Enfilade

One Hundred Cranes Imperial Robe (detail), Chinese, late 17th–early 18th century, Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), embroidered damask, 58 × 91 inches
(Kansas City: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, William Rockhill Nelson Trust, 35-275)

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Opening next month at The Nelson-Atkins:

Weaving Splendor: Treasures of Asian Textiles
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, 25 September 2021 — 6 March 2022
Frist Art Museum, Nashville, 7 October — 31 December 2022

For the first time in decades, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art will display rarely seen Chinese, Indian, Japanese, and Persian costumes and textiles. Made with fine materials, exemplary techniques, and artistry, Asian luxury textiles were central to global trade. The sumptuous textiles in this exhibition conveyed the identities, status, and taste of both local and international patrons and consumers.

The exhibition traces the journeys of key works of art and the people who owned them and carried them across the world. Luxurious costumes of the court performed power, while striking theater robes brought stage characters to life. Sturdy wall hangings and furniture covers transformed palaces, temples, and homes, while shimmering tapestry-woven carpets were created as diplomatic gifts for foreign rulers. Artists borrowed techniques from near and far to appeal to the latest fashions in the developing global market. The extraordinary stories of these treasures of the collection take visitors on an irreducible journey across continents, from the 1500s to today.

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Note (added 6 October 2022) — The posting was updated to include Nashville as a venue. More information is available here»