FW: Upcoming exhibit at the Met

[Corun MacAnndra <corun@access.digex.net>]

Poster: Corun MacAnndra <corun@access.digex.net>

Greetings of the Season to the patrons of the Merry Rose.

My Minister of Arts and Sciences, Caitlin Cheannlaidr, sent this to me some
time ago asking if I'd like to go see it. I already had plans to do so, and
having now seen it I feel it necessary to report on this to those
interested in fiber arts in Atlantia. But first, the basics as sent to the
East Kingdom mailing list by Thora Sharptooth and forwarded to me by Caitlin;

>At this URL--http://www.clemusart.com/exhibit/silk/index.html--is an
>announcement for an upcoming textile exhibition:
>
>Central Asian and Chinese Textiles in The Metropolitan Museum of Art
>
>March 3 through May 17, 1998
>
>Ancient tapestries and silks, woven and embroidered with shimmering gold and
>vibrantly colored thread, are on view this autumn in a unique exhibition:
>When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian and Chinese Textiles in The Cleveland and
>Metropolitan Museums of Art. The exhibition opens at The Cleveland Museum of
>Art (CMA) on October 26, 1997, and remains on view here through January 4,
>1998. It features sixty-four textiles from the 8th through early 15th
>centuries. The fragile nature of textiles makes this a once-in-a-lifetime
>event. After Cleveland, the exhibition will travel to only one other venue,
>The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it will be on view March 3 through May
>17, 1998. There will be no special ticketing for either showing of this
>exhibition.
>
>The contents of the exhibition include:
>
>drawloom-woven silks and one printed silk that date between the High Tang and
>the Liao/Northern Song periods; kesi, or tapestries made of silk and often
>gold, dating from about the 11th through 14th centuries; gold-brocaded silks 
>woven in the Jin territories, including during and after the Jin dynasty
>(1115-1234); luxury silks woven in the Mongol period (1207-1368); and 
>embroideries dating from the Tang (618-907) to the early Ming dynasty
>(early 15th century). 
>
>The catalogue's entries for all works in the exhibition contain detailed
>structural analyses, including techniques and materials.
>
>Sixty-four Eastern and Far Eastern textiles, all period.  Cloth of Gold!!
>Wowie Zowie!  Mark your calendars!!!

Now to add to Thora's commentaries;

I highly recommend this for anyone interested in oriental fiber arts. There
are examples of tapestry and embroidery techniques dating back to 600.
There are many examples from the Yuan Dynasty period (Kublai Khan and the
Mongol rule of China) as well as earlier Mongolian styles. There are robes,
tapestries, boots... yes, silk boots. There are even some very fine
examples of a loop stitch style of embroidery know to embroiderers as stump
work, a technique that shows up in England in the 17th century. It was
being done in China hundreds of years earlier. Can you say Primary Source?
Sure, I knew you could.

This exhibit is leaving Cleveland the 4th, but will be at MoMA in March
through May. There are some killer examples. There was also a huge Japanese
floor loom at Cleveland, but I don't know if this is part of the travelling
exhibit or belongs to the Cleveland Museum. But there were demonstrations
being done throughout the day.

So, those of you interested in fiber arts, and silk in particular (Hey,
Tawny!!!), go see this exhibit. You'll be glad you did. It was worth the
trip to Cleveland (six hours by car), and New York is even closer for most
of you, considering you can take the train from most major cities in
Atlantia. Or drive to northern Atlantia on Friday and stay with friends and
take an even shorter train ride up and back Saturday. Just go. I'll have
the catalog with me at 12th Night (just don't drool on it fer cryin' out
loud).

In service,
Corun (now looking for books on tapestry weaving)


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