HometownAnnapolis.com, Lifestyle - Away We Go: Textile Museum is a best-dressed site

HometownAnnapolis.com, Lifestyle - Away We Go: Textile Museum is a best-dressed site: "Away We Go: Textile Museum is a best-dressed site
By MARGARET HORTON EDSALL, For The Capital
Cozy up to Washington, D.C.'s Textile Museum, where a warm welcome awaits new and returning visitors.

This often overlooked attraction, a unique jewel in the capital city's crown of cultural landmarks, was designed by renowned architect John Russell Pope and is located on S Street in the northwest section of the city known as Kalorama.

As the only museum of its kind in the country and the foremost institution in the Western Hemisphere devoted to the preservation, study and exhibition of handmade textiles, the facility serves as a valuable resource for anyone who is curious about the textile arts.

The museum was originally the private residence of George Hewitt Myers (1875-1957), financier and heir to the Bristol Myers Co. In 1916, after purchasing the house next door, Mr. Myers merged the two properties into one address. In 1925, he opened these once private doors to the public, inviting everyone in to see his cherished collections of fabrics and rugs acquired during his world travels.

Over the years, The Textile Museum's holdings have increased. Today the facility has grown to be recognized nationally and internationally as a center committed to furthering the understanding of creative achievements in the textile arts. Additionally, the museum works to promote both an appreciation for and awareness of the varied cultures that produce traditional textiles.

The museum features a dazzling array of fabrics and rugs - more than 17,000 textiles and carpets - dating from 3,000 B.C. to the present. Its collections of Oriental carpets and pre-Columbian Peruvian, Islamic and Coptic textiles are among the finest in the world, and its assemblage of Spanish, Egyptian (Mamluk), Turkish and Persian works are unparalleled.

The facility also owns important pieces from China, India and Africa, as well as 20th-century ethnographic textiles made by indigenous peoples from America's Southwest, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Ecuador and Bolivia. Historical and contemporary quilts and fiber art complete its inventory.

Currently, the museum is featuring two special exhibitions that will remain mounted into February: "Rozome Masters of Japan" and "Silk & Leather: Splendid Attire of 19th-Century Central Asia."

'Rozome Masters'

"Rozome Masters of Japan," which runs through Feb. 12, features the work of 15 contemporary Japanese artists. The display includes kimonos, folding screens, panels and scrolls, all created using rozome, a wax-resist dyeing technique unique to Japan. The exhibition is complemented by a selection of Japanese textiles from The Textile Museum's own collections.

Rozome has roots in ancient Japan, dating to the Nara period (645-794). It was eclipsed by other resist-dye techniques after the Heian period (794-1185), but experienced a revival in popularity during the early part of the 20th century, when Kyoto-based kimono specialists began to re-examine the possibilities of the wax-resist medium.

Rozome flourished after World War II, when artists became interested in the technique as a vehicle for unique image-making and self-expression on cloth. Today, in the hands of talented artists, rozome is used to create technically breathtaking, complex works.

Unlike other wax-resist dyeing techniques, such as the batik method of applying wax to cloth before repeatedly immersing the cloth in dye baths, rozome involves the use of a brush to apply the wax and dye directly onto the fabric. This provides greater control in the use of color and allows the artist to create areas of subtle shading and depth rarely seen in other wax-resist textile arts.

Two programs have been scheduled to complement the Rozome exhibition:

On Thursday, the public will have a unique opportunity to savor some of the best of contemporary Japan, including exquisite textiles and fine sakes, at a special tour and tasting event, "The Art of Rozome Meets the World of Sake."

Rebecca A.T. Stevens, the museum's consulting curator for contemporary textiles, will give in-depth gallery tours of the special exhibition. Local sake specialist Christian Choi and sommelier Keita Akaboshi will preside over the tasting, presenting a variety of sakes to sample and explaining the various grades of sakes. A selection of Japanese appetizers will accompany the sakes.

The fee is $45 and advance registration is required. For more information, including time of event, call 202-667-0441, Ext. 49.

At 10:30 a.m. Feb. 4, the museum will present the lecture and workshop "Everyday Rozome: Hot Wax and High Design in Japanese Batik Kimono."

For this program, Japanese textile specialist Ann Marie Moeller will display a selection of rozome-decorated kimonos and kimono jackets. She also will explore the realm of "hip" kimono fashions of the 1950s The program is free and reservations are not required.

'Silk & Leather'

"Silk & Leather: Splendid Attire of 19th-Century Central Asia," which runs through Feb. 26, features 38 garments and accessories from the 1800s, each worn by the ruling class and elite of the region, which today encompasses Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and part of Kazakhstan. Included among the visually stunning array of articles are coats, children's clothing and accessory items such as purses, pouches, veils, belts, boots and hats.

Silk and leather have lengthy, intertwined histories as materials for human dress in Central Asia. Silk was first and most prolifically produced in China, where its source and production methods were closely guarded secrets for centuries until they were carried to Central Asia and beyond.

Leather, felt and fur as well as a distinctive clothing style that included trousers made life easier for the horse-riding, nomadic pastoralists of the Eurasian steppe bordering China and Central Asia. The nomads' mobile economy and potent cavalry enabled them to extort vast quantities of coveted luxury goods from the Chinese - first and foremost silk - which they both consumed and sold. The copious production of silk along with the continued use of leather were part of the spectacular blossoming of the textile and related arts during the 19th century in West Central Asia.

How to get there: To reach The Textile Museum, trek west on Route 50 toward Washington, D.C.; continue on New York Avenue into the city, then pick up Massachusetts Avenue; proceed on Massachusetts around Dupont and Sheridan circles; once past Sheridan Circle, look for S Street on the right (near 24th Street); turn right onto S Street and watch for the property on the right. On-street parking is available but limited; some spaces are free, others are metered. (Meters accept only quarters.) The museum is located close to the Q Street exit of the Dupont Circle Metro stop (Red Line).

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