Golden Thread: The Art of Dressing from North Africa to the Far East at Musée du quai Branly — Jacques Chirac

 

Traditional Chinese gold wedding dress
Guo Pei
Vest, skirt, dress: embroidery of pure gold thread, leather, silk; crinoline
Beijing, China
© Guo Pei

 
 

Golden Thread

The Art of Dressing from North Africa to the Far East

 

February 11, 2025 — July 6, 2025

From the Maghreb to Japan, a fabulous journey through time and space, discovering the mysterious and fascinating origins of gold and its marriage with the textile arts.

The world's most precious and noble metal, an object of envy, a symbol of wealth and splendour, a sign of elegance and refinement... Discovered nearly 7,000 years ago, gold has never ceased to fascinate mankind. The ultimate material for all kinds of expertise, experimentation and tradition, it has been used since antiquity to make jewellery, ornaments and weapons. As early as the fifth millennium B.C., it was used to embellish the first luxury fabrics for men of power. Over the centuries that followed, skilled weavers and craftsmen Roman, Byzantine, Chinese, Persian and then Muslim used the most ingenious techniques to create veritable fabrics of art where silk or linen fibres were intertwined with gold threads and strips.

From the first ornaments sewn onto the garments of the deceased to the flamboyant dresses of contemporary Chinese artist Guo Pei that are found throughout the exhibition, from the gold-woven silks of the Indian and Indonesian worlds to the glittering kimonos of the Edo era, this exhibition reveals the age-old history of gold in the textile arts. In a dialogue combining scientific discoveries and artistic perspectives, it unveils the dazzling beauty, diversity, richness and the technical nature of the outfits of a vast region from the Maghreb to Japan, including the countries of the Middle East, India, and China.

 
 
 
 
 
 
Musée du Quai Branly Paris Art of the Ancestors Steven G. Alpert
 
 
 

Exhibition Preview

 

Traditional Chinese gold wedding dress
Guo Pei
Vest, skirt, dress: embroidery of pure gold thread, leather, silk; crinoline
Beijing, China
© Guo Pei

Haute couture spring-summer 1996, look n°55
Karl Lagerfeld
Tulle and silk organza, embroidery composed of sequins, cannetilles and gold jaserons by Lesage (1200 hours of needle embroidery)
2014.47.1.1-2
© Chanel © Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris © Les Arts Décoratifs / Jean Tholance

Guo Pei Fall-Winter 2016 Couture Collection: Encounter
Dress: silk, silk and gold thread embroidery, hand-sewn sequins and Swarovski crystals, rhinestones, metal ornaments; cap: copper
Beijing, China
© Guo Pei, Chine. Photo Minghua LI

Guo Pei Fall-Winter 2016 Couture Collection: Encounter
Dress: silk, silk and gold thread embroidery, hand-sewn sequins and Swarovski crystals, rhinestones, metal ornaments; cap: copper
Beijing, China
© Guo Pei, Chine. Photo Minghua LI

John Galliano for DIOR Haute couture spring-summer 2004 Yellow cotton set embroidered with gold and silver elements consisting of a belted top and a long skirt, as well as a silk corset. Dior Heritage, Paris.
© Dior, Photo © Laziz Hamani

Little Magnificent Gold (Reproductions of the original Da Jin)
Guo Pei
Beijing, China
B0001620
© Guo Pei / Hasselblad H5D

Little Magnificent Gold (Reproductions of the original Da Jin)
Guo Pei
Beijing, China
B0001620
© Guo Pei / Hasselblad H5D

Wedding dress, 1880.
Egypt.
White satin. Skirt gathered at the waist, straight at the front, extended by a rounded train at the back; a flat pleated ruffle lines the bottom hem. Rich decoration of embroidery with gold thread on cardboard and cannetille: vast floral motifs, foliage, seedlings of florets inscribed in diamonds. Front height: 95 cm; height at the back: 192 cm.
71.1989.25.140.1
© musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, photo Pauline Guyon

Wedding dress, 1880.
Egypt.
White satin. Skirt gathered at the waist, straight at the front, extended by a rounded train at the back; a flat pleated ruffle lines the bottom hem. Rich decoration of embroidery with gold thread on cardboard and cannetille: vast floral motifs, foliage, seedlings of florets inscribed in diamonds. Front height: 95 cm; height at the back: 192 cm.
71.1989.25.140.1
© musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, photo Pauline Guyon

Wedding and party attire.
Blue velvet. Embroidery in soutaches, braids, laces and gold threads. The sides of the caftan are decorated with arabesques, loops, windings and checkerboards formed by gold braid. Gray and blue damask lining, bordered with a strip of red damask separated by a thin pale blue braid.
Early or mid 19th century.
Tlemcen, Algeria.
71.1961.74.45
© musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, photo Pauline Guyon

Costume consisting of two pieces cut from black brocade enhanced with gold brocade flower motifs. The jacket is slightly fitted at the waist with an ecru cotton lining. The sleeves are long and the neckline is round. The skirt, tight at the waist, is long and full. Gold braid and silk soutaches with floral motifs are distributed around the collar, along the edge of the opening, around the edge of the jacket and skirt and on the sleeve cuffs.
Late 19th century.
Baghdad, Iraq.
70.2015.61.2
© musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, photo Claude Germain

Embroidered velvet ceremony dress “with a thousand branches”; The dress is embroidered with floral motifs made of gold thread. This velvet was made in the Turkish royal workshops at the time of the greatness of the sultanate. The more embroidered the dress, the more the bride was congratulated on her art (she embroidered her ceremonial dress herself). This dress was worn between Istanbul and Ankara.
19th century.
Turkey.
71.1969.127.10
© musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, photo Pauline Guyon

Chasuble of Saint Yves
11th-12th century
Silk, organic strip (balloon) wrapped around a linen core
912.0043.1390
Andalusia, Spain
Guy Artur, Norbert Lambart. Service de l'Inventaire du Patrimoine Culturel © Région Bretagne

喜马拉雅-压轴
0284 – 776 signs
Himalaya Collection, Couture Spring-Summer 2020 Collection
Guo Pei
Beijing, China
© Guo Pei, Chine. Photo Minghua LI

喜马拉雅-压轴
0284 – 776 signs
Himalaya Collection, Couture Spring-Summer 2020 Collection
Guo Pei
Beijing, China
© Guo Pei, Chine. Photo Minghua LI

Batik. The ends (kepala) are decorated with tumpal and the rectangular band (papan) with a predominantly indigo plant background also has extremely fine floral decoration. The central part (badan) is partially decorated with gold leaf applications. The price of gold leaf explains why it is only applied to the part visible in front. Batik combining three colors (red, indigo, beige) are expensive. The beige results from prolonged soaking of the fabric in an oil bath.
Imported cotton, hand drawn batik. Application of gold leaf on part of the textile (prada). Natural dye, indigo, mengkudu red.
Java, Indonesia.
Circa 1880.
70.2009.6.3
© musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, photo Thierry Ollivier, Michel Urtado

Formal Dress
Long, loose-fitting garment, flared at the bottom, open front, long, slightly flared sleeves; purple silk round neckline, gold braided seams, gold embroidery on bib, three button trimmings closure.
Late 19th - early 20th century.
Rabat, Morocco.
70.2013.4.3
© musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, photo Claude Germain

Collection One Thousand and Two Nights, haute couture 2009
Guo Pei
Pants, bib: silk, metallic threads, hand-sewn crystals; top: silk organza, copper parts; headdress: copper parts, crystals; shoes: leather, wood.
Beijing, China.
© Guo Pei, Chine. Photo Minghua LI

Courtyard collection, spring-summer 2016 haute couture
Guo Pei
Dress: silk; cape: silk organza, ostrich feathers, gold-thread embroidery, Swarovski crystals, rhinestones; shoes: resin, silk embroidery
Beijing, China
© Guo Pei, Chine. Photo Minghua LI

Formal Dress
Long, loose-fitting garment, flared at the bottom, open front, long, slightly flared sleeves; purple silk round neckline, gold braided seams, gold embroidery on bib, three button trimmings closure.
Late 19th - early 20th century.
Rabat, Morocco.
70.2013.4.3
© musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, photo Claude Germain

Wedding dress.
The dress is cut from a silk fabric brocade with gold decorated with geometric and floral motifs (hexagons and rosettes). It is made up of a large straight central panel folded at shoulder level to which long, wide sleeves are attached. Two trapezoidal pieces are sewn on the sides and give fullness to the garment. The round neckline is extended by a short slit. The body of the dress is lined with black fabric with white polka dots.
Around 1930.
Sana’a, Yemen.
70.2022.27.1
© musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, photo Pauline Guyon

Wedding dress. (Detail)
The dress is cut from a silk fabric brocade with gold decorated with geometric and floral motifs (hexagons and rosettes). It is made up of a large straight central panel folded at shoulder level to which long, wide sleeves are attached. Two trapezoidal pieces are sewn on the sides and give fullness to the garment. The round neckline is extended by a short slit. The body of the dress is lined with black fabric with white polka dots.
Around 1930.
Sana’a, Yemen.
70.2022.27.1
© musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, photo Pauline Guyon

Tubular skirt
Large rectangular piece woven with silk and gold threads of the "sarabap" type. Warp: purple silk threads, with black stripe on one edge and red stripes for the striped decoration of the sides. Weft: purple silk threads, red in places, and gold threads added 0.7 cm from the edge. At the end, finished with a small hem, very rich decoration, in wide superimposed bands, with garlands, tassels and diamonds, separated by red and gold stripes, with chevrons. Central decoration entirely adorned with floral motifs in rosettes inscribed in large crosspieces of stylized foliage, of the "tangkâr tauch" type. On the longitudinal borders, decoration of narrow bands decorated with floral motifs.
Early 20th century.
Khmer peoples, Cambodia.
71.1962.22.223
© musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, photo Pauline Guyon

Collection Legend of the Dragon, Couture Collection 2012
Guo Pei (born 1967) Legend of the Dragon Collection, Couture Collection 2012 Cape: silk; embroidery of silk, silver and gold threads, pearls, fur and Swarovski crystals; dress: silk; embroidery of silk, silver and gold threads, pearls, traditional Chinese silk peonies, Swarovski crystals; headpiece: painted brass, metal chains, imitation pearls, pearls and Swarovski crystals; shoes: calfskin and wood Paris, France
© Guo Pei, Chine. Photo Minghua LI

 
 
News 15Editorial TeamArt of the Ancestors, Steven G. Alpert, Asian Art, Island Southeast Asian Art, Oceanic Art, Asiatica, Ethnographica, Ethnographic Art, Art Collection, Fine Art, Primitive Art, Indonesian Art, Tribal Art, Eyes of the Ancestors, Dr. Reimar Schefold, Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, France, Jacques Chirac