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| Ashmolean museum exhibits rare Japanese tapestries of Meiji era | Ashmolean museum exhibits rare Japanese tapestries of Meiji era |
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| A work of art under which the future King Edward VII once snored, undoubtedly sleeping off a colossal dinner as a guest at Althorp, is among a set of extraordinary textiles being exhibited at the Ashmolean museum in Oxford. | A work of art under which the future King Edward VII once snored, undoubtedly sleeping off a colossal dinner as a guest at Althorp, is among a set of extraordinary textiles being exhibited at the Ashmolean museum in Oxford. |
| The materials are rare survivors of a Japanese industry which dazzled the west in the 19th century; tapestry and embroidery wall hangings which cost a fortune to make and buy but were thrown out by the acre only a few decades later when they fell out of fashion or fell victim to damp, daylight, or moths. | The materials are rare survivors of a Japanese industry which dazzled the west in the 19th century; tapestry and embroidery wall hangings which cost a fortune to make and buy but were thrown out by the acre only a few decades later when they fell out of fashion or fell victim to damp, daylight, or moths. |
| The exhibition, entitled Threads of Silk and Gold, at the Ashmolean until next January, is the first devoted to textiles from the Meiji era, of 1868 to 1912. It includes many fabrics never previously exhibited anywhere, and some from the Ashmolean's own collection not seen in several lifetimes. | The exhibition, entitled Threads of Silk and Gold, at the Ashmolean until next January, is the first devoted to textiles from the Meiji era, of 1868 to 1912. It includes many fabrics never previously exhibited anywhere, and some from the Ashmolean's own collection not seen in several lifetimes. |
| "The ones we have here on the walls are such rarities," said Clare Pollard, the curator. "They hardly ever come up at sales, and when they do they're usually in disastrous condition. I think it's because they are just so rare that they have been so little studied." | "The ones we have here on the walls are such rarities," said Clare Pollard, the curator. "They hardly ever come up at sales, and when they do they're usually in disastrous condition. I think it's because they are just so rare that they have been so little studied." |
| She has included a sample in bad condition, borrowed from a specialist dealer, just to show what happened to most of the textiles. The fabric horrified the museum's conservation staff, and after being kept for weeks in a freezer is now displayed quarantined in a glass case in a separate room. | She has included a sample in bad condition, borrowed from a specialist dealer, just to show what happened to most of the textiles. The fabric horrified the museum's conservation staff, and after being kept for weeks in a freezer is now displayed quarantined in a glass case in a separate room. |
| The faded fabric, spattered with insect holes, crumbles at a touch, and the once blazing dragon is a muddy monster barely distinguishable from the murky background. | The faded fabric, spattered with insect holes, crumbles at a touch, and the once blazing dragon is a muddy monster barely distinguishable from the murky background. |
| There was a craze for the shimmering fabrics and intricate embroidery when such fabrics were first imported. The Japanese textiles emulated paintings, using silk thread stitches in place of brush strokes. They depicted eagles, peacocks, monkeys and lions, peonies and willow trees, all created through millions of almost invisible stitches on silk backgrounds, often including embroidery in gold wire. | There was a craze for the shimmering fabrics and intricate embroidery when such fabrics were first imported. The Japanese textiles emulated paintings, using silk thread stitches in place of brush strokes. They depicted eagles, peacocks, monkeys and lions, peonies and willow trees, all created through millions of almost invisible stitches on silk backgrounds, often including embroidery in gold wire. |
| Many artists collected examples and these appeared in the background of many Impressionist and early 20th century paintings. No fashionable drawing room, meanwhile, was complete without a Japanese wall hanging or screen. | Many artists collected examples and these appeared in the background of many Impressionist and early 20th century paintings. No fashionable drawing room, meanwhile, was complete without a Japanese wall hanging or screen. |
| Some of the most elaborate textiles were presented as diplomatic gifts – whose recipients included Queen Victoria and the Tzar of Russia – or made specially for export, framed like western paintings or imitating European works of art. | Some of the most elaborate textiles were presented as diplomatic gifts – whose recipients included Queen Victoria and the Tzar of Russia – or made specially for export, framed like western paintings or imitating European works of art. |
| The collection at the Ashmolean, which has significant oriental and textile exhibits of its own, include many examples of the hangings. One had been presented in 1958 by a man who bought it on his honeymoon in 1908 and, judging from its pristine condition, never took it out of its packing crate. | The collection at the Ashmolean, which has significant oriental and textile exhibits of its own, include many examples of the hangings. One had been presented in 1958 by a man who bought it on his honeymoon in 1908 and, judging from its pristine condition, never took it out of its packing crate. |
| Most of the pieces, including the precious Althorp bedspreads, have been bought for a museum in Kyoto, where most were made by specialist studios often working with contemporary artists. | Most of the pieces, including the precious Althorp bedspreads, have been bought for a museum in Kyoto, where most were made by specialist studios often working with contemporary artists. |
| To 21st century eyes some of the fabrics, including picture postcard landscapes, and lions and tigers which Japanese artists had seen only in photographs or prints, are masterpieces of craftsmanship but as kitsch as Leonardo's Last Supper reinterpreted as a tea towel. | To 21st century eyes some of the fabrics, including picture postcard landscapes, and lions and tigers which Japanese artists had seen only in photographs or prints, are masterpieces of craftsmanship but as kitsch as Leonardo's Last Supper reinterpreted as a tea towel. |
| However Pollard said: "They tell us so much about the Japan of their day – an idealised vision of the Japan and its culture that appealed most to the west, an unspoiled natural world sold for the foreign currency the country desperately needed to begin the process of modernisation and industrialisation." | However Pollard said: "They tell us so much about the Japan of their day – an idealised vision of the Japan and its culture that appealed most to the west, an unspoiled natural world sold for the foreign currency the country desperately needed to begin the process of modernisation and industrialisation." |
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