Textiles - from really ancient to the latest trends

This was a week when I managed to see textiles, (especially embroidery), from two very different time periods - some dating from the late fourth to early third century BC; others from 2017.

The really ancient textiles were part of the British Museum's exhibition of the Scythians: Warriors of Ancient Siberia.  This was an exhibition that included everything from mummified remains, fabulous pieces of goldwork and even a bag for some really old cheese - so a pretty varied exhibition. 

With no written language, these nomadic people are only known through the objects they left with their burials.  However because of the freezing temperatures of Siberia much that would not normally survive for such an ancient culture, has.  I had read there would be some textiles but had not realised how much there would be - or that there would be some really quite fine embroidery.

The early part of the exhibition focused on a large quantity of gold objects - these were in themselves quite remarkable.  The Scythians were keen on animal motifs and this was also reflected in some of the felt pieces on display - including a felt swan and a horse's headpiece resplendent with a goat and bird on top.  Another textile highlight was a shoe decorated with beads and metalwork.  There was also quite a lot of applique work and a really delicate piece of embroidery - now not much more than a collection of chain stitches in the shape of a winged horse.

Definitely an exhibition worth visiting if you have a love of ancient embroidery and/or felt work.  It continues until 14 January 2018.

Then yesterday I visited a very different exhibition showcaseing a whole range of contemporary textiles - the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace in London.  From beginners to accomplished artists everyone was catered for.  I had missed the show for two years running and so it was nice to get back to see some of the variety of work on display.

For me the highlights were the exhibitions - I particularly liked Studio 21's Sewing Machine Project, pieces of which are illustrated here.  This group used the sewing machine as their starting point - looking at it both for its aesthetic values (visual, aural and tactile) and its history (personal, cultural, political and social). 

(Above) Amarjeet Nandhra looked at ideas of manufacturing and piece work 

(also known as the bundle system) - The shirt on your back.

(Above) Mary Morris used monoprints based on her sketchbook drawings for this piece

called On Line. 

(Above) Debbie Lyddon's Fold used strips of fabric folded and "stitched" with wire to consider the relentless mechanical movement of the sewing machine.  This photo does not do Debbie's work justice and I strongly recommend a visit to her own website/blog.

I was also interested in the work of the group Hue who used as their starting point the text of Robert Macfarlane's book The Old Ways.  Macfarlane looked at pathways and landscapes shaped by ancient people and he worked with Hue as they made their textile pieces.  I thought this was a really interesting collaboration.  It is only recently I have learned about Macfarlane's work - first through Jenny Langley, in my own textile group EAST.  She had also been inspired by this author's work in our exhibition Following a Thread earlier this year.  In addition, next year Macfarlane's work will feature in an exhibition at the Foundling Museum.  I definitely need to put his books on my "to do" reading list.

Other highlights for me in the show included the work of Jo Beattie, Haf Weighton, Hilary Hollingworth, Lynda Monk and Diana Harrison.  As well as being inspired by some very talented artists, and do a bit of textile shopping, it was also nice to catch up with like minded friends.

Lost and Found

It's a funny thing - at the beginning of this week I felt a bit lost.  All that intense thinking and writing and editing for my final dissertation - then it is handed in and all I have to do is wait.

Instead I can now focus on my EAST textile art work (above).  I can also prepare for the Being Human Festival 2017 running from 17 to 25 November 2017.  Organised by the School of Advanced Study, University of London I am part of just one of a hundreds of events relative to studies in the humanities.  Talks, workshops, guided walks, exhibitions are held all over the country and this year, internationally too.  The theme for this year is Lost and Found

So on Saturday 18 November you will find me involved in Finding Through Feeling, at the Foundling Museum, London.  There will be a handling session allowing visitors to engage with some replicas of foundling tokens and 18th century infant clothing.  Such activities are held regularly now at the museum - usually the last Saturday of the month.  It is always fascinating being part of the conversations that come out of these events.

Looking through the festival brochure I found some other events that seem to have some textile/craft/token related elements -

Also on Saturday 18 November at the British Museum, the London Metropolitan Archives are running a day of talks, weaving and object handling related to the Somali object display.

On Monday 20 November, Queen Mary University of London's Centre for the History of the Emotions are running an event at the Royal College of Nursing looking at the power of objects.  There will be puppetry workshops, emotional talismans and displays of healing objects.

On Thursday 23 November the University of the Arts London are hosting an event at the Museum of London looking at living in the city.  The event looks at how fashion connects people and place and includes a T-shirt design workshop as a way of recognising the importance of community within the city.

Also on Thursday 23 November the Royal College of Art are investigating bereavement and mental health issues through textiles.

Further afield in Newcastle Upon Tyne there is The Great Knitting Workshop: Picking up Dropped Stitches looking at the history of knitting - also on Thursday 23 November.  This is being run by Northumbria University at The Literary and Philosophical Society Library.

The whole festival runs between 17 and 25 November and although there are paper versions of the brochure it is also possible to view on line - beinghumanfestival.org for more information.  Some events have to be booked in advance and the website should have the links.

Egyptian Texts and Textiles

Think of Egypt and you tend to think of mummies, pyramids, hieroglyphs, etc, but the British Museum exhibition, Egypt: Faith After the Pharaohs, looked at the history and culture of the country from the time when the Pharaohs had lost their power to the Romans.  From belief in multiple gods many people were converted to the idea of one through the religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  In the early centuries AD, people of different faiths generally lived side by side, tolerant of their diversity and often influenced by their differences.  

Because of the climate and geological conditions in Egypt, textiles survive in abundance, allowing them to be part of the evidence of life almost 2000 years ago.  Very early on in the exhibition there was a child's linen tunic dating from the 6-7th centuries AD.  

One of the most elaborate textile artefacts of the exhibition was a set of tomb curtains, again dating from the 6-7th century AD.  They were brightly coloured with a border of cartoon like cherubs holding swags and baskets of fruit between them.  With the curtains pulled together two angels held a plaque which was badly worn, but showed a cross in the centre.  The plainer areas were dotted with birds, flowers and fruit.  Apparently the curtains survival was due to their reuse as a burial shroud. 

The exhibition also included one of the oldest known embroidered Islamic cloths - the Marwan tiraz (inscribed textile).  This ceremonial cloth dates from 684-750AD (or 64-133AH).  

Another favourite piece from the exhibition were some fragments of tunic decorations, that included nilometers, ie instruments for measuring the height of the Nile water.  The fragment showed God holding a cornucopia and his companion Euthenia holding a veil filled with fruit.  One cupid figure holds a bird while another engraves the figures IZ (17) and IH (18) indicating the ideal height of the Nile (too much meant flood, too little drought).   

Although not textile related, I also found the section on the Cairo Genizah collection interesting. This is a collection of hundreds of thousands of literary texts abandoned in Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo.  It gives a remarkable insight into the social and economic life of medieval people living in Egypt and includes personal letters alongside literary works. Two Scottish scholars (twins Agnes Lewis and Margaret Gibson) brought back some of the fragments to their friend, Solomon Schechter in 1896.  He recognised their importance and brought back 193,000 manuscripts back to Cambridge -scholars are still studying them today.

The exhibition had begun with three texts (one Jewish, one Christian and one Islamic).  It ended with three tunics, each different but with decoration that does not allow them to be identified as from any particular culture - similarities and diversity, altogether.

I visited this exhibition in its last days.  I had not expected there to be so many textile items on display and as they come from a range of museums (British Museum, Victoria and Albert and the Louvre), I was lucky to see them altogether.  My timing also meant that the exhibition shop was selling items at very discounted prices - the image at the top of this post is that of an embroidered bag, made in modern Egypt.  The British Museum's next major exhibition on Sicily (opens April) also promises some textiles so it looks as if I will have to go back there again in the spring.

Talking Textiles

West Africa: Word, Symbol, Song is the main temporary exhibition at the British Library at present. The exhibition explores West Africa's relationship with language whether it be oral, written or symbolic.  Comprised of 17 nations and with a population of over 340 million people it must have been a difficult decision for the curators deciding what to put in and what to leave out.  Luckily they did not leave out textiles.

The exhibition begins by looking at some of the region's various societies and how they are bound together with stories and symbols.  A major theme throughout the exhibition was how music and song is used to pass down myths and legends, as well as politics and social concerns.  Costume and masks often play a major role in the performance of such music.  There were masks on display but also films of performance.  This did not just relate to traditional West African ceremonies but also the annual Notting Hill Carnival.

There was a section on adinkra and Kente cloth with a display of hand carved stamps cut from gourds that are used to print a variety of symbols that makes this cloth so special.  Explanations of a variety of symbols were displayed throughout the exhibition.

One display of printed cloth was that made for the Methodist Church of Ghana's Inaugural Conference (1961) and turned into a dress.  It included the name of the conference, topographical images and floral motifs in a bright blue colour - it made a very striking outfit.

At the very end of the exhibition there was a section relating to modern writing - not just as books but as film, radio, even Twitter.   Also included was a display of cloth with symbols that alluded to sayings and proverbs.  The cloth was given names that reflected its meaning such as "Your eyes can see but your mouth cannot say", "You treat me as if I were a snail" and "Do not put your gold around the neck of a guinea fowl".

There was so much more in this exhibition and I was particularly interested in some of the individual stories that were told in written accounts or even in song.  The story of Queen Nanny of the Maroons. She was a remarkable woman with a very peculiar talent.

The exhibition does not shy away from issues surrounding such themes as slavery and colonialism, but the overall impression was of a region full of diversity, colour and joy.  There is plenty of music, some to listen to privately on headphones, but also some to enjoy as you walk around the exhibits.  I was particularly amused to see a group of teenagers spotted dancing along to the carnival music - not something usually seen in the British Library.

The exhibition continues until 16 February 2016 - see the British Library website for details of opening times and admission prices.  The library also has an exhibition about Alice in Wonderland (which I have yet to see) and continues until 17 April 2016.  This exhibition is free and in the library entrance hall.

Stunning textiles in pastel and enamel

In London, with time on my hands, I decided to visit the Royal Academy's exhibition of the 18th century artist, Jean-Etienne Liotard.  Until technological developments to overcome the difficulty of displaying his favoured medium of pastel were overcome, his work has been difficult to exhibit. It is this medium that gives his pictures a particular luminosity, yet equally it has made him less well known that he should be.  

Born in Geneva in 1702, Liotard spent much of his early life travelling across Europe painting for people on their Grand Tours.  John Montagu (4th Earl of Sandwich) and William Ponsonby (Viscount Duncannon) commissioned him to travel and draw souvenirs of their journey to the Levant, in particular the local costumes.  Not only did this display his talent for attention to detail and love of painting textiles it also gave him contacts that later in life helped obtain even more prestigious clients.

Liotard spent four years in the Levant and when he returned to Europe he dressed in an Oriental style. This made him stand out and attract customers, but they were also impressed by his artistic skill. His other eccentricity was that until his marriage he sported a very long beard.  This was removed at his new wife's request.  On her death (in 1782) the beard returned.  He was still painting in old age and, like Rembrandt, he recorded his own changing features in several self-portraits.  Liotard died in 1789.  

Although an exhibition of mainly portraits, this exhibition that could be viewed for the costumes alone.  Many of his western clients would wear for costumes purchased abroad, to give themselves an air of exoticism.  He had a particular love of a beautiful blue in which many of his sitters were dressed.

I think what I particularly enjoyed with this exhibition was looking at the difference in images looked from a distance and then close up.  In one painting of Katherine Furnese, Countess of Guilford (1754), a diamond at her throat looked so realistic seen from afar. Close up it seemed to be a brown oval with black and white marks - it was almost magical.  

Not only was Liotard skilled with pastel but also talented as a miniaturist working in enamels but both were difficult media.  On the audio guide there was a section that told how until recently it was difficult to transport pastels for exhibition and it is only with new developments in understanding the physical properties of this technique and advances in art transformation that made this exhibition possible.

Liotard drew and painted royalty across Europe including the young Marie-Antoinette, and the British Royal family.  He also painted more ordinary bankers, physicians, actors and singers.  He had no desire to idealise his sitters and the faces are informal and real.  There were so many beautiful images it would be hard to pick just one favourite.

It would also be impossible to finish this review without mentioning his trompe l'oeil, in particular his painting on silk of two plaques and sketches on what appears to be a wooden mount.

This exhibition continues until 31 January 2016, but be warned because the Ai Weiwei exhibition is in its final days (finishes 13 December) there is currently some queueing at the door.  This is partly for bag searches and then ticket purchase.  It was only about 15 minutes when I arrived around lunch time on Wednesday, but by the afternoon the queues were considerably longer.  

Was it as nice when it was new?

My dad used to say, "It must have been nice when it was new", on visits to museums.  I seem to remember being in a gallery and the lady attendant getting quite upset by his remark. What did he mean?  It was, (whatever we were looking at), quite beautiful now, she said.  

One section of Defining Beauty: the body in ancient Greek art at the British Museum made me think that some things were not as nice when they were new.  Replicas statues were painted in the bright colours as they would have been decorated originally. We are so used to ancient statues in smooth, monochrome marble or patinated bronze, that despite the evidence to the contrary, most people today would probably say they prefer them as they are now.  It is a great reminder that the definition of beauty can change over the centuries but it did give an insight into the textiles the figures might have worn.

Not surprisingly there were few other textiles depicted throughout the exhibition, as a large number of the statues were male nudes. Whilst the Persians and Assyrians believed nudity was only for the portrayal of the defeated enemy, the ancient Greeks believed it to be a symbol of rightousness.  Men had to be fighting fit and the idealised statutory was a symbol of not only their personal strength but the strength of their individual societies.  There were some textiles (albeit marble and bronze depictions of), to be found. The drapery that was in evidence on the female figures suggested fabrics of a gossamer fineness that must have been very beautiful in real life.

It was an exhibition worth seeing, especially to admire the technical expertise of the craftsmen (or women) who could turn stone into flesh.  It also explained why such works were so radical, when now they are considered so classical.  Sadly few of the Greek originals survive and many were copies - but copies by Romans so still pretty ancient.

The exhibition continues until 5 July 2015.