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Introduction

A World of Costume and Textiles

"Tapestries through the Ages"
September 22 - November 12, 1989

The first gifts of costume and textiles came into the collection of the Rhode Island School of Design in 1887, even before the Museum began to collect officially in 1891. Early donations included a pair of American Indian moccasins, tapa cloth, and a Siamese fan soon to be increased by donations of Italian vestments, Kashmir shawls, and American quilts and coverlets. Japanese textiles, stencils, and sample books that form the nucleus of the Museum's outstanding Japanese collection were gifts of several early donors.

Since then, the collection, which spans two millennia, has acquired outstanding examples from nearly every culture in the world. Particularly strong in Pre-Columbian textiles from Peru, Coptic textiles from 4th to 7th century Egypt, European costume and textiles from the 16th through the 18th centuries, and French and American 20th century designs, the collection is also rich in Asian textiles and costume, thanks to Miss Lucy Truman Aldrich of Providence, who gave her entire collection of Indian, Indonesian, Chinese, and Japanese textiles collected on the spot in the 1920s. Her collection of robes from the Japanese Noh drama has been called the finest in the United States.

The exhibition has been selected from among the most important examples in the collection, and includes everything from African blankets to 20th century European costume. Nearly all the objects are listed and described in the accompanying handbook of the collection, A World of Costume and Textiles. Elsewhere in the Museum are other costumes and textiles that are part of the exhibition; the Flemish tapestry on the cover of A World of Costume and Textiles is in the Northern Renaissance Gallery on A floor; and many ethnographic textiles are in teh Ethnographic Gallery on E floor. Each one has a tag indicating that it is part of the exhibition.

Selected Objects

Indian, India

Palampore, ca. 1900
No Image Available

Pierre François Cozette, weaver

Gobelins Tapestry, 1766-1789

Nabby Martin

Sampler, 1786

Sumatran

Slendang (shoulder cloth), 1800s

American

blanket (covering), ca. 1720

Peruvian

textile

Belgian

collar (neckwear), late 1800s

Indian

Tent Hanging (qanat), ca. 1645

French

Stomacher, 1760-1770

Diné (Navajo) Native North American

Women’s wearing blanket, 1870-80

Arabic-Egyptian

Printed cotton fragments, 700-899

Indian, India Gujarat Probably

Textile fragment, 1400s

European

shawl, ca. 1845

Persian

textile

Indonesian, Indonesia Sumatra

Ulos Mangiring, early 1900s

Chinese Qing, China

Woman's imperial Manchu coat (Ch'i-Fu), ca. 1873

Irish

linen, early 1700s
No Image Available

Italian

collar, 1700s

Hausa Nigerian

Man's Great Robe (Babban Riga), early 1900s

Coptic Egyptian, Egypt

cushion cover, 600s - 700s
No Image Available

Philippe de la Salle, designer

fabric length; textile length; wall panel, ca. 1785

Chinese, China fabric USA dress

evening dress, ca. 1830

Egyptian

fabric length; textile length, 1200s - 1400s

Italian, Sicily

Textile fragment, ca. 1500

English

Man's nightcap, ca. 1580

French

Fan, early 1700s

Ainu Japanese

Man's robe (attusi), 1800s

Japanese

Kimono, 1615-1868

Turkish

chasuble, 1500-1549

Indian

Palampore, ca. 1700

Azerbaijani, Southern Caucasus Northwestern Iran

Cover, 1600s-1700s

French

Waistcoat, ca. 1760

Italian, Venice

Velvet, late 1300s

Spanish-American

Man's wearing blanket (Rio Grande Style sarape), 1850-1870

Dorothy Liebes, designer

Textile sample, casement, 1947-1950

French

Petticoat, 1760-1770

Egyptian Middle Kingdom Old Kingdom, Egypt

Burial cloth, before 1450 BCE

Cynthia Schira, designer

Night Games, 1981

Egyptian

textile, 300s CE-400s CE

William Morris & Co., manufacturer

Tapestry fragment, Late 1800s

Indian

Jacket, 1800s

Junichi Arai, designer

Textile, 1984

Peruvian

Shawl, 1800s

French, Lyon

Cloth of Gold, ca. 1750-1769

English, England

Casket, 1650-1675

Guatemalan

Reboso, 1900s

Sumatran, Sumatra

Hip wrapper (kain songket), 1800s

Peruvian Wari culture

Wari Tunic, ca. 600-850

Unknown artist

textile

American

valance, ca. 1890

Coptic Egyptian, Egypt

hanging; cover, 300s - 400s

Asante Ghanaian, Ghana Bonwire

Wrapper, early 1900s

Spanish

Apparel fragment, 1600-1650

American, Likely Massachusetts Bay Colony

Canvas-work picture, mid 1700s

Sumatran Malaysian, Sumatera Selatan, Palembang

Man's head cloth or turban cover (ikat kepala), 1800s
No Image Available

Laura Whipple

Kirkstall Abbey, 1820s

Japanese, Japan

Furisode, 1750-1850

Italian

Textile fragment, ca. 1600

English

Jumps, late 1600s-early 1700s

African Kuba Kingdom Democratic Republic of Congo

Textile fragment, 1800s

Indian

Patka (man's sash), late 1600s

Chinese

Overskirt, ca. 1840

Chinese

Ch'ao-Fu, 1821-1850

Italian

Buratto, 1600s

Indian

Shawl, ca. 1815-1820

French

Jacket, ca. 1760

Persian

Textile, 1550-1600
No Image Available

American

embroidered picture, late 1700s- early 1800s

Sardinian

Jewelry set, 1700s

Peruvian

Burial cloth, ca. 300 CE

Persian

hanging

Egyptian

textile, 500s CE

Spanish

dalmatic, 1550-1600

Chinese, China

Daoist priest's robe, 1800s

Paul Poiret, designer

Dress with Attached Wrap, ca. 1925

Philippine

Textile, ca. 1900

Hawaiian

Textile, 1800s

Indian

Two Priests at the Shrine of Shri Nath-ji, early 1800s

Italian

Lace fragment, early 1600s

Indonesian Minangkabau, West Sumatra

Woman’s ceremonial cloth (kain songket balapak), 1800s

Indian

textile, ca. 1825

Stern Bros., retailer

Middy blouse, ca. 1900
No Image Available

African, Ghana

Shawl, ca. 1910

French

The Woodchoppers, ca. 1500-1510

Japanese

Textile, 1800s

Japanese

shudara himo, 1786-1838

Japanese Edo

Torikabuto (helmet), late 1600s - early 1700s

Italian

lace, 1700-1750

French

Breeches, ca. 1760

French

Overdress, 1760-1770

Hopi Native North American

Women’s wearing blanket (manta), ca. 1870

Santee Sioux Native North American Dakota, Great Plains

Woman's Dress, late 1800s - early 1900s

Malian (ancient style), Mali

horse blanket, 1900s

Sumatran Toba Batak, Sumatera Utara

Waist cloth, ca. 1825

Indonesian, Roti

Selimut (man's shoulder cloth), early 1900s

Indian, Deccan Golconda

Court hanging (known as "Reynolds coverlet"), ca. 1640-1650

Paracas Pre-Columbian, Paracas Peninsula Peru

Mantle, 299-200 BCE

Peruvian

Textile length, 1100-1400

Philippine

Sinamay (abaca), 1800s

Egyptian

textile, 1100s

American

Dress, ca. 1820

Italian, Probably Venice

dalmatic, early 1700s

Bolivian

carrying cloth; lliklla, mid 1900s

American

Sampler, ca. 1831

French

Lace border, ca. 1725

Peruvian

pouch, 1300s

Peruvian Pre-Columbian

Headdress

Flemish, Tournai

Large Leaf Verdure Tapestry with Animals and Birds, ca. 1520

Moroccan, Morocco

Blanket or rug, ca. 1910

Italian Venetian

Collar, late 1600s

Florentine Italian, Florence

Textile, 1400s

Egyptian

Tapestry, 5th century CE
No Image Available

Turkish, Turkey

cushion cover, mid 1500s-mid 1600s

Cambodian, Cambodia

Skirtcloth or hanging, late 1800s-early 1900s

Near Eastern Persian, Persia

textile fragments; textile fragment; burial cloth, 1100s

African

Textile Fragment, 1800s

German

Textile fragment, ca. 1300

Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) Native North American

Shot Pouch, 1880-1900

Bamana Malian (ancient style), Mali

Kosso Walani, 1900s

Indian, for the French or European market

Palampore, ca. 1775

Florentine Italian, Florence

textile, ca. 1590

Indian, India

Sari, 1800s

Bigelow Carpet Co., manufacturer

Wilton Carpet, ca. 1909

Egyptian

Tiraz (Textile Fragment), ca. 1150 - 1200

New Zealander, New Zealand

Man's cloak, 1880-1890

Inca culture Peruvian, Peru

Tapestry Panel, 1600s

Persian

textile, early 1700s

Alexandre Buquet, designer

Mouchoir d'Instruction Militaire No. 2, 1875

African Ghanaian

Kente cloth, ca. 1910

Tjoateengen, signed maker

Long cloth (kain panjang), early 1900s

Italian, Venice

Textile length, ca. 1425-1475

Egyptian

band (binding component), 600s

Indian

sari, early 1800s

Diné (Navajo) Native North American

Women’s wearing blanket (manta), ca. 1880

Persian, Persia

Textile fragment with riders in a landscape, 1530-1560

French

textile, 1795-1799

Indonesian

textile, late 1800s

Spanish, Spain Granada

Textile fragment with Nasrid Coat of Arms, ca. 1400

Indonesian Sumbanese, East Sumba

Mantle (hinggi), 1900-38

Indian Gujarati, India Gujarat Saurashtra Kutch

Sari/Odhani, late 1800s-early 1900s

Peruvian

textile, 500 CE

Sumatran, Sumatra

textile, early 1900s

Indian Parsee, India

Blouse, 1800s

Japanese

Kesa, 1750-1850

Egyptian

textile, 300s - 400s

Diné (Navajo) Native North American

Man's wearing blanket ("Moqui" style), ca. 1860-1870

Bushong Kuba Kingdom

skirt, early 1900s

Attributed to Mandaya Philippine, Mindanao

Woman's jacket, 1800s

French, Nantes

Bed hanging, 1700s

Unknown artist

Blanket

Italian Venetian, Italy

Velvet fragment, ca. 1500

Mexican Saltillo

Serape

Egyptian Arabic-Egyptian

Textile fragment, 1200s

Diné (Navajo) Native North American

Blanket or rug, ca. 1890

Attributed to Heinrich Olbrich

Napkin, ca. 1750

Cambodian Thai Khmer, Cambodia Thailand Siam

Pidan (pictorial hanging), early 1900s

Egyptian

Child's tunic, ca. 330 BCE

African Democratic Republic of Congo Kuba Kingdom

Textile fragment, 1800s

French

fabric length; textile length, ca. 1715

More objects +

RISD Museum

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