ucl, research assistant

Victoria’s doctoral research focuses on carpets, specifically pile textile technology and how small changes, artisan idiosyncrasies and social constraints affect the structure and design of a finished textile. Statistical photo filtering and 3D modelling enables examination of the distribution of variations and errors thereby creating a better understanding of the wider technological and social context in which individual artisans created their works. This unique research aims to draw new conclusions about technological evolution, transmission and social settings of the weavers. Victoria’s interest in Central Asian textiles comes from a more general passion for making things by hand and family ties to the region. Her hands are never idle, and in her spare time she can be found building furniture, weaving carpets, and baking cakes.

Read more about her specific research on a 2020 photo essay: Untying the knots of Central Asian carpets: Searching for clues to ancient production techniques among modern weavers.

Enjoy a podcast by Olesya Dovgalyuk on Not Just Silk – conversations with Victoria on her textile research and deep dive into experimental archaeology, knowledge creation and exchange, spinning, looms and whorls. FUN!!