To Dye For: Ikats from Central Asia

Over the weekend Sue spent some time museum hopping in DC; one of the exhibits she saw was called "To Dye For: Ikats from Central Asia" at the Sackler Gallery. 

The exhibit features ikat wall hangings and robes made in nineteenth-century Uzbekistan as well as ikat-inspired clothing by Oscar de la Renta.  Ikat designs involve a very complex dyeing technique sometimes called "binding clouds".  The items in the exhibit were overwhelmingly red; other colors included yellow, green and blue, as well as areas left white.  The process involves binding warp threads to create a resist, and multiple dye baths of dyeing and over dyeing to create the complex patterns.

The piece above is an extremely rare 22 foot long strip of velvet, probably produced in Bakhara between 1860 and 1910.

The cloth was created in strips which were sewn together to make hangings to decorate interiors.  Joining the strips would create new designs, and sometimes they were purposely not aligned.

The ikat strips were also used to make robes.  These boldly patterned coats signaled a person's rank in Central Asia. In the display above, the items with arms extended are the Asian items; those with arms down were designed by de la Renta between 1997 and 2013.

If you are in the Washington, DC area, the exhibit runs through July 29, so there's still time to see it.  You can find more information on the Smithsonian's website here.