2006
Woven gold
Metal threads in textile art

30 April – 12 November 2006
daily 2 p.m. – 5.30 p.m.

Textiles made with gold and silver threads have inspired great admiration since time immemorial. Even the Old Testament mentions garments of gold and purple. These were luxury goods of the first order, ever reserved for the highest dignitaries. From ancient times to the eighteenth century, from China to Europe, they have always been the most valued examples of textile art.

This year’s special exhibition at the Abegg-Stiftung provides an insight into the decorative forms, lustre effects, techniques and materials used in the manufacture of these precious textiles. It shows late Antique gold weavings as well as medieval gold cloths from China and Central Asia. Gold-brocaded Renaissance velvets can be seen alongside richly adorned gold and silver embroideries of the Baroque. The exhibits reflect both changing tastes and the inventiveness of the craftsmen and artists. Their brilliant lustre and the sheer diversity of design remain a source of fascination to this day..

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Textiles made with gold and silver threads have inspired great admiration since time immemorial. These were luxury goods of the first order, ever reserved for the highest dignitaries. From ancient times to the eighteenth century, from China to Europe, they have always been the most valued examples of textile art.

This year’s special exhibition at the Abegg-Stiftung provides an insight into the decorative forms, lustre effects, techniques and materials used in the manufacture of these precious textiles. It shows late Antique gold weavings and medieval gold cloths from China and Central Asia. Gold-brocaded Renaissance velvets can be seen alongside richly adorned gold and silver embroideries of the Baroque. The exhibits reflect both changing tastes and the inventiveness of the craftsmen and artists. Their brilliant lustre and the sheer diversity of design remain a source of fascination to this day.


The Ancient World and the Middle Ages
Many different techniques were developed to integrate the hard, shiny metal into elastic fabrics. One of the oldest was to wind extremely thin strips of gold foil round the textile thread. Late Antique and early Islamic art provide impressive examples of this method. Animal gut coated with gold was also wound round silk or linen threads, and these were lighter and more flexible than threads covered with gold foil. This technique reached its pinnacle in Italian silk-weaving of the fourteenth century. In the Orient strips of gilded leather were often preferred for decorating fabrics, while in China gold-coated paper was also used. To illustrate this technique the exhibition shows large pieces of fabric woven almost exclusively in gold with splendid patterns.


Luxurious Renaissance Fabrics
Velvets were among the greatest luxury goods of the Renaissance. The sheer quantity of silk required for their manufacture made them very expensive. Moreover, the strength of the weave allowed almost unlimited use of metal threads. In place of gilded leather or animal gut, threads covered with gold or silver foil came to be used almost exclusively. Little gold loops, metal strips and wire were added to create a wide range of new lustre effects.


Magic of the Orient
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Persia and the Ottoman Empire were the most important centres of silk weaving in the Orient. Persian silks of supreme artistic significance made during the Safavid dynasty (1501–1722) came to influence all Islamic textile art of the age. They combined playful ease and elegance of pattern with finely balanced colour compositions. In contrast, Ottoman fabrics of this period stand out above all for their strong colours and majestic patterns. The ground of these fabrics was often woven completely with gold threads.


Baroque Splendour
The Baroque opened up almost infinite possibilities for the use of metal threads. Fantastic combinations of gold and silver threads with metal strips, wire, spirals and sequins were created and used in weaving and embroidery. The exhibition shows outstanding specimens of this development.

On request we can also send you the press release and/or images by e-mail

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