2000
Bizarre Silks
An Exoticism from around 1700
7th May - 5th November 2000
daily 2 p.m. - 5.30 p.m.

In this year’s special exhibition, from 7th May to 5th November 2000, the Abegg Foundation in Riggisberg is showing a representative selection of so-called bizarre silks. These precious silks, which are frequently adorned with gold and silver brocading, have exotic looking designs of curved or angular toothed forms. They show the influence on European textile designers of Asian porcelain, lacquer work and fabrics, imported by the shipload by the various East India companies. Around 1700 such strangely designed silks were produced mainly in Lyon and Venice, but also in other weaving centres in France and Italy, as well as in Spain, the Netherlands and England. The bizarre silks are among the most precious products of an exclusive luxury industry, which was often in the service of absolutist courts. At that time France took over the lead in the silk industry from Italy, and it began to set the tone in fashion. Most bizarre silks were made into clothes.
On the basis of 64 exhibits, visitors to the exhibition will be able to trace back the stylistic chronology of these extraordinary fabrics between circa 1680 and 1720. The catalogue of the bizarre silk collection in the Abegg Foundationhas has been published simultaneously. Comprising 227 catalogued pieces, it constitutes the publication of the largest collection of these amazing fabrics in the world.