Rare Gifts Elevate the GW Museum and The Textile Museum’s Collection

Museum receives Central Asian and Chinese minority textiles and fabrics from the 20th century.

November 16, 2015

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(Courtesy photos)

The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum received two major gifts 
of Central Asian ikats with links to the Silk Road and textiles reflecting traditions of Chinese ethnic minorities from collectors Guido Goldman and Bea Roberts. 
 
With Dr. Goldman’s contribution, the museum now holds one of the largest collections of Central Asian ikats in the United States. The gift from Ms. Roberts brings textiles from Chinese minority peoples—Miao, Dong, Shui, Yao and Bouyei—to the museum. 
 
Both gifts will support the museum’s efforts to document and highlight the region’s diverse culture. They come at a time when the museum is experiencing a 50 percent increase in attendance and is hosting four times as many programs as in the past. 
 
“These transformative gifts are extraordinary in their aesthetic quality, cultural breadth and historical relevance,” said museum director John Wetenhall. “Just as our partnership with GW has brought The Textile Museum to a new operational level, these collections elevate our work for the widespread benefit of students and scholars.”
 
Dr. Goldman’s Collection of Central Asian Textiles   
 
Dr. Goldman, a political scientist and longtime collector, gave the museum 100 textiles, including 76 ikat panels and yardages and 23 embroidered covers, bags and belts from Central Asia. The gift also includes one late antique textile fragment and three East and Southeast Asian textiles. 
 
The Arthur M. Sackler Museum at the Smithsonian, the de Young Museum in San Francisco, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts hold other parts of Dr. Goldman’s collection. 
 
The collection represents the great history and artistry of ikat textiles, which are distinguished by bright colors and bold patterns, and are seen as a critical 19th-century link in a long chain of sumptuous luxury fabrics produced along the Silk Road over several thousand years. Ikat textiles are experiencing a revival in modern day garments from Uzbekistan and have inspired many leading fashion designers around the world. A majority of the textiles in Dr. Goldman’s collection date back to the early to mid-19th century.  
 
“The Textile Museum is honored to be the recipient of this incredibly generous gift,” said Sumru Belger Krody, senior curator at the museum. “The artworks in Dr. Goldman’s collection represent the highest in artistic and technical achievement in their respected groups and complement the museum’s existing Central Asian holdings.”
 
Dr. Goldman, in addition to being the founding director of the Center for European Studies, is on the advisory board of Christie’s and a National Parkinson Foundation board member. He is also founder and co-chair of the board of the German Marshall Fund in the United States.
 
“Combining my collection with The Textile Museum’s creates an excellent synergy, both for scholars who want to study a large and diverse collection in depth and for textile enthusiasts who enjoy seeing and learning about extraordinarily beautiful objects,” said Dr. Goldman, director of the Program for the Study of Germany at the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard. “The museum’s new, custom-built conservation and collections resource center on GW’s Virginia Science and Technology Campus ensures the conservation of these artworks for future generations.”
 
Dr. Goldman said he donated his collection to the museum to honor The Textile Museum’s board president Bruce P. Baganz for his leadership in transforming the museum and in acknowledgement of the museum’s commitment to caring for its collections through two new buildings at GW. 
 
Ms. Roberts’ Collection of Chinese Minority Textiles 
 
Ms. Roberts’ collection of 284 Chinese minority textiles from southwest China is an important addition to the museum. The collection features textiles that illustrate embellishment techniques, particularly in elaborate festival costumes. A single costume can comprise as many as 10 to 15 textiles, such as a jacket, skirt, apron, baby carrier, belt and more than a dozen pieces of jewelry. The objects will enhance the museum’s current collection of more than 700 textiles from China. 
 
Many ethnic minorities in southwest China do not have a written language, and group history is passed on through textile design. Due to urbanization and machine production, textile traditions like the ones in Ms. Roberts’ collection are at risk of vanishing. 
 
“We are delighted that Bea Roberts has chosen the museum as the beneficiary for her outstanding collection,” said curator Lee Talbot. “It is significant for its high quality, thorough documentation and emphasis on assembling complete outfits, from headgear to footwear.” 
 
Ms. Roberts is a jewelry and fiber artist from Del Mar, Calif. As she was collecting the pieces, she grew fascinated by the unique—and rare—cultures and costume traditions she encountered. Today, the hand production of textiles in the region has largely ceased. Ms. Roberts’ Chinese minority collection represents one of the last of its significance acquired in the field. 
 
“The Textile Museum is the ideal home for my collection,” said Ms. Roberts. “I look forward to how the museum uses the pieces in upcoming exhibitions and to educate individuals interested in learning about the history of Chinese minority peoples through art.”
 
Ms. Roberts’ collection traveled to several university museums in the exhibition “Vanishing Traditions: Textiles and Treasures from Southwest China.” The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum plans to exhibit an expanded version of the show in the coming years.