not including footnotes and bibliography) should be presented in ‘Word’ format and sent on disc to address below.
• The paper must contain 6 good quality visuals to accompany text and must be fully referenced, it should be available for Textile Society publications and publicity purposes.

Closing date for this Award is the 31st August 2012.

Email the chair, Dr Brenda King for details or with queries.


Silk Symposium Call For Papers
The symposium, on the theme of silk, will take place in a central London location in spring 2013. The winner of the Natalie Rothstein Award will be announced then. The event will be entirely free to all participants and attendees and we do welcome students to this event.
Through the Natalie Rothstein Silk Symposium we wish to encourage scholarship and the dissemination of new research. We therefore invite papers that consider silk in any context, from production and trade to its use both historical and contemporary.

Those wishing to take part should send a synopsis of their proposed paper for consideration to Dr Brenda King by 31st August 2012.