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Celestial
Silks - Chinese Religious and Court Textiles, exhibition at the Art Gallery
of NSW
Author: Fiona Prior
"a little taste
of the Celestial Heavens ... "
"Unrivalled
in their splendid and intricate beauty, silks have been one of China's
defining artistic traditions since the domestication of the silkworm nearly
5000 years ago ... "
In the Art Gallery
of New South Wales until Sunday, 24 October 2004 we are privileged
to be able to view a unique world collection, largely made possible by
the generosity of private *collectors. It is highly probable that three
rare early robes which are a part of this exhibition - recent acquisitions
to the Chris Hall Collection and intact examples dating from the 5th and
6th centuries - could be honouring Australia with their first showing
outside of China. To add to the sublime aura surrounding these pieces
it is worth mentioning that during Roman times silk was more valuable
than gold, and Chinese silk was the pinnacle. The iconography and the
standard of embroidery were far above anything that was produced in the
Western world. In this historic era precious textiles plus labour-intensive
and intricate human endeavour was valued more highly than precious metal.
(*From Hong Kong we are grateful to be privy to the artefacts of Valery
M Garrett, the Chris Hall Collection and Humphrey K F Hui; from Australia
the Edrina Collection, James Fairfax AO and Ken and Judith Rutherford;
from the USA the Robert and Marilyn Hamburger Collection - and artefacts
from private collectors in England, Hong Kong and Australia.)
Courtesy
of the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Phoenix robe late 1600's Private Collection, Melbourne
The invaluable nature
of this treat is heightened because so many silk treasures from this era
no longer exist, the degradation of time impacting cruelly on this particular
medium. Add to this a rather whimsical addition to the embroidery filaments
used - peacock feathers no less - and you can understand their decay in
humid or exposed environments. One of the earliest references to this
magical inclusion of unadorned nature is from the 5th Century CE where
the Crown Prince Wen Hui noted that a robe which had been woven with peacock
feathers was 'sparkling and resplendent with a golden iridescence."
(Celestial Silks: Chinese Religious and Court Textiles exhibition
catalogue Page. 38)
With all this ritualised 'conspicuous enlightenment' going on it would
be an oversight not to question what the poor of the time were wearing.
A member of my group at the AGNSW asked this question on Saturday morning.
"Probably rags", was the unanimous response.
The exhibition unfolds in three sections. The first highlights the religious textiles from China and Tibet. The second section is dedicated to court robes and textiles of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The third section highlights 'process'; the blue-print designs which trace the outlines of suggested motifs (of an intensely symbolic and codified nature - the iconography of these emblems meriting an essay unto itself) which had to be officially 'approved' before the work was begun, uncut yardage of beautiful silks before they are shaped into religious and court robes and hangings ... right down to the detailed records of how much gold thread was used, the cost of each garment, and 'auspicious reports' submitted on each garment's completion. The process section is fascinating in that it is so highly bureaucratic. Each robe being transported to Beijing would receive a 'passport', a quality inspection, and if were not up to scratch it may have ended up on the back of lesser important foreign dignitary as an official gift.
The lights of the exhibition are dim, and ambient classical Chinese music is piped through the exhibition space as you wander through Celestial Silks. While the new Asian Galleries section of the AGNSW (opened October 2003) is always atmospherically lit, the lowered lights serve the practical purpose of protecting artefacts from fading and damage (similar to the environmental considerations which were apparent in the SEASONS: The Beauty of Transience in Japanese Art exhibition if you caught it last year at AGNSW). The cool shadows also serve to mark your entry into eras of technical excellence, exquisite detail and labour intensive cultural activity.
A good example of pain-staking technique is the imperial semi-formal court robe (jifu) of the Qing dynasty (1736-95) which is embroidered on both sides of the robe! Imagine a needle being pushed from one side of a work-in-progress to awaiting fingers on the other, painstakingly using peacock feather, silks and gold thread to realise intricate motifs, in the process of creating a garment which would be equally beautiful both inside and out, and you begin to understand. This 'double-sided' piece of the heavens-on-earth is actually pushing the perfection envelope even in this particular exhibition, most of the robes' ceremonial 'wow-factor' being concentrated on their outer surface; the surface that is seen. Many gowns took over 24 months to be realised and were worked upon by 'numbers' of workers. Not so much a gilding of the lily but its creation, cell by painstaking cell. (*Younger readers might try to imagine creating a large complex website from scratch, using only HTML code. Hugely detailed work …)
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Courtesy
of the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Twelve symbol emperor's semi-formal court robe (jifu) c1850
Private collection
Celestial Silks comes with a delightful palette of by-product events which should not be missed.
GUIDED TOURS
* Daily 12 noon and Wednesdays 7.30pm
ART AFTER HOURS
Open until 9pm Wednesday nights
From 5.30pm there will be traditional Chinese music in the exhibition
with Jonathan Xue on bamboo flute and xindi and Patricia Li Tian Chung
on guzheng.
From 6.30pm Art After
Hours Celestial Silk Concerts
28 July - 1 September, 6.30pm
Students and department heads from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music
perform concerts in the Gallery's 19th Century Courts.
From 6.30pm Art After
Hours Celestial Silk Speakers
8 September - 22 September, 6.30pm
8 September Kylie Kwong, chef, Textures, Layers & Harmony within the
Chinese Kitchen.
15 September Kevin Rudd, MP, Heavenly Silk: Earthly Bureaucracy.
22 September Linda Jaivin, writer, China Dolls - Every Chick's Guide to
Fashion and Makeup from the Tang Dynasty and Beyond.
Jazz in the ArtBar
7.30pm, Films 7.15pm.
Art After Hours information: www.artafterhours.com.au
FILM PROGRAM
From 18 August to 5 September
Wednesdays 2.30pm & 7.15pm, Sundays 2.30pm
Silk as a component of costuming and adornment has long played an important
role in theatre, drama, religion, ritual and celebration in China. This
tradition continues in the work of several acclaimed Chinese feature film
directors who use silk fabrics, and their brilliant colourings, as a device
to convey atmosphere, mood and drama. The Celestial Silks film program
includes In The Mood For Love (dir. Wong Kar-Wai), Ju Dou
(dir. Zhang Yimou) and Farewell My Concubine* (dir. Chen Kaige).
* Earlier than usual starting time for Farewell My Concubine: Wednesday
18 August 2pm & 7.15pm and Sunday 22 August 2pm.
On view: Saturday
31 July to Sunday 24 October 2004
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery Road, The Domain, Sydney
Telephone: (02) 9225 1744 or
recorded information (02) 9225 1790
National Toll Free 1800 679 278
Website www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au
Hours: Hours 10am to 5pm, 7 days a week
Art After Hours Wednesday nights until 9pm
Admission: $8 Adults, $5 Concession, $20 Family
Celestial Silks Chinese Religious and Court Textiles
31 July - 24 October 2004
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Asian Gallery, Ground Level.
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