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Bard Graduate Center is an advanced graduate research institute in New York City dedicated to the cultural histories of the material world. Our MA and PhD degree programs, Gallery exhibitions, research initiatives, scholarly publications and public programs explore new ways of thinking about decorative arts, design history, and material culture.

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Bard Graduate Center is dedicated to new research in the decorative arts, design history, and material culture. Exhibitions, both in our gallery and online, emerge from classroom teaching and faculty research and often serve as the basis for collaborations with scholars and institutions elsewhere in the city and around the world. These critically acclaimed projects offer visitors cutting-edge perspectives on objects—from the mundane to the extraordinary—and their stories. BGC Gallery publishes award-winning catalogues and offers a broad array of programs to enhance your gallery experience.





From the Exhibition:
The Codex and Crafts in Late Antiquity

A multigathering codex, the precursor of today’s bound book, is a complex object with many parts that work together to protect the text and to make it easily accessible for reading. In late antiquity (3rd–8th centuries AD), makers of codices adapted a number of existing craft techniques. This interactive features the five main processes used to make a bound codex, all of which are closely related to processes used to make other common items. For example, techniques for sewing endbands resemble those used in finishing the edges of textiles and mats, and techniques for decorating leather covers are similar to those used in making shoes. Through drawings, photographs, and animations, this interactive demonstrates craft techniques used to make multigathering codices.

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