Ashmolean Museum: Features - Exhibitions

Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology
Exhibitions — more details

Chinese Silk

10 March - 27 June

	This stunning exhibition will show nearly two thousand years of Chinese silks. Some of the earliest large temple pieces are more than a thousand years old and have never been displayed in public, while the domestic hangings include lavish gold tapestries and embroideries. Particularly rare loans from the British Museum are hung alongside those from a Private Collection in Hong Kong. The exhibition is not large, but richly rewarding.
	Kesi tapestry weave hanging of deer in landscape, Kangxi period (1662 - 1722) Private Collection

	Despite being a luxury product, silk weaving was popular with rural and aristocratic populations alike. By the 16thC it had expanded into one of China's major industries. The exhibition represents the diversity of silk techniques as well as its functions. A Buddhist processional banner of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 906) is hung alongside tapestry weave and gold brocade from the 11th century, followed by scrolls and book wrappers from the Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911) and stunning 18thC chair covers. It is a visual feast.
	Detail of an embroidered hanging, Sichuan, c. 1930

	The exhibition also explores the relationship between pictorial silks and the arts of painting and calligraphy. Smaller items show the development of silk weaving techniques between the first and tenth centuries AD. A lavish book accompanies the exhibition, written by the curator, Shelagh Vainker. Price £29.95, also available from the Publications Dept. on 01865 278010.
	Previous Exhibitions

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Last updated: jcm/29-jun-2004