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 [email protected] 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. 1 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. 2 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. 3 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. 4 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 5 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. 6 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.