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Touched by Indigo: Chinese Blue-and-White Textiles and Embroidery

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) presents Touched by Indigo: Chinese Blue-and-White Textiles and Embroidery, a new exhibition exploring the function and aesthetics of the blue-and-white textiles and embroidery of China. Drawn from the ROM's permanent collections and loans from the Textile Museum of Canada and local private collectors, this ROM-original exhibition will feature more than 100 objects, including clothing, home furnishings, tools, and paintings from the 19th century to the present. Many of these objects will be on display for the first time ever. Touched by Indigo will be on exhibit in the third floor European Temporary Exhibition Gallery from October 9, 2004 to May 24, 2005.

"This exhibition offers visitors a different view of Chinese textiles than the better-known silks, often colourfully woven or embroidered, that only a privileged few could afford," said Dr. Ka Bo Tsang, curator of the exhibition. "Since ancient times, most people wore much plainer clothing made from hemp or cotton in subdued colours. This exhibition will focus on the many ingenious ways working people used dye and embroidery to enhance the attractiveness of garments and household items."

Visitors will learn about the history and nature of Chinese blue-and-white textiles and embroidery and discover the techniques used to create the intriguing patterns and designs, many of them saturated with symbolic meanings. From quilt covers and bed valences to coats and socks, all of these objects were produced following traditional methods of dyeing, painting, weaving, appliqué and embroidery.

Touched by Indigo: Chinese Blue-and-White Textiles and Embroidery is divided into seven sections. The first section introduces visitors to Indigo and Cotton. The indigo plant, the source of the blue-coloured dye, has been cultivated in China since the Zhou dynasty (1027 to 221 BC) and commonly used in the making of clothing and home furnishings for the general population. Cotton thread was dyed blue and woven with natural-coloured thread to create striped or checkered patterns, or they were used to embroider designs by simple cross-stitching. Indigo is colour-fast and does not show dirt easily, making it ideal for daily wear and home furnishings. Samples of white cotton and indigo-dyed cotton thread are on display in this area.

In the next section, Woven Fabrics - Plain and Decorated, visitors will see how the general population took advantage of several methods to make their clothing more pleasing. One easy way was to combine plain white or indigo-dyed cotton with coloured trim. Another was to treat indigo-dyed fabric in a special manner to produce a sheen. Weavers also made use of both natural-coloured and dyed threads to create attractive woven patterns and designs. Examples of these techniques are on display in this area.

The following sections explore the four resist-dyeing methods for Pattern-Dyed Fabrics - tie-dye, wax-resist, clamp-resist, and paste-resist. Also on display are tools used to produce these beautiful visual effects. Tie-dyed designs are characterized by soft edges and blurred images of shapes, such as in a contemporary tie-dyed woman's cotton jacket from Gansu province. Tie-dyeing was used extensively for clothing from the fourth to the eleventh centuries. The technique went into decline after a Northern Song (960-1127 AD) emperor issued a ban on this time-consuming method of textile-patterning.

In the next two areas, visitors will see a beautiful wax-resist-dyed design of a centipede dragon on a cotton scarf and two clamp-resist-dyed quilt tops, along with a set of woodblocks used to create similar pieces. Labour-intensive clamp-resist dyeing saw its apogee in the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD) when it was used to produce a variety of multi-coloured silk products. Today this technique is on the verge of disappearing. The last area features the paste-resist method, developed during the Song dynasty (960 - 1279 AD), but still practised in many parts of China today. On display here is a colourful paste-resist-dyed and hand-painted quilt top depicting a reunion scene, made in the early 1900s.

The final section explores Embroidery, an appealing way of enhancing the attractiveness of clothing and home accessories. Samples of children's clothing, such as a cotton waistcoat, bibs and a pair of socks, exemplify this decorative technique.

Touched by Indigo is the third in a series of temporary textile-based exhibits that have been on display in the third floor European Temporary Exhibition Gallery. These exhibits hail the opening of the upcoming Patricia Harris Gallery of Costume and Textiles, scheduled to open in December 2005. This permanent gallery has been made possible by a generous gift from long-time Museum benefactors, William and Patricia Harris, which will allow the ROM to display its notable collection of textiles and costumes on a rotating basis.

The Magic of Indigo Blue is one of the complementary programs that will be offered during Touched by Indigo. This fundraising event, organized by the Textiles and Costume Committee, will take place at the ROM on Tuesday, November 23, 2004 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Anthropologist Dr. Lynne Milgram will explore the worldwide use of indigo as the best all blue natural dye. Fifteen 2004 Levi Strauss demin jackets have been embellished by Canadian designers and fashion magazines. The jackets will be auctioned by Christie's Canada Inc. Other blue and white items will be on sale. Cost is ROM Members $50, Public $60, and Students $30. To reserve or obtain more information, please call ROM ticketing at (416) 586-5797.

Touched by Indigo is included with general ROM admission (see below.) With a ROM family membership ($99.00), a family of up to two adults and four children under 18 years of age can enjoy unlimited free admission to the ROM's permanent galleries and spectacular exhibitions. For additional details on becoming a ROM Member, please call 416-586-5700.

 

 

Issue date:
July 6, 2004

For more information:
Media Relations
Tel.: 416.586.5547
Fax: 416.586.8022
E-mail: media@rom.on.ca

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