Forest Coat, Jon Eric Riis, 21st century, 2005, Silk, metallic, The Ethel Morrison Van Derlip Trust Fund

Utility to Ostentation: Textiles in Our Life

Sunday, June 11, 2006—Sunday, October 15, 2006
Gallery 256
Free Exhibition

This installation celebrates the functional and aesthetic diversity of textiles. From simple protection to profound communication, cloth has been used for centuries to express personal identity and cultural patterns. A new commission inspired by one of the museum's famous European tapestries, a Colonial American bed hanging, and an Art Deco rug are among the objects that tell the story of cloth creating distinctive environments, while a variety of costume accessories from South America to South Asia illuminates the importance of personal presentation.

Drawn from the MIA's permanent collection, a number of objects are new acquisitions that have never been on view: a new commissioned "art wear" sculpture by Jon Riis, a 19th-century Kashmir shawl; a Turkish embroidered ceremonial napkin; an 18th-century embroidered Colonial bed curtain; and a 20th-century Swedish bag made from wood shavings.