Collection Stories

From The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum

Masibolabola from Fiji

Post author By GW Museum
Post date August 7, 2020

Rectangular cloth with geometric patterning in black and off-white

Ceremonial panel (masibolabola), Fiji, Cakaudrove district, c. 1900. Beaten bast fiber, painted with pigment; 91 x 70 cm. Cotsen Textile Collection T-3133.

All Indigenous Americas

Incan Khipu from Peru

Post author By GW Museum
Post date July 31, 2020

Khipu, Peru, Inca culture, 1400-1532. Dyed and knotted cotton cordage, 145 x 155 cm. Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection T-1191.

All East Asia

Manchu Robe from China

Post author By GW Museum
Post date July 24, 2020

Woman’s robe (changyi), China, Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), Guangxu period (1871-1908). Silk and metal-wrapped yarns; slit tapestry weave; 137 x 122 cm. The Textile Museum Collection 2007.13.4. Donated by Elizabeth Ickes.

All Contemporary East Asia

Shihoko Fukumoto’s “Waterscape VI”

Post author By GW Museum
Post date July 17, 2020

Shihoko Fukomoto (Japanese, b. 1945), “Waterscape VI” (detail), 1995. Indigo dyed, handwoven linen and paper; 75 x 34 cm. Cotsen Textile Collection T-1597.

All Southeast Asia

Skirt from Laos

Post author By GW Museum
Post date July 10, 2020

Skirt (phaa sin), Laos, Oudomsai Province, Lue people, 19th century. Cotton, silk; interlocked tapestry weave, supplementary weft; 92 x 64 cm. The Textile Museum Collection 1992.41.1. Ruth Lincoln Fisher Memorial Fund.