With textiles, people around the world express their diverse traditions, lifestyles, fashions and technologies, all while addressing fundamental physical, aesthetic and spiritual needs. Textiles serve as clothing, provide shelter and accompany rituals. Through material, color, pattern, design and other facets, textiles reveal an individual’s wealth, social status, occupation, and religious and ethnic associations, as well as a culture’s values, codes and social order.
Timbuktu to Tibet illuminates these encoded messages and explores the varying functions of carpets and textiles. By examining the practical uses and complex iconography of the rugs and textiles on view, the exhibition offers visitors a deeper look into the lives, beliefs and events that shape cultures around the world.
Location and more information: The Textile Museum, 2320 ‘S’ Street, NW in Washington, D.C.
Source: TM press release