D.C.’s Textile Museum Sees Red
500 years ago in Genoa, you could spot a noble or a rich merchant by the color of his doublet or hue of her robes. Red was one of the most expensive (at times the most expensive) dye to produce. Adorning oneself with was a clear claxon, trumpeting the power, riches, and status of the wearer. Now at Washington D.C.'s Textile Museum, the power of this vibrant, alarming pigment is explored in a new exhibit, "Red."
Before the advent of synthetic dyes in the 19th century, red was hard come by. Its use exploded as Europeans exploited the newly discovered Americas, as a tiny insect was gathered and ground down by the millions to produce cochineal, the alluring hue seen in the blushing cheeks of Gainsboroughs and Nattier's powedered ladies. And what would the Baroque excesses of Louis XIV be without crimson velvets and silks from Genoa and Lyon?
In the Far East, red was (and still is) strongly associated with good luck, and brides from China to India were swathed in it to assure happiness and fertility. There is no denying that across all cultures red is synonymous with blood, but blood (and thus red) can have positive, life-giving connotations as well as violent ones. Today red is available to nearly everyone, unlike in certain eras and cultures in which it was reserved for the exclusive use of nobility or royalty.
Beginning February 8 and ongoing through July 8, 2007, crimson, scarlet, burgundy, claret, and firey red textiles are collected together and shown en mass. Represented textiles include
- Textile fragment
Safavid
Iran
16th century
- Rug
Navajo Arizona or New Mexico
United States
1897-1900
- Thomas Cronenberg
Identity Series: TOMMY USA
Germany
2004
- Hanging fragment
Coptic
Egypt
6th century (?)
- Hanging (suzani)
Uzbekistan, Tashkent
19th century
- Floor cover
Ottoman
Turkey, Bursa or Istanbul
1550-1575
- Asmalyk
Turkmen, Tekke
Central Asia
Early 19th century
- Border fragment
Early Nasca style,
South Coast Peru
50 BCE - 200 CE
- Zapotec
San Antonino, Oaxaca, Mexico
- Tunic
Possibly Macedonia, former Yugoslavia
Early 20th century
- Kimono
Japan
Early 20th century
- Banner
Vietnamese or Lao
Nghe An Province, Vietnam
20th century