Short Course | Textiles of Southeast Asia at Victoria & Albert Museum | Spring 2020
Textiles of Southeast Asia
Victoria & Albert Museum
January 29, 2020 — March 11, 2020
Discover how traditional identities are reflected in textiles produced by Southeast Asian communities. Looking at a range of techniques and patterns, this course will uncover the effects of migration, trade and religious expansion. You will understand the history of patterns and iconography used by both mainland and island communities.
This course is designed to enable students to engage with textiles from across Southeast Asia, to be able to identify techniques such as batik, different methods of ikat, Indian trade cloths and the diverse range of woven patterns from across this region.
Rites of passage and religious ceremonies require specific types of textiles, from the Buddhist regions within Myanmar, Thailand and former Indochina, to the maritime regions of The Philippines, Borneo and Indonesia. Patterns taken from Indian patola cloth appear echoed in many of the fabrics from mainland Thailand to the Indonesian archipelago. The lectures and discussions are intended to equip students with the ability to identify specific textiles by region with country.
The Textiles of Southeast Asia course will be led by Dr. Lesley Pullen — Post-Doctoral Research Associate, History of Art and Archaeology, School of Arts, SOAS University of London; art historian with focus on South and Southeast Asia; tutor and lecturer on SOAS postgraduate and V&A year courses; independent researcher and lecturer; Asian textiles collector and curator; author.
Guest speakers include Peter ten Hoopen, Linda S. McIntosh, Chris Buckley, and Traude Gavin.
