Outstanding textiles added to The Textile Museum‘s collection over the last five years will be on view in Recent Acquisitions from March 6, 2009 through January 3, 2010.
The 19 diverse objects featured in the exhibition, including clothing, bags, rugs and furnishing fabrics drawn from several continents, were selected by Textile Museum Director Daniel Walker to represent the breadth of the museum‘s collection, which spans centuries and cultures.
Each year the Museum‘s curators review objects for donation or purchase to determine their suitability for the collection based on the objects‘ cultural origins, quality, state of preservation, place in the standing collection, provenance or history and legal history, and relevance for research, publication and exhibition. The objects the curators choose to recommend are presented to a staff committee and then, if approved, to the Museum‘s Board of Trustees for a final decision. Recent Acquisitions presents a special opportunity to see new additions to the collection – an infrequent occurrence because of the depth of the Museum‘s holdings and the Museum‘s stringent collections care and management policies. The Textile
Museum‘s conservation standards require that each textile presented in an exhibition be returned to dark storage for five years afterwards so that it will be preserved for future generations of Museum visitors.
The objects presented in Recent Acquisitions boast origins in such diverse regions as Peru, Indonesia, India, Cameroon, Bhutan, Georgia, Iran, Turkey and France. Most of the pieces are garments, but the exhibition also includes hangings or panels, a saddlebag and other items.
Location and more information: The Textile Museum, 2320 S Street, Washington, D.C.
Jozan Magazine March 5, 2009 – Source: TM Press release February 2009