Acehnese silks in Paris show of textiles

Acehnese silks in Paris show of textiles

Kunang Helmi, Contributor/Paris

The book cover and poster of Luminous Silks feature a visually
striking late 19th century shoulder cloth from Aceh. In deep
indigo purple silk, it is bordered by stylized tumpal motif in
gold thread. It is but one among 85 Asian textiles currently
exhibited at Musee Guimet in Paris until Feb. 5, 2005.

Silk textiles, enhanced by gold, were, apart from use as
clothing or ceremonial dress, closely connected to systems of
religion, political organization, social status and exchange. The
quest for silk led merchant caravans overland on arduous
expeditions through Central Asia to China.

Thanks to Krishna Riboud's legacy, the museum's collection of
artifacts as milestones along the mythical Silk Road, has been
enriched by precious silk fabric. "The collection is certainly
one of most important in the world and will serve as a reference,
not only to textile historians," said textile curator Vincent
Lefevre.

Riboud's collection of Asian textiles was posthumously donated
to the Asian art museum in 2002. Among the 4,000 pieces, 480
items from Indonesia have been cataloged; so-called silk
brocades, ikat weavings and batik cloth. On display are silk and
gold fabric; several kain songket from Sumatra, a hip cloth ,
headcloth and scarves from Bali and Sumatra, mainly dyed a deep,
rich red with gold thread.

Krishna, whose mother was the great-niece of the Indian
philosopher Rabindranath Tagore, was born in Calcutta in 1926.
Her father, medical doctor Roy, died when she was very young.
Thus Krishna was brought up within the fold of the Tagore family,
bathed in a cosmopolitan spirit, yet surrounded by Indian
culture. She won a scholarship to Wellesley College in America
and earned a BA in philosophy in 1947.

It was there that she met her future husband Jean Riboud, on
the cusp of a brilliant career as a French industrialist for
Schlumberger.

Back in France in 1951, Krishna Riboud's interest for Indian
arts and popular traditions grew. She began assembling saris and
other cloth to illustrate the diversity of manufacturing
techniques and the wealth of motifs.

Her collaboration with the Musee Guimet began, when, after
organizing a successful show of her textile collection to raise
money for the victims of the Sino-Indian clash, she met museum
curator Jeannine Auboyer. In 1964 Riboud was officially appointed
to undertake research on textiles belonging to the museum, in
particular ancient silk Buddhist banners brought back by Paul
Pelliot from Dunhuang in China.

Riboud's research continued at the Centre International pour
l'Etude des Textiles Anciens, of which she later became vice-
president. Together with Gabriel Vial, a professor at the School
of Weaving in Lyon, Riboud launched a vast program of research
centered on Central Asian textiles. The focus was on the
different techniques, rather than the traditional approach of
concentrating on iconography within the frame-work of art
history.

Jean Riboud, conscious of the importance of the research,
established a foundation in 1979 that enabled his wife to create
L'Association pour l'Etude et la Documentation des Textiles
d'Asie (AEDTA) based in Paris. Besides continuing to expand the
collection to include Asian textiles in general, Krishna Riboud
gathered a team of experts to continue analyzing the technique of
weaving and crafting these fabrics. World experts gave talks here
and published the results of their research in the AEDTA
bulletins and publications.

Although the focus of Riboud's legacy (she died in June 2000),
are undoubtedly Indian textiles, the oldest pieces are Chinese.
Such as the pair of brown silk boots, decorated by kesi tapestry
technique and enhanced by gold leaf, dating from the Liao period
(907-1125 AD); or an even earlier piece, dating from the Tang
period (618-907), a fragment of red silk embellished by
medallions brocaded with gold threaded dragon motifs. Many of
these ancient silk fragments were found in Tibet where the cold
climate prevented deterioration of the fragile fabric.

Buddhist banners together with stunning regal or theater
costumes from China, Tibet and Japan are also on display.
Prominent among the Japanese textiles on display are the kesas,
richly patch-worked monk's ritual attire for ceremonies. These
resemble quilted capes flecked by gold.

It was the custom for affluent families to donate a kesa --
made up of the best garments of the deceased -- to monasteries to
ensure that prayers would be offered for his soul. Sumptuous
festive saris glittering with gold thread dominate the Indian
section.

It was not the intention of Vincent Lefevre to showcase the
masterpieces of the Riboud collection, but to illustrate the
technique of so-called woven gold brocade: " Various techniques
of woven cloth enhanced by gold thread are common to the main
geographical spheres of Asia where textiles play a crucial role;
India, China, Japan and Indonesia".

The show is completed by a select choice of vintage
photographs, paintings, lithographs, sculptures and ceramics. The
above-mentioned catalog is also available, but only with the
erudite text in French.