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.