Lecture/Webinar: “Earthly Beauty, Heavenly Art: Carpets for Prayer” Saturday, June 12, 2021, *10 a.m. Pacific Time,* presented by Textile Museum Associates of Southern California with Sumru Belger Krody, Senior Curator, The Textile Museum Collection at The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum. Register: https://tinyurl.com/PryrCptsRgrbt Among textiles in Islamic society, prayer carpets hold a special place. They beautify spaces, while conveying metaphorical meanings for Muslim worshippers during their obligatory five-times daily prayer. Additionally, prayer carpets have been communicating the distinct aesthetic choices of the individual cultures who created and used them for centuries, while being recognizable as prayer carpets through their very specific design elements. Sumru Belger Krody will discuss the prayer carpet’s universality in terms of its use and certain design aesthetics, followed by a brief description on how diverse Islamic cultures make this textile their own, using examples of Turkish, Iranian, Caucasian, Turkman, Indian, Egyptian, and Jewish prayer carpets. She will show that certain design elements and their meanings or symbolism are universal, and point to a fluid iconography through time, place, religion, tradition, and culture. Admission is free. Register: https://tinyurl.com/PryrCptsRgrbt Questions? Contact info@tmasc.org