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The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum

The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum unites the Textile Museum's collection and the Albert H. Small Washingtoniana collection.

Located in the heart of Washington, D.C., the George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum celebrates the creative achievements of local and global cultures from antiquity through today.

Operating as usual

Let’s celebrate the start of the weekend with ! To finish our week of Cambodian textiles, we are featuring a special exa...
01/27/2023

Let’s celebrate the start of the weekend with ! To finish our week of Cambodian textiles, we are featuring a special example in our collection.

This back-tension loom was used by the Tampuan community in Cambodia and features a nearly completed skirt. Most weavers in Cambodia are women, who pass the craft down from mother to daughter over generations.

Image: Tampuan back-tension loom with a nearly completed skirt, Cambodia. 193 x 58 cm (textile), 90 cm (wooden components). The Textile Museum Collection 2016.16.8A. Gift of Barbara G. and David W. Fraser.

Our latest library recommendation is here to brighten up your January: “The exhibition 'Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love' w...
01/26/2023

Our latest library recommendation is here to brighten up your January:

“The exhibition 'Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love' was shown at both the de Young Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum in 2022. If the catalog is any indication, this show was a colorful, playful breath of fresh air. Patrick Kelly (1954-1990) was known for his tongue-in-cheek approach to fashion, often incorporating fun details like oversized buttons on his clothing designs.

While his style was purposely over-the-top and lighthearted, he was taken seriously as a designer by the fashion industry. In 1988, he was the first American and first Black designer elected to the French Federation of Fashion and of Ready-to-Wear Couturiers and Fashion Designers. Though Kelly tragically died two years later due to complications from AIDS, he succeeded in his stated goal for his designs: "I want my clothes to make you smile."
-Tracy Meserve

01/25/2023

Get to know the basics of conservation lab safety with Associate Conservator Gennifer Majors at the Avenir Foundation Conservation and Collections Resource Center.

Remember, you can always visit our website to learn about caring for textiles in your own home: https://museum.gwu.edu/textile-care-display

Explore the far-reaching impact of textiles with today's  features: Discover the hyperrealistic paintings inspired by or...
01/24/2023
Connecting Threads: Japanese Textiles in the British Royal Collection ​

Explore the far-reaching impact of textiles with today's features:

Discover the hyperrealistic paintings inspired by ornate carpets: https://mymodernmet.com/antonio-santin-hyperrealistic-carpet-paintings/

Listen to the significant history of man-made mauve textile dyes: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001bbx2

Attend a conversation on the connections between Japanese textiles and the British Royal Collection: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/connecting-threads-japanese-textiles-in-the-british-royal-collection-tickets-499776905177

Connecting Threads: Japanese Textiles in the British Royal Collection ​ A Talk by Rachel Peat

Today's  is brought to you by Brazilian artist Lygia Pape (1927-2004). A central figure in Brazilian modern art, Pape pu...
01/23/2023
Lygia Pape -

Today's is brought to you by Brazilian artist Lygia Pape (1927-2004). A central figure in Brazilian modern art, Pape pushed the boundaries of geometric art to engage with ethical and political themes.

Do you explore ethical themes in your work?

https://lygiapape.com/

During the frigid season of winter, let’s daydream about bundling up in cozy garments like this woman’s winter coat! Dat...
01/22/2023

During the frigid season of winter, let’s daydream about bundling up in cozy garments like this woman’s winter coat! Dating back to China’s Qing dynasty, this high quality fur and silk garment displays an embroidered waterscape scene that harkens back to warmer days.

The coat features vibrant natural elements, depictions of fishermen at work and lions playing with silk balls, symbolizing protection, good fortune and fertility. We encourage you to celebrate the Lunar New Year with more good-luck textiles by exploring our collections online today: go.gwu.edu/collections.

Woman’s winter coat, China, late 19th century. Fur, silk; satin weave, embroidery; 104 x 140 cm. The Textile Museum Collection 2019.7.9. Gift of Sheridan Pressey Collins.

Researched by Karen De Los Angeles Lopez.
Karen De Los Angeles Lopez is a Nicaraguan-American first-year graduate student at GW working on a M.A. in anthropology with a concentration in museum training. Focusing on the intersection of culture and environment, she is passionate about preservation, particularly regarding endangered customs.

Today's  features a festival poncho made by the Quechua people of South America. The poncho became popular during the 17...
01/20/2023

Today's features a festival poncho made by the Quechua people of South America. The poncho became popular during the 17th century as a garment for daily use and ceremonial occasions, and has become an important symbol of Indigenous identity in the Andes.

‘Unku, Bolivia, Quechua people, before 1978. Cotton, wool; plain weave, complementary-warp weave; 57 x 64 cm. The Textile Museum Collection 1985.27.96. Meadowcroft Bolivian Textile Collection.

01/18/2023

Step back into the Avenir Foundation Conservation and Collections Resource Center with us for a look at how Winterthur Conservation Intern Awyn Rileybird builds passive mats for textiles.

Storing archaeological textiles in passive mats helps make them more easily accessible for researchers while keeping the textiles protected.

Dive into the textiles of the past with these  features:Discover the contemporary artist adapting a centuries-old decora...
01/17/2023
Conserving the King Arthur Tapestry

Dive into the textiles of the past with these features:

Discover the contemporary artist adapting a centuries-old decorative art to modern sensibilities: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2022/12/michelle-robinson-weaving/

Read up on the history of textiles in the Mughal Empire with a recent book from Sylvia Houghteling ($): https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691215785/the-art-of-cloth-in-mughal-india

Watch the conservation process involved in maintaining a historic tapestry at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poZShJjKzE0

Follow the conservation treatment of “King Arthur” from the “Nine Heroes Tapestries” series, among the oldest in The Met’s collection. The tapestry had not b...

Let us be the first to wish you a happy ! We are sharing this “suoyi,” or straw raincoat, to round out our exploration o...
01/13/2023

Let us be the first to wish you a happy ! We are sharing this “suoyi,” or straw raincoat, to round out our exploration of textiles from Taiwan.

Suoyi are worn by countryside farmers as protection from the wind and rain. Woven from palm leaf fibers, they feature large, intricate collars. The production of suoyi is an ancient practice that has continued into the 21st century.

Raincoat, Taiwan, 1900-1925. Straw, weave structure, 119 x 113 cm. The Textile Museum Collection 2007.11.1. Gift of Nancy and Samuel Raskin.

Dive into the latest Collection Stories blog post showcasing a work from contemporary artist Mulyana.Subscribe to our Co...
01/12/2023
Print of the Proposed Site for the 1892 World’s Fair

Dive into the latest Collection Stories blog post showcasing a work from contemporary artist Mulyana.

Subscribe to our Collection Stories blog for updates on the latest posts highlighting the museum collections: https://collectionstories.museum.gwu.edu

A. Hoen & Co. (Baltimore), "Birdseye View of the National Capital Including the Site of the Proposed World’s Exposition of 1892 and Permanent Exposition of the Three Americas," published by E. Kurtz Johnson, 1888. Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection AS 286.

01/11/2023

Take a look under the stereomicroscope with Megalli Conservation Fellow Callie Jerman. This device lets you look close enough to see how individual yarns were spun within a larger textile. With a movable stand, this powerful tool is easy to move around the conservation lab.

Gain some new perspectives with this week's  features: Explore Anatolian kilims through a new lens with The New England ...
01/10/2023
Check out how this Nigerian artist turns tiny pieces of waste Ankara fabric into art

Gain some new perspectives with this week's features:

Explore Anatolian kilims through a new lens with The New England Rug Society this weekend: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/4816673303201/WN_8wIhhdPnRtK-LJohAgFOdg

Hear from the author of "Women's Work: From Feminine Arts to Feminist Art" about contemporary fiber and ceramic artists: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0LxT3fKnE7p0FrIxCuZlnP

Discover the Nigerian artist recycling Ankara fabric scraps into detailed collages: https://face2faceafrica.com/article/check-out-how-this-nigerian-artist-turns-tiny-pieces-of-waste-ankara-fabric-into-art

Award-winning Nigerian artist Marcellina Akpojotor finds her inspiration in the everyday activities around her.

Weave some  into your day with Japanese artist Fuyuko Matsubara. Matsubara specializes in  pictorial weaving, which invo...
01/09/2023

Weave some into your day with Japanese artist Fuyuko Matsubara. Matsubara specializes in pictorial weaving, which involves complex methods of dyeing and re-weaving and often incorporates otherworldly spiritual imagery.

Which weaving techniques do you prefer?

http://www.fmartworks.com/vfqdvcpvzcf47tmg6cwnq1l8w74uap

For today's  post, we are featuring a 17th-century curtain from the Greek island of Chios, renowned for its silk weaving...
01/06/2023

For today's post, we are featuring a 17th-century curtain from the Greek island of Chios, renowned for its silk weaving.

The design of columns and an ornate niche suggest that it may have been used in a religious context. Floral motifs and hanging lanterns were typical of the period and blend Ottoman and Italian artistic styles.

To learn more about this textile, check out our Collection Stories blog at https://collectionstories.museum.gwu.edu/.

Curtain; Greece, Chios; mid- to late 17th century. Silk and metallic-wrapped thread, weft-float weave with 2/1 twill interlacing and continuous supplementary-weft patterning; 271 x 156 cm. The Textile Museum Collection 1.74. Acquired by George Hewitt Myers in 1952.

Beginning next week, dive into the intersection of textiles and mathematics with some of the authors featured in volume ...
01/05/2023

Beginning next week, dive into the intersection of textiles and mathematics with some of the authors featured in volume 49 of The Textile Museum Journal.

Each program will take place on Zoom. Find more information and register on our website: https://museum.gwu.edu/textile-museum-journal-interviews

Have you ever wondered how professionals care for textiles? Over the next few weeks, we'll take you behind the scenes of...
01/04/2023

Have you ever wondered how professionals care for textiles?

Over the next few weeks, we'll take you behind the scenes of the Avenir Foundation Conservation and Collections Resource Center to show you some of our conservation staff at work. In the meantime, check out our website to learn about caring for textiles in your own home: https://museum.gwu.edu/textile-care-display

Start your new year with some fresh textile knowledge courtesy of these  features: Discover the contemporary artists rew...
01/03/2023
Textile workshop @ home: Sashiko

Start your new year with some fresh textile knowledge courtesy of these features:

Discover the contemporary artists rewriting history through the medium of textiles: https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-women-artists-color-textiles-rewrite-histories

Kick off your 2023 reading list with a free book, "Textiles and Clothing Along the Silk Roads": https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000382993.locale=en

Fulfill sustainability resolutions by learning a Japanese mending technique with TextielMuseum: https://textielmuseum.nl/en/activiteiten/textile-workshop-home-sashiko/

Textile workshop @ home: Sashiko Sashiko originated in Japan as a way to strengthen textiles with stitched patterns. Sashiko artist Pey reveals different techniques to give your old jeans a new lease of life. Follow Pey on Instagram for more Sashiko inspiration. Sashiko large repair Tools Making pro...

Happy New Year! Start the year off right with our  from South African artist Bronwyn Katz. Through sculpture, installati...
01/02/2023
Bronwyn Katz

Happy New Year! Start the year off right with our from South African artist Bronwyn Katz. Through sculpture, installation, video and performance art, Katz explores concepts of land as a repository of memory and trauma, and reflects on the notion of place or space as lived experience.

What role does place have in your work?

https://www.bronwynkatz.com/

Wishing you a New Year as bright and vivacious as this robe or “munisak” from Uzbekistan. What colors are you using to r...
01/01/2023

Wishing you a New Year as bright and vivacious as this robe or “munisak” from Uzbekistan. What colors are you using to ring in 2023?

Robe (munisak), Uzbekistan, late 19th century. Silk, cotton; warp-faced plain weave, warp ikat; 131 x 154 cm. The Textile Museum Collection 2015.7.2. Gift of Bruce P. and Olive W. Baganz.

Feeling the winter chill? Today's  showcases an Amazigh woman cape, called a “handira," designed to withstand the elemen...
12/30/2022

Feeling the winter chill? Today's showcases an Amazigh woman cape, called a “handira," designed to withstand the elements in Morocco's Atlas Mountains.

This exquisite garment would have been worn over the shoulders, with the shaggy side inward in cold or wet weather. It was fastened with ties in the front. Capes like this one may look deceptively simple, but they feature a complex weave and design.

Cape, Morocco, Amazigh people, c. 1970. Wool, cotton; weft substitution, supplementary pile, weft twining; 87 x 199 cm. The Textile Museum Collection 2016.8.1. Gift of Lin Lougheed.

Cozy up with our final library book recommendation of the year, “The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook” by Deborah Robson and ...
12/29/2022

Cozy up with our final library book recommendation of the year, “The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook” by Deborah Robson and Carol Ekarius:

"Wool is a favored textile fiber in winter around the world – an amazing natural fiber that has a thousand applications and is extra cozy, too. But did you know that sheep aren’t the only wool-producing animals? “The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook” describes and has photos of many different breeds and species of animals that produce wool including sheep, goats and camelids, rabbits and bison.

The book shows the different processed stages of wools and describes efforts by breeders around the world to conserve species, the histories of species and breeds, issues livestock farmers face, yarn processing and best applications among other topics. Overall a great book to snuggle into with a wool blanket or scarf. Perhaps you’ll come visit the Arthur D. Jenkins Library in a wool sweater to enjoy this book.” -Megan Snyder

Take some deep dives with this week's  features: Watch the process of creating contemporary "hanbok" designs with Victor...
12/27/2022
The Spun-Glass Dress That Made a Splash at the World’s Fair

Take some deep dives with this week's features:

Watch the process of creating contemporary "hanbok" designs with Victoria and Albert Museum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK113sLNdF8

Explore the virtual exhibition "Wrapped in Color: Legacies of the Mexican Sarape" from Arizona State Museum: https://statemuseum.arizona.edu/online-exhibit/wrapped-in-color/

Discover the spun-glass dress presented at the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893: https://hyperallergic.com/786155/the-spun-glass-dress-that-made-a-splash-at-the-worlds-fair/

It took over 37 hours to pull 1,900 miles of glass filament to create the garment, now on view at the Toledo Museum of Art.

Set yourself up for a good week with today’s  from Gego (Gertrud Goldschmidt), a German-born artist who emerged as a lea...
12/26/2022
Gego (Gertrud Goldschmidt) | MoMA

Set yourself up for a good week with today’s from Gego (Gertrud Goldschmidt), a German-born artist who emerged as a leading figure of Venezuelan abstraction in the 1960s and 1970s. Known for her geometric and kinetic sculptures, Gego developed a distinctive approach that reflects her training in architecture and engineering.

Does architecture isnpired any of your work?

https://www.moma.org/artists/2107

Venezuelan, born Germany. 1912–1994.

Happy ! Today’s post features a special textile from the Yoruba people in Nigeria.This tunic is part of the Engungun mas...
12/23/2022

Happy ! Today’s post features a special textile from the Yoruba people in Nigeria.

This tunic is part of the Engungun masquerade dance costume, worn during an annual ceremony to honor ancestors. The Engungun costume is a visible manifestation of their spirits.

It is made of various cotton cloths, woven locally by hand and dyed with indigo. When the dancer twirls, the different fabrics are revealed.

Images: Tunic (front and back), Nigeria, Yoruba people, early 20th century. 185 x 96 cm. Textile Museum Collection 2017.14.25A. Gift of Gail Martin.

Tomorrow is the last day to see "Korean Fashion: From Royal Court to Runway." Even after the exhibition closes, you can ...
12/21/2022

Tomorrow is the last day to see "Korean Fashion: From Royal Court to Runway."

Even after the exhibition closes, you can discover resources relating to Korean fashion, including our virtual tour and gallery guide on our website: https://museum.gwu.edu/korean-fashion-royal-court-runway

Cozy up with this week's  features:Tuck into an article about the latest in sustainable textiles coming out of innovativ...
12/20/2022
TahNibaa Naataanii

Cozy up with this week's features:

Tuck into an article about the latest in sustainable textiles coming out of innovative student projects: https://www.dezeen.com/2022/12/01/student-projects-material-design-fast-fashion-dezeen-schoolshows/

Register for an upcoming Textiles & Tea program with the Handweavers Guild of America - HGA: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CLnynfNnSgGQrV3EFUheIQ

Listen to National Heritage Fellow TahNibaa Naataanii discuss her journey with Diné weaving in her own words: https://www.arts.gov/stories/podcast/tahnibaa-naataanii

Navajo/Diné Textile Artist and Weaver and 2022 National Heritage Fellow TahNibaa Naataanii talks about the practice of Navajo/Diné weaving--an art that is a way of life.

Needing some ? Look no further than American artist Ann Hamilton and her large-scale multimedia installations. Her proce...
12/19/2022
Ann Hamilton Studio

Needing some ? Look no further than American artist Ann Hamilton and her large-scale multimedia installations. Her process is site-responsive: She works with common materials to invoke particular places, collective voices and communities of labor.

How do you invoke place in your work?

https://www.annhamiltonstudio.com/

Official website of artist Ann Hamilton.

“Korean Fashion: From Royal Court to Runway” closes next week! To celebrate this major exhibition, today’s  post feature...
12/16/2022

“Korean Fashion: From Royal Court to Runway” closes next week! To celebrate this major exhibition, today’s post features three beautiful costumes from the KBS TV drama “The Princess’s Man,” a romance set in 15th-century Korea.

Designer Lee Min-jung drew from her extensive knowledge of Joseon-dynasty clothing, yet wanted to feature the “glamour and fantasy” of the fashion over historical accuracy.

The three ensembles shown here include a princess’s “dangui” and “chima,” a man’s military uniform and an official’s robe.

Image 1: Lee Min-jung (Korean, b. 1977), princess’s dangui and chima, Korea, 2011. Silk, polyester, metal, feathers, gold stamping. Collection of Lee-Min-jung.

Image 2: Lee Min-jung (Korean, b. 1977), military officer’s uniform, Korea, 2011. Silk, polyester, metal, feathers, gold stamping. Collection of Lee Min-jung.

Image 3: Lee Min-jung (Korean, b. 1977), court official’s uniform, Korea, 2011. Silk, polyester, metal, feathers, gold stamping. Collection of Lee Min-jung.

What sort of clothes did you wear during your childhood? In Korea, children's "hanbok" can promote protection and good f...
12/14/2022

What sort of clothes did you wear during your childhood?

In Korea, children's "hanbok" can promote protection and good fortune through a variety of symbols. Bright colors, striped sleeves, Chinese characters and patchwork are worn for good luck during different festive occasions.

Discover the significance behind Korean clothing past and present in "Korean Fashion: From Royal Court to Runway" through December 22: https://museum.gwu.edu/korean-fashion-royal-court-runway

Delight in the serendipity and intention behind these  features: Unravel the chance encounter that revealed the story be...
12/13/2022
Ojibwe artist Biskakone Greg Johnson on his beaded moccasins - preview from HOME episode

Delight in the serendipity and intention behind these features:

Unravel the chance encounter that revealed the story behind a Māori textile in New Zealand: https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/130604939/weaving-expert-walks-in-as-museum-starts-research-into-mysterious-kiwi-feather-muff

Read up on the monumental works of textile artist Do Ho Suh with the new exhibition catalog from the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia ($): https://store.mca.com.au/products/do-ho-suh-mca-catalogue

Witness the dedication of Ojibwe artist Biskakone Greg Johnson to keeping his beaded moccasin tradition alive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z73NZxW8X48

craftinamerica.org. Ojibwe artist Biskakone Greg Johnson on his beaded moccasins used for dancing on the wild rice (manoomin). Preview from HOME episode. HOM...

Weave some inspiration into your week with today’s  showcasing Vietnamese American artist Dinh Q. Lê. Known for his phot...
12/12/2022
Dinh Q. Lê | Crossing the Farther Shore — Rice Gallery

Weave some inspiration into your week with today’s showcasing Vietnamese American artist Dinh Q. Lê. Known for his photography, video and installation, Lê often splices, interweaves and distorts photographs to explore his own relationship to Vietnam’s complicated cultural and political history.

Does photography play a role in your work?

http://www.ricegallery.org/dinh-q-le

Vietnamese American artist Dinh Q. Lê is known for his work in photography, video, and installation. He often splices, interweaves, and distorts photographs to explore his own relationship to Vietnam’s complicated cultural and political history. Lê’s family left Vietnam when he was 10; he has ...

Welcome back to ! This week we are featuring a ceremonial crown and necklace from the Chimú civilization of Peru.Chimú c...
12/09/2022

Welcome back to ! This week we are featuring a ceremonial crown and necklace from the Chimú civilization of Peru.

Chimú craftsmen were renowned for their metal work, making bracelets, cups, crowns and necklaces from bronze, copper, gold and silver. They also used feathers from various birds in the Amazon rainforest to embellish their textiles.

Check out our Collection Stories blog to learn more about Chimú textiles: https://collectionstories.museum.gwu.edu/necklace-from-chimu-kingdom/

Image 1: Crown; Peru, north coast, Chimú style; c. 1350-1450. Reeds, cotton, copper, silver, blue-and-yellow macaw feathers, paradise tanager feathers; plain weave, paired warp; 22 x 15 x 18 cm. The Textile Museum Collection 1962.20.9A. Museum purchase.

Image 2: Necklace; Peru, north coast; Chimú style; c. 1350-1450. Reeds, cotton, copper, silver, feathers; metal overlaid with skin, feathers adhered; 12.5 x 26.5 cm. The Textile Museum Collection 1962.30.9B. Museum purchase.

Catch up with the latest Collection Stories blog post highlighting a Buddhist priest’s mantle from China. Be the first t...
12/08/2022
Buddhist Priest’s Mantle from China

Catch up with the latest Collection Stories blog post highlighting a Buddhist priest’s mantle from China.

Be the first to know about new posts and gain insight into the museum’s collections by subscribing to our Collection Stories blog: https://collectionstories.museum.gwu.edu

Buddhist priest's mantle (jiasha), China, mid-18th century. Silk, gold-wrapped yarns, paint; slit tapestry weave; 120 x 303 cm. The Textile Museum Collection 51.66. Acquired by George Hewitt Myers in 1949.

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Located in the heart of Washington, D.C., the George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum celebrates the creative achievements of local and global cultures from antiquity through today. The museum unites The Textile Museum, established in 1925, and the Albert H. Small Center for National Capital Area Studies to engage the university and the wider community through collections, scholarship, exhibitions, and educational programs.


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Let’s celebrate the start of the weekend with ! To finish our week of Cambodian textiles, we are featuring a special example in our collection.

This back-tension loom was used by the Tampuan community in Cambodia and features a nearly completed skirt. Most weavers in Cambodia are women, who pass the craft down from mother to daughter over generations.

Image: Tampuan back-tension loom with a nearly completed skirt, Cambodia. 193 x 58 cm (textile), 90 cm (wooden components). The Textile Museum Collection 2016.16.8A. Gift of Barbara G. and David W. Fraser.
Our latest library recommendation is here to brighten up your January:

“The exhibition 'Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love' was shown at both the de Young Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum in 2022. If the catalog is any indication, this show was a colorful, playful breath of fresh air. Patrick Kelly (1954-1990) was known for his tongue-in-cheek approach to fashion, often incorporating fun details like oversized buttons on his clothing designs.

While his style was purposely over-the-top and lighthearted, he was taken seriously as a designer by the fashion industry. In 1988, he was the first American and first Black designer elected to the French Federation of Fashion and of Ready-to-Wear Couturiers and Fashion Designers. Though Kelly tragically died two years later due to complications from AIDS, he succeeded in his stated goal for his designs: "I want my clothes to make you smile."
-Tracy Meserve
Get to know the basics of conservation lab safety with Associate Conservator Gennifer Majors at the Avenir Foundation Conservation and Collections Resource Center.

Remember, you can always visit our website to learn about caring for textiles in your own home: https://museum.gwu.edu/textile-care-display
Explore the far-reaching impact of textiles with today's features:

Discover the hyperrealistic paintings inspired by ornate carpets: https://mymodernmet.com/antonio-santin-hyperrealistic-carpet-paintings/

Listen to the significant history of man-made mauve textile dyes: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001bbx2

Attend a conversation on the connections between Japanese textiles and the British Royal Collection: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/connecting-threads-japanese-textiles-in-the-british-royal-collection-tickets-499776905177
Today's is brought to you by Brazilian artist Lygia Pape (1927-2004). A central figure in Brazilian modern art, Pape pushed the boundaries of geometric art to engage with ethical and political themes.

Do you explore ethical themes in your work?

https://lygiapape.com/
During the frigid season of winter, let’s daydream about bundling up in cozy garments like this woman’s winter coat! Dating back to China’s Qing dynasty, this high quality fur and silk garment displays an embroidered waterscape scene that harkens back to warmer days.

The coat features vibrant natural elements, depictions of fishermen at work and lions playing with silk balls, symbolizing protection, good fortune and fertility. We encourage you to celebrate the Lunar New Year with more good-luck textiles by exploring our collections online today: go.gwu.edu/collections.

Woman’s winter coat, China, late 19th century. Fur, silk; satin weave, embroidery; 104 x 140 cm. The Textile Museum Collection 2019.7.9. Gift of Sheridan Pressey Collins.

Researched by Karen De Los Angeles Lopez.
Karen De Los Angeles Lopez is a Nicaraguan-American first-year graduate student at GW working on a M.A. in anthropology with a concentration in museum training. Focusing on the intersection of culture and environment, she is passionate about preservation, particularly regarding endangered customs.
Today's features a festival poncho made by the Quechua people of South America. The poncho became popular during the 17th century as a garment for daily use and ceremonial occasions, and has become an important symbol of Indigenous identity in the Andes.

‘Unku, Bolivia, Quechua people, before 1978. Cotton, wool; plain weave, complementary-warp weave; 57 x 64 cm. The Textile Museum Collection 1985.27.96. Meadowcroft Bolivian Textile Collection.
Step back into the Avenir Foundation Conservation and Collections Resource Center with us for a look at how Winterthur Conservation Intern Awyn Rileybird builds passive mats for textiles.

Storing archaeological textiles in passive mats helps make them more easily accessible for researchers while keeping the textiles protected.
Dive into the textiles of the past with these features:

Discover the contemporary artist adapting a centuries-old decorative art to modern sensibilities: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2022/12/michelle-robinson-weaving/

Read up on the history of textiles in the Mughal Empire with a recent book from Sylvia Houghteling ($): https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691215785/the-art-of-cloth-in-mughal-india

Watch the conservation process involved in maintaining a historic tapestry at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poZShJjKzE0
Welcome back to this week's ! Today we are featuring Hannah Ryggen (1894-1970), a Swedish-born, Norwegian textile artist. Working on a standing loom with foraged fiber and dye materials, Ryggen wove narrative tapestries critiquing war, power and authoritarianism.

Do you use found or foraged material= in your work?

https://www.frieze.com/article/pictures-hannah-ryggens-defiantly-anti-fascist-tapestries
Let us be the first to wish you a happy ! We are sharing this “suoyi,” or straw raincoat, to round out our exploration of textiles from Taiwan.

Suoyi are worn by countryside farmers as protection from the wind and rain. Woven from palm leaf fibers, they feature large, intricate collars. The production of suoyi is an ancient practice that has continued into the 21st century.

Raincoat, Taiwan, 1900-1925. Straw, weave structure, 119 x 113 cm. The Textile Museum Collection 2007.11.1. Gift of Nancy and Samuel Raskin.
Dive into the latest Collection Stories blog post showcasing a work from contemporary artist Mulyana.

Subscribe to our Collection Stories blog for updates on the latest posts highlighting the museum collections: https://collectionstories.museum.gwu.edu
Take a look under the stereomicroscope with Megalli Conservation Fellow Callie Jerman. This device lets you look close enough to see how individual yarns were spun within a larger textile. With a movable stand, this powerful tool is easy to move around the conservation lab.
Gain some new perspectives with this week's features:

Explore Anatolian kilims through a new lens with The New England Rug Society this weekend: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/4816673303201/WN_8wIhhdPnRtK-LJohAgFOdg

Hear from the author of "Women's Work: From Feminine Arts to Feminist Art" about contemporary fiber and ceramic artists: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0LxT3fKnE7p0FrIxCuZlnP

Discover the Nigerian artist recycling Ankara fabric scraps into detailed collages: https://face2faceafrica.com/article/check-out-how-this-nigerian-artist-turns-tiny-pieces-of-waste-ankara-fabric-into-art
Weave some into your day with Japanese artist Fuyuko Matsubara. Matsubara specializes in pictorial weaving, which involves complex methods of dyeing and re-weaving and often incorporates otherworldly spiritual imagery.

Which weaving techniques do you prefer?

http://www.fmartworks.com/vfqdvcpvzcf47tmg6cwnq1l8w74uap
For today's post, we are featuring a 17th-century curtain from the Greek island of Chios, renowned for its silk weaving.

The design of columns and an ornate niche suggest that it may have been used in a religious context. Floral motifs and hanging lanterns were typical of the period and blend Ottoman and Italian artistic styles.

To learn more about this textile, check out our Collection Stories blog at https://collectionstories.museum.gwu.edu/.

Curtain; Greece, Chios; mid- to late 17th century. Silk and metallic-wrapped thread, weft-float weave with 2/1 twill interlacing and continuous supplementary-weft patterning; 271 x 156 cm. The Textile Museum Collection 1.74. Acquired by George Hewitt Myers in 1952.
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Other Art Museums in Washington D.C. (show all)

伦威克美术馆 Corcoran Museum of Art Corcoran Gallery and School of Art Art Museum of the Americas Duncan Phillips House The Phillips Collection Museo Nacional de Mujeres Artistas NMWA National Museum of Women in the Arts Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery Freer Gallery of Art National Portrait Gallery (United States) United States National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery (Estados Unidos) Freer Gallery of Art