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June 2021
Message from the Editor
This newsletter has been in the 'works' for some time, as it became difficult to finalize
the material in our pandemic world. However; sometimes, one just has to do it. Pour
yourself a cold beverage and enjoy the information provided. Feel free to share the
newsletter with friends and family. We can be contacted at ftc@rom.on.ca
Happy summer!
Pat Sparrer
Newsletter Editor, Friends of Textiles & Costume
Updates: Indian chintz exhibition & virtual programs
The Exhibition, The Cloth that Changed the World, India’s Painted and Printed Cottons, and
the companion exhibition, Florals: Desire and Design, have seen a seesaw of openings
and closures since March 2020 due to provincial restrictions. However, do not be
discouraged! If you have not had the opportunity to visit the Exhibitions they have
now been extended to run through January 2, 2022!
Registration for the following future presentations is free but required.
July 13, 2021, 11 am to noon - New Lives of Indian Chintz
Sarah Fee in conversation with Eiluned Edwards
and Abduljabbar Khatri, exploring the post-
independence revival of Indian crafts.
Register for New Lives
Figure 1 Abduljabbar Khatri printing a
masterwork © Eiluned Edwards, 2020.
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August 18, 2021, 1 to 2 pm - Scenes from a South Indian court:
A newly discovered group of 17th-century kalamkari hangings.
Explore an important group
of South Indian textiles made
in the 17th century for an
Indian ruler, possibly Tirumal
Nayak of Madurai (ruled
1623-59), with senior
researcher Rosemary Crill.
Figure 2 Hanging of Scenes from an Indian Court © Berdj
Achdjian Gallery, 2021. Register for South Indian
Court
Past virtual presentations
ROM at Home
Since the publication of the
Exhibition’s catalogue, Cloth that
Changed the World, The Art and
Fashion of Indian Chintz, numerous
virtual presentations have been
prepared and are available at the
ROM at Home website
Figure 3 Cover of Exhibition catalogue.
.
The Exhibition catalogue and presentations demonstrate the numerous steps in the
production of handcrafted chintz – cloth preparation, dyeing techniques, printing or
painting techniques and pattern design. Dr. Sarah Fee assembled an international
team of scholars and artisans, to further delve into the world of India’s chintz
traditions. They explored the subject, from as early as 800CE, through the industrial
imitations of the 1800s, of Europe and into the 21st century.
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Of interest:
The Fashion and Textile Museum in London, England also has a Chintz exhibit,
entitled Chintz: Cotton in Bloom. The Museum has recently reopened, but still offers
the public a number of virtual programs on Chintz. These programs have a slightly
different focus than the ROM, mostly the evolution of Chintz in the European market.
Some of these programs can be accessed through FTMLondon for £5.
Anu Liivandi’s Happy Retirement
At the end of 2019, Anu Liivandi
retired from the Royal Ontario
Museum after 33 years of remarkable
dedication and contribution. For close
to 20 years her role has been the
Assistant Curator in the Textiles area.
In this role Anu has been an incredible
anchor and resource for the textiles
and costume department as well as a
mentor to the many students that have
passed through its doors. She has
motivated the establishment of the
data base of the ROM’s textiles and
costume collection, with its national
access, and continued this work until
her retirement.
Figure 4 Anu Liivandi © Ava Henye, 2020.
Anu was a tremendous resource in respect of her knowledge of the ROM’s textiles
and costumes and volunteers who focused on this area were very appreciative of her
expertise. She was also the liaison between her department and the volunteer
committees, regularly attending monthly meetings, reporting on staff activities, and
encouraging and facilitating programs. She often welcomed committee members to
become involved in specific chores within the collection. It is for this reason that the
Friends of Textiles & Costumes whole heartily wish to acknowledge Anu’s
contribution to our volunteer activities.
Anu has a particular interest in “Bizarre Silks”, fabrics that were fashionable in Europe
from the mid 1690s to the 1720s. They featured large, asymmetrical designs, vivid
colours, and fantastical floral designs, all influenced by Ottoman and Asian designs.
There was a strong emphasis on the diagonal ‘serpentine line’ which would later
come to characterize the Rococo style.
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With respect to these particular textiles, Anu comments, “The pattern shows a degree
of fantasy that has earned this group of late 17th and early 18th century textiles the
name “Bizarre Silks”. These are inspired by the exotic elements, seen in Indian chintz
and Oriental silks imported into Europe by the various East India Companies. This is
one of my favourite genres, perhaps because Bizarre Silks are similar in the eclecticism
and whimsy of their designs to the 6th-7th century Antinoe Silks that I studied at the
very beginning of my career”.
Whether it was teaching Art History classes
at the University of Toronto or talking to the
visitors within the ROM gallery, Anu always
highlighted a particular brown and gold
Bizarre silk, as the quintessential Baroque
textile (Figure 5). The design is
characterized by asymmetry, strong
diagonals and curves, giving a sense of
movement.
Figure 5 Bizarre silk with exotic flowers and fruits,
979.141.11.A-C, © Royal Ontario Museum, 2008.
Similarly, in this new silk (Figure 6) sense of
depth is created by the crossing of one
motif over another and by the sub-pattern
in the green damask ground (like
shadowing), which gives even greater
depth and interest to the motifs. The use
of different types of gold thread makes this
Bizarre (Baroque) Silk particularly
sumptuous.
Figure 6 Green silk damask brocaded in silk,
gold filé and gold frisé, 2021.24.1 © Royal
Ontario Museum.
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Using past and present donations, the Friends of Textiles & Costume are delighted to
acquire a Bizarre “silk” to be given to the ROM, for its Western Fashion Textiles
collection, in recognition of Anu’s contributions.
An Article of Clothing: The Mantua
During the ROM's closure, departmental staff continued with their daily tasks,
wherever possible. Karla Livingston, Senior Collection Technician, undertook the
photography of a rare and fascinating century dress of 1704, called a mantua. The
cut of this garment relates to a man’s banyan and is important for the understanding
the evolution of European dressmaking. It demonstrates how early dressmakers
worked directly with the cloth, draping the piece on the client very carefully to
minimize the cutting of costly silk damask textile.
Figure 7 Back of silk damask mantua lying flat, 973.214 Figure 8 Mantua on a mannequin with blue skirting,
© Royal Ontario Museum, 2020. 973.214 © Royal Ontario Museum, 2020.
Further details on this garment will be included in the book on fashion patterns
currently underway by Dr. Alexandra Palmer and Berta Pavlov.
Unmasking the Pandemic
When masks started to emerge in western attire, they may have been viewed as
tourist oddities or as accessories in fashion collections. Or, they could have been
attributed to pollution and climate change. But in today’s world they are now a
necessity as a result of COVID-19.
As face masks became the mainstay of societies, ROM Senior Curators, Dr. Alexandra
Palmer, Dr. Sarah Fee and Dr. Fahmida Suleman decided to collect masks from
around the world. The masks serve as examples of the 'material culture' of the
pandemic that told global stories. Thus far, they have collected over 200 masks,
representing 21 countries.
The curators presented collection highlights in this year’s ROM Ideas Colloquium in a
joint talk entitled Facing Covid: The ROM Non-Medical Mask Collection, where they
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spoke about many aspects of the ROM’s masks including the artistry and innovation
of mask designs as well as the deeper stories and symbolism behind individual
masks.
A
Figure 9 Display of Covid masks © Royal Ontario Museum, 2020.
Doctors Palmer, Fee and Suleman are preparing an upcoming exhibition for the
ROM’s Thorsell Spirit House Gallery. It is tentatively scheduled for September 18,
2001 to February 22, 2022. The Exhibition will feature around 100 masks from the
collection and will be free of charge to all members of the public.
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Conservation of a Chilkat Blanket
Chilkat weaving is a traditional form of weaving practiced by Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian,
and other Northwest Coast peoples of Alaska and British Columbia. Chilkat blankets
are worn by high-ranking tribal members on civic or ceremonial occasions, including
dances.
The ROM’s Dance Garment (Figure 10) is a shoulder blanket made entirely of
mountain goat wool with wound fur edging across upper edge, and 2 thong ties for
fastening at neck. The centre block is made of natural ground lozenge twill with 4
rows of 5 highly stylized zoomorphic motifs in black, green, and yellow showing 1 eye
and other features. The motifs are not crests but conventional designs.
Around the centre block is a black border set with masks (possibly human) in black,
green, and yellow. These masks are inverted, and each originally had a black fringe
(remains of black fringe can be seen on each side of border).
Wide white, and narrow black edging guard each side of black border. There is long
natural coloured free fringe and northern sea otter fur is wrapped across lower edge
and down each side.
Various weft-twined weaving techniques were combined in a tapestry pattern in the
making of the blanket. The blanket measures, including fringe, width 105 cm (52.5”)
by length 162 cm (78”).
Figure 10 Chilkat Blanket, 927.37.142, © Figure 11 Chilkat blanket close up, 927.37.142, ©
Royal Ontario Museum, 2020. Royal Ontario Museum, 2020.
The Alaska State Museum requested a loan of the Chilkat blanket for one of its
exhibitions. In response, ROM conservators prepared the blanket for loan. The
blanket is in stable condition and no conservation treatment work was required.
However, restrictions pertaining to the size of cargo on planes flying into and out of
Juneau, Alaska, meant that the blanket could not be laid out flat in a museum crate
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for transport. This led conservators to a unique situation of how the blanket was to be
transported.
The solution was to roll the blanket along its shortest dimension (its length, top to
bottom). As previously described, the blanket is densely woven, with a fringe on
three sides, and a narrow edging of fur along the top. Additional hair like fringe is
attached to the "faces" woven into the perimeter of the blanket. As these fringes are
quite tender, they were secured using cotton twill tape "loops" to a silk covered
support strip which was laid on top of the blanket along the upper edge (Figure 11).
An additional layer of soft silk fabric was placed over the fur edging to prevent
abrasion when the blanket is rolled.
The entire blanket was laid on a layer of Cerex (a nylon fabric used in storage) that is
flexible enough, to allow the blanket to be rolled for shipping, yet stiff enough to
serve as a support when transferring the blanket to and from the display. The
prepared blanket was rolled on to an 8-inch diameter padded tube, to minimize
surface distortions.
Figure 12 Alaska State Museum staff unwrapping Figure 13 Chilkat Blanket on display in Alaska State
Chilkat blanket, 927.37.142 © Alaska State Museum, Museum, 927.37.142 © Alaska State Museum, 2021.
2021.
The Alaska State Museum’s Exhibition is entitled The Spirit Wraps Around You: Northern
Northwest Coast Native Textiles and is scheduled to run for the period of May 7th to
October 9th. This exhibit traces the history of the sacred textiles known today as
“Ravens Tail” and “Chilkat” robes and includes ancient and ceremonial woven robes
carrying the stories of the Tsimshian, Haida, and Tlingit of Alaska and British
Columbia. Here is the link to the Exhibition's website.
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Dior in Montreal
Figure 14 A promotional image for the Dior exhibit at the McCord Museum © McCord Museum, 2020.
In 2017, the Royal Ontario Museum celebrated the 70th anniversary of the House of
Dior with the Exhibition, Christian Dior.
The Christian Dior exhibit travelled to the Chinese National Silk Museum in the city of
Hanzhou, Province of Zhejiang for the period of September 2019 to January 2020.
Upon its return to the ROM, the Exhibition was subsequently loaned to the McCord
Museum in Montreal.
The McCord’s exhibition added to the ROM’s exhibition a dozen garments from its
own extensive collection of Christian Dior couture. The Museum states this
“exhibition focuses on the period from 1947 to 1957 and offers a captivating insight
into the creative process of the mechanics of the Parisian haute couture industry,
during the 1950s”.
Until recently, the McCord Museum has been under lockdown and access to the
exhibition was on hold. As the Museum has now reopened, under strict rules, the
exhibition has been extended until September 26, 2021. As it was in Toronto, the
exhibition is very popular.
The virtual presentation of the opening of the Exhibition in the Spring of 2020, which
includes comments by Dr. Alexandra Palmer, is posted on the McCord's website.
Click here for the Friends of Textiles & Costume website.
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