Ruth Barnes (born 1947) is an

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

in the field of South and Southeast Asian textiles. She served as textile curator of the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...

in Oxford before taking up her current position as Curator of Indo-Pacific Art at Yale University. She is a fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society.

Biography

Ruth Barnes received her degree from the University of Edinburgh, and her doctorate from the University of Oxford. She worked as a research assistant alongside Hélène la Rue, Curator of Musical Instruments at the Pitt Rivers Museum, before moving on as a collections researcher to the Ashmolean and the

Museum der Weltkulturen The Museum of World Cultures (german: link=no, Museum der Weltkulturen) is an ethnological museum in Frankfurt, Germany. Until 2001 it was called the Museum of Ethnology (''Museum für Völkerkunde''). History It was founded in 1904, as a ...

in Frankfurt. She has been at the forefront of numerous galleries and exhibitions on Asian and Islamic textiles, early Indian Ocean trade, and pilgrimage during her time at the

. At Yale, Dr Barnes will head the newly created Department of Indo-Pacific Art at the University Art Gallery. In addition to her curatorial background, Barnes has also lectured in the faculties of Oriental Studies and Anthropology at the University of Oxford and

SOAS SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

in London.Dr Ruth Barnes, Academic profile
Faculty of Oriental Studies. She is also an accomplished academic, having published and edited numerous books and journal articles on textiles and Asian dress as well as acting on the editorial board of several textile publication journals. Her research interests focus on the social history of material culture, with a focus on Indian Ocean trade during the pre-European and early European periods.

Bibliography

''Select bibliography'' *2010 (Barnes, Ruth and Mary H. Kahlenberg, eds.) ''Five Centuries of Indonesian Textiles. The Mary Hunt Kahlenberg Collection''. Munich, New York: Prestel. *2009 (Kerlogue, Fiona and Barnes, Ruth, eds.) Southeast Asian collections in European museums. ''Indonesia and the Malay World'' Vol. 37: No. 108. *2006 (Barnes, Ruth and Crispin Branfoot) ''Pilgrimage. The Sacred Journey''. Oxford: Ashmolean Museum. *2005 (Barnes, Ruth, ed.) ''Textiles in Indian Ocean Societies''. London: RoutledgeCurzon. *2002 (Parkin, David and Ruth Barnes, eds.) ''Ships and the Development of Maritime Technology in the Indian Ocean''. London: RoutledgeCurzon. *1992 (Barnes, Ruth and

Joanne Eicher Joanne Eicher, also known as Joanne Bubolz Eicher, born in 1930, is a retired professor and author who was at one point the leading scholar on Kalabari textiles. Education In 1952 Eicher received an MS in sociology and anthropology, and in 1959 ...

, eds.) ''Dress and Gender: Making and Meaning in Cultural Contexts''. New York and Oxford: Berg.

References

British art historians People associated with the Ashmolean Museum Alumni of St Cross College, Oxford Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 1956 births Living people Women art historians British women historians British women curators Textile historians Historians of Indian art {{UK-historian-stub