Get The Latest Issue Now!
FEBRUARY 2012
A Fragile Heritage, China Counts its Lost Ruins
January 2012
A Chinese Conundrum: Hong Kong Sales Slow Down
NOVEMBER 2011
Hong Kong Autumn Sales: Reading the Mixed Messages
OCTOBER 2011
Museum der Kulturen Basel Opens After Refurbishment
September 2011
Cover: World Heritage List New Sites
JUNE 2011
Thai Border Clashes Continue Around Preah Vihear Temple
February 2009
The Silk Road in Ningxia
The Silk Road in Ningxia
The term, ‘Silk Road’ which was coinedonly in the 19th century, refers to the vast network of roads which alreadylinked China with central Asia and beyond by the 2nd century. The primarytrading commodity was silk, and the routes straddling arid Ningxia on thenorthwest Chinese frontier were the most important since ancient times. Sincethe 1980s, significant archaeological discoveries around Guyuan in the southhave been rewriting Ningxia’s place on the Silk Road.
Colour In The Oasis: Ikats Of Central Asia
Colour In The Oasis: Ikats Of Central Asia
It is not known when the weaving of silk ikats commenced in Central Asia, previously home to nomadic cultures. Silk weaving had been practised in the area since ancient times when the silkworm, Bombyx mori, arrived fromChina via the Silk Road. Silkworms were cultivated by the oasis communities in Uzbekistan and silk thread was extracted by boiling their cocoons. Sometime in the 17th century, simple striped silk ikats made an appearance in what were the Uzbek khanates of Bukhara, Khiva and Kokand. These societies seemed to thrive under the expanding Russian imperial empire and in a cultural renaissance, produced dramatic garments in the 1800s. By the 19th century, silk ikats hadbecome an established item of clothing and a major status symbol in the khanates. But the trend did not last. Soviet domination of the area in thefirst decades of the 20th century discouraged creativity and their production came to an end.
Timbuktu to Tibet
Timbuktu to Tibet
A journey through NorthAfrica, the Middle East, Central Asia and beyond is the aim of the exhibitioncreated by the Textile Museum: Timbuktu to Tibet. Rugsand Textiles of the Hajji Babas,which examinesthe central role that rugs and textiles play in diverse cultures around the world. Through this display of 90 carpets and other woven objects, it showcasesthe beauty of the pieces and explores the context in which they were createdand used within cultures on several continents. With textiles, people aroundthe world express their diverse traditions, lifestyles, fashions andtechnologies, all while addressing fundamental physical, aesthetic andspiritual needs.
Chang Chien-Chi: Photographer
Chang Chien-Chi: Photographer
In the last couple of years, Singaporean visual art institutions have begun to leave theirmark on the region with home-curated exhibitions. Whereas even a decade agomost visual art shows offering works of more than purely parochial appeal wereimported – foreign curator, foreign art, foreign-made catalogue – with the only local contribution being the money, the city-state’s museums are now taking more initiative. The National Museum of Singapore is amongst several local institutions increasingly organising its own shows.