Shine Exhibition at the Textile Museum of Canada

This is a fabulous exhibition featuring handmade objects that are both celebratory and commonplace, excessive and unassuming. The Exhibition features an array of exquisite traditional garments and accessories from the Museum's permanent collections integrated with the work of contemporary artists. The exhibition is presented in conjunction with the Toronto International Jewellery Festival and the 2013 Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG) Conference. The exhibition is open at the Textile Museum of Canada until September 2nd, 2013.

For more details go to the Textile Museum website. 

Wedding dress (jumlo)
Pakistan, Northwest Frontier Province, Indus KohistanMid 20th centuryCotton, metal and glass beads, plastic buttonsPlain and twill woven, embroidered, beaded, hand- and machine-sewnGift of John Anderson, T87.0005 

Women’s dresses, (jumlo), embellished with buttons, beads and metallic objects and made from up to several hundred small pieces of fabric are among the most lavishly decorated costumes in Asia. Jumlo are worn over trousers with finely embroidered cuffs and accompanying shawls. Their metal ornaments include coins, buttons and beads of mother-of-pearl, plastic, glass and brass, and various metal ornaments, often purpose-made. More recent additions to the traditional decorations are key-ring chains, thimbles and old zip-fasteners.
Though no scholarly information regarding textile production has ever been collected on jumlo from Northwest Frontier Province, the large number and variety of the metal decorations, and also the observation that women’s and children’s costumes are the most decorated, suggest that there is significant symbolism that runs far beyond pure aesthetics. The metallic embellishments on the jumlo probably signify ancient beliefs in the protective and auspicious properties of the shiny materials that survived cultural and religious changes – preserved in the remote communities of the region.

Woman’s festive jacket
Southern China, Guizhou Province, Huangping county, 20th century
Miao people
Cotton, silk, metal foil, metal sequin
Damask, plain woven, warp-faced, supplementary warp, embroidered, appliquéd, hand-sewn
Gift of Caroline M. Walker, T92.0290

The Miao ethnic minority group has distinctive and beautiful clothing. The festive costume of the Miao women includes a long-sleeved jacket, long trousers, a long pleated skirt with a broad waistband, embroidered shoes, and various silver neck and head ornaments. The finest new clothes are worn by young women and men for the New Year festival that is the Miao courting period.

This jacket on is made from locally woven silk satin dyed with indigo and beaten repeatedly to achieve a shiny bronze color.

Woman’s apron
China, late 19th to early 20th century
Silk, cotton, gold thread, satin, embroidered, couched, hand-sewn
Gift of the estate of Elizabeth M.L. Gordon, T95.0001

Paired pleated aprons or skirts were part of the traditional Han Chinese costume and were worn for formal occasions with matching jackets by both men and women. They were formed of two overlapping sections and worn over pants. Bright and shiny for weddings and festivals, they featured auspicious symbols similar to those on other types of Chinese official clothes.

Stay Fabulous,

Carole