China National Silk Museum, Hangzhou    |   30 May – 15 September 2018

A World of Looms: Weaving Technology and Textile Arts in China and Beyond is the first exhibition in China to present the rich heritage of looms and weavings from cultures around the world. The exhibit celebrates the marches of technological innovations of looms over a vast geographical area, and it examines weaving practices within the context of local customs and traditions.

The China Gallery displays archaeological looms and models from recent excavations, which illustrate ancient Chinese weaving techniques. Shown alongside these key objects are looms of the Chinese ethnic minority groups, the Zhuang, the Dai, and the Dong. These looms’ mechanics–built following the same system for countless of generations–retain some features of the ancient looms. Also found in this gallery is a foot-treadle loom. Such a loom signifies a technological leap in shed manipulation whereby foot treadling replaces hand operation for faster production. Significant advancements in patterning technology are represented in this gallery by multi-shaft looms, pick-up cord-leash looms, and drawlooms. These looms allow the weaving of intricate and complex design.

The Eurasia Gallery maps the diverse loom mechanical devices and patterning systems throughout many parts of Asia and Europe. Looms from Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodian, Laos, and Indonesia highlight the variations of back-strap and frame looms from the mainland and insular Southeast Asia. The traditional patterning techniques associated with these looms include ikat, tapestry, and those produced by warp floats and supplementary wefts. This gallery further shows a range of technological sophistication from the landmass of Eurasia: from a simple frame loom to the pre-jacquard Jaala loom of South Asia; from an ikat loom to the Zilu loom of Central Asia. The latter, still seen in Iran today, might be the type of loom used to weave early taqueté and samite. From North Europe, the gallery presents an ancient form of a warp-weighted loom and a modern jacquard loom. The former has a tilted frame and a top beam from which the warp threads are hanging and kept in tension with weights at the bottom. This type of loom was employed for wool weaving in the sixth-century BCE in the Greek Period. The Jacquard loom, invented in France in 1804, transformed patterning technology using punched cards and catapulted the French silk industry to its pinnacle. The cards stored pattern information in a binary code, which became the basis of the modern computing system.

The Americas & Africa Gallery exhibits back-strap looms of the Peruvians. The simple mechanics of these South American looms belie the highly complex patterned textiles they produce. This gallery also explores the long history of textile weaving traditions in North Africa through the displays of loom models from Ancient Egypt, excavated mural paintings and artifacts, as well as traditional looms from the surrounding regions. Last, the gallery underscores the narrow-strip weaving traditions in Ghana in West Africa, represented by the Ewe and Asante looms and textiles.

Image: Detail of weaving on a drawloom, Sericulture Illustrations by Wu Qi, Qing Dynasty. China National Silk Museum, Hang Zhou.

International Conference

Workshops & Weaving Demonstrations

Textile Market

30 May – 4 June 2018

A one-day conference will be held on 31 May. Distinguished textile scholars will explore a range of topics from loom origins and mechanical structures, to traditional patterns and weaving techniques. The conference will be in English, with simultaneous translation in Chinese. Registration is recommended.

Many workshops will be held on 1­–3 June. Participants can observe or try out weavings, learn the reconstructions of ancient textiles, and understand the modern challenges in producing traditional fabrics. Seating for the workshops is limited.

Weaving demonstrations will take place in different areas of the museum from 30 May – 4 June. In addition, there will be a textile market, which will offer various sale items from different countries.

All events are open to the public, free of charge. For registration, please visit the museum’s website: http://www.chinasilkmuseum.com/.

For further information please contact:  

Ms. Shine Xu, Program Coordinator

+86-137-3601-1181| shinexu_hz@163.com

Dr. Feng Zhao, Director

+86-186-0571-6182 | 1007043621@qq.com

Dr. Sandra Sardjono, Adjunct Curator

+1-510-710-0396 | ssardjono@berkeley.edu

Admission is free, but registration is recommended. For registration, please download the form and email Sophia Liang at hensophia@qq.com.

REGISTRATION FORM.docx

A World of Looms Conference

China National Silk Museum, Hangzhou  | Thursday, 31 May 2018, 8:00–17:00

A conference held in conjunction with the exhibition A World of Looms: Weaving Technology and Textile Arts in China and Beyond, on view at the China National Silk Museum from 30 May–15 September 2018.

Admission is free, but registration is recommended. For registration, please visit the museum website: http://www.chinasilkmuseum.com/

Presentations

World of Looms: Origins, Transmissions, and Future

Keynote Speaker: Eric Boudot, Independent Researcher

A Development of Loom and Weaving Technology on the Silk Road

Dr. Feng Zhao, Director, China National Silk Museum, Hangzhou

Cradle of Diversity: The Looms and Weaving Techniques of Southwestern China

Dr. Christopher David Buckley, Independent Researcher

Looms for Warp- and Weft-Twined Weave in Japan

Dr. Shinobu Yoshimoto, Professor Emeritus, National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, Japan

Celebrating the Lao Loom: Exploring Creativity and Innovation

Carol Cassidy, Director, Lao Textiles, Laos

Backstrap Looms in the Indonesian Archipelago

Dr. Sandra Sardjono, Research Board, Traditional Textile Arts Society of South-East Asia (TTASSEA)

Threads that Bind: A Perspective on Jaala and other Indian Looms

Hemang Agrawal, Creative Director, Surekha Group & Label Hemang Agrawal, India

Atlas Silk Loom in Central Asia

Muhayyo Makhmudova, Program Officer, UNESCO Tashkent Office, Uzbekistan

Binafsha Nodir, Art Historian and Independent Researcher         

Iranian Zilus and the Zilu Loom

Dr. Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, Director, Textile Research Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands

Warp-Weighted Loom in Ancient Europe

Dr. Eva Birgitta Andersson Strand, Associate Professor and Director, Centre for Textile Research, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

The Andean Loom and the Four-Selvaged Cloth

Dr. Elena Juarez S. Phipps, Lecturer, Dept. World Arts and Cultures, University of California at Los Angeles, United States

Creativity and Innovation: Looms and Weaving Technology in Africa

Dr. Malika Kraamer, Independent Curator and Researcher

Weaving Figured Textiles: Before the Jacquard Loom and After

Guy Scherrer, Engineer and Conservator/Restorer of Historic Machinery

A World of Looms

Weaving Technology & Textile Arts in China and Beyond

WORKSHOPS PROGRAM

China National Silk Museum, Hangzhou   |   1–3 June 2018 

1 June Session: Basic Looms

1.1. Ancient Europe: Warp-Weighted Loom  

Dr. Eva Birgitta Andersson Strand, Associate Professor and Director, Centre for Textile Research, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

1.2. Weaving Technology of Taiwanese Aborigines

Dr. Zhaohua Ho, Professor, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan

1.3. Cusco, Peru: Backstrap Loom

Dr. Elena Juarez S. Phipps, Lecturer, Dept. World Arts and Cultures, UCLA, United States

Yanet Soto and Flora Callanaupa, Weavers, Centro de Textiles Tradicionales, Cusco

1.4. Ghana: Frame Loom

Dr. Malika Kraamer, Independent Curator and Researcher

1.5. Madagascar Loom

Andrée Etheve, Director, Femmes Entrepreneurs Environnement Mahajanga

Weaver from Madagascar

2 June Session: Treadle Looms

2.1. Korea: Backstrap Treadle Loom

Dr. Sim Yoenok, Professor, Korea National University of Cultural Heritage

Bang Yeonok, Master Weaver of fine ramie

2.2. Margilan, Atlas, Central Asia: Ikat Loom from

Muhayyo Makhmudova, Program Officer, UNESCO Tashkent Office, Uzbekistan

Rasul Mirzaahmedov, Master weaver from Uzbekistan

2.3.  Laos: Loom with Long Vertical Heddle System

Carol Cassidy, Director, Lao Textiles, Laos

Weaver from Laos

2.4. China: Zhuang Loom from Guangxi Province

Eric Boudot, Independent Researcher

2.5. West Sumatra, Indonesia: Supplementary Gold Weft Patterned Textiles from Minangkabau

Bernhard Bart and Erika Dubler, Directors, Studio Songket, Indonesia

3 June Session: Patterned Looms

3.1. South Sumatra, Indonesia: Supplementary Weft Patterned Looms from Palembang

Drs. Zainal Arifin, Director, Zainal Songket, Indonesia

3.2. China: Laoguanshan Pattern Loom

Luo Qun, Senior Researcher, China National Silk Museum, Hangzhou

Weaver from the China National Silk Museum, Hangzhou

3.3. Iran: Zilu Loom

Ata Jallayer, PhD Candidate, China University of Science and Technology, Hefei

Sharif Zade, Master Weaver from Maybod

3.4. Varanasi, India: Jaala Loom

Hemang Agrawal, Creative Director, Surekha Group & Label Hemang Agrawal, India

Weavers from India

3.5. France: Jacquard Loom

Guy Scherrer, Engineer and Conservator/Restorer of Historic Machinery

Events Venue：China National Silk Museum

Address: 73-1 Yuhuangshan Road, Hangzhou, China, 310002 

International participants can fly directly to Hangzhou or to Shanghai. From Hangzhou airport, taxi ride to the Museum takes about 40 minutes. 

Accommodation 

These are suggested hotels within walking distance from the museum:

1. West Lake Hillview International Hotel

Address: No. 37 Lianhua Feng Road, Hangzhou

Tel: 0086-571-87379999  

2. Jade Emperor Hotel

Address: No. 74 Yuhuangshan Road, Hangzhou

Tel: 0086-571-87182688

3. Ru Yi Boutique Hotel at West Lake

Address: No.8 Lianhuafeng Road, Hangzhou

Tel: 0086-571-87559955