Selsom Seen| textiles

Collections Seldom Seen Textile Section Dr. Bobbie Sumberg, Curator

		We come in contact with textiles everyday. Clothing, bedding, towels and even sneakers (sometimes) are made from textiles. This section of Collections Seldom Seen presents textiles and costumes that are part of daily life as well as ceremonial activity. The complexity of textile design, embellishments that are embroidered, woven or dyed make links to the world of the maker, his or her culture and surroundings. Ceremonial textiles connect the users to their own personal and cultural identities and often mark rites of passage. Graduations, weddings and holidays are ceremonies that North Americans can identify. Thinking about the special ways that we dress during those times helps to see parallels between the special occasions of distinct cultures. LEFT: Mans wedding Outfit, Philipines, ca 1900.

Textile production is often assumed to be women’s work. This is a stereotype that is destroyed when we consider the many men worldwide who weave, sew, dye and embroider. Here we can see examples of highly decorated textiles that are designed for men to use, a wedding outfit from the Philippines, a man’s mantle or shawl from Indonesia, and a shirt from Romania. The Hungarian coat was made by a man for a man to wear. The style developed after a popular variety of sheepskin coat which was also embroidered (by professional male embroiderers). Hungarian folk art designs are primarily floral. The sleeves on the coat were not used, but just draped over the shoulders. Some ceremonial textiles in this gallery utilize more exotic materials such as silk and gold thread, which emphasizes the value and importance of the textile. Wedding towels were probably not used to dry off the bride, but carried in a procession leading to the bath. The very long wedding belt from Morocco was wound around the waist of the bride, creating a very stiff and defined midriff. It is decorated by the hand of Fatimah for good luck. The man’s wedding outfit from the Philippines is made out of a variety of fibers including abaca and cotton. Abaca is a fiber made from a wild banana leaf. Using it in a ceremonial context reminds the wearer and the audience of their ancestral roots. RIGHT: Wedding belt, Morocco, ca. 1830

Elaborate decoration of ceremonial textiles is very understandable. Exquisite pieces are created to mark specific moments in time, significant unions and actions. What is more surprising are the everyday utilitarian objects that are elaborately embellished, bringing them up to a high aesthetic level. The Turkish grain bag is an excellent example of this activity. Created by the Yörük people of Turkey, this bag was used to store and transport grain. This ethnic group used to move nomadically with their goats between the coastal and mountainous regions of Turkey. A young bride or unmarried girl would lead a caravan of camels, people and animals to new ground suitable for grazing according to the season. The Yörük lived in black tents woven out of goat hair. They stored their household goods in woven sacks which were highly decorated. The decoration on the grain sack was created with a supplemental weft, an additional series of strands of colored wool, which covers the original weft. Its handles were used to tie it to an animal for transport.

ABOVE: Apron, Cameroon, ca. 1950		The beaded African aprons are made from glass beads, cotton string, cowry shells, leather and silver beads. The densely woven beaded aprons with colorful geometric patterning are made the Kirdi people of Cameroon. Also known as the Matakam people, (“Kirdi” means pagan and was used to label the people by the Islamized Kanuri or Fulani) this group lives in small farming communities and are known for their personal adornments.

	The beaded aprons are called “cache sexes” which means literally, to hide the sex. They were worn until 1961 as pubic aprons when the government required women to be fully clothed. Originally fabricated out of iron strips which were held together by fiber strips, these aprons were worn by mature married women. Today, the beaded aprons have replaced the iron ones and are worn by women during special occasions like marriage or during the presentation of a newborn child. Textile and costumes designs reflect cultures and individual interests. They can also convey information about the surroundings in which they were created, either by use of materials or design motifs, which refer to plants, animals, architecture and religious beliefs.

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