Silk Oasis on the Silk Road: Bukhara

22/06/2011 by Islamic Arts Magazine

Art Collections

Silk Oasis on the Silk Road: Bukhara features a collection of Central Asian ikats and embroidered silks — coats, veils, wall hangings and coverlets from the Textile Museum’s permanent collection — to visualize the Bukhara region’s rich textile history and place it within the diverse cultural traditions of Asia.

Curated by Natalia Nekrassova, the exhibition traces the rise of the oasis town, Bukhara into the largest silk producer of Central Asia during the “Silk Age” of the 19th century. On display for a short time, the exquisitely crafted textiles in the exhibition are vibrant examples of the Bukhara region’s iconic textiles – hand-dyed silk ikats and hand-embroidered wall hangings known as suzani, many of which, Nekrassova says “have never been shown in the Museum’s galleries”.

Central Asian silks are a significant part of the Museum’s collection which covers over 200 regions and over 2,000 years of history. Vibrant and beautifully created, the textiles on display in Silk Oasis on the Silk Road: Bukhara create a visual presentation of Bukhara’s rich textile history and speak to the influence of the region in facilitating cultural, economic and technological exchange. Silk Oasis on the Silk Road: Bukhara closes September 25, 2011.

View the Collection Artifacts from this Exhibition:

Hanging (suzani), Mid 19th century, Bukhara, Gift of Horst Dantz and Donald Quick.

Coat (yaktak), late 19th century, Bukhara, From the Opekar / Webster Collection.

Silk Oasis on the Silk Road, 2011, Installation shot. Photo: Jill Kitchener.

All photos: Courtesy of the Textile Museum of Canada

The Textile Museum of Canada
is one of Toronto’s most engaging visual arts organizations. With more than 12,000 objects from more than 200 countries and regions, the TMC’s permanent collection celebrates cultural diversity and includes traditional fabrics, garments, carpets and related artifacts such as beadwork and basketry. The Museum offers a broad variety of exhibitions including themed shows based on our permanent collection and contemporary exhibitions of the work of Canadian and international artists.
http://www.textilemuseum.ca/

Read the article by Valerie Behiery (Islamic Art Historian, Ph.D.) about the exhibition ‘Colors of the Oasis’, at the Washington museum, that was curated by textile scholar and Curator of Eastern Hemisphere Collections, Sumru Belger Krody in our 6th issue.

Here is the excerpt:
http://islamicartsmagazine.com/magazine/6/colours_of_the_oasis_central_asian_ikats/#content

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Silk Oasis on the Silk Road: Bukhara

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