Textiles Asia Journal

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Textiles Asia Journal

Materials, techniques, artistry, symbolism, historic and cultural significance of Asian textiles. John E. Vollmer serves as Advisor. McIntosh.

Launched in June of 2009, Textiles Asia is published three times a year. The articles are designed to inform readers about the fine materials, techniques, artistry, symbolism, historic and cultural significance of Asian textiles. Listings are included about current exhibitions, special tours and events related to Asian textiles across the world. Readers include, but are not limited to, collectors,

academics, museum curators and conservators; dealers; fashion and design professionals; crafts persons and enthusiastic novices. Textiles Asia will appeal to those with an established knowledge in all aspects of Asian textiles as well as to those who are just beginning their interest in this fascinating field. Textiles Asia is supported by an experienced editorial board: Dorothy Berry, Norrie Peel and Lisbet Rasmussen, all former executive committee members of the Textile Society of Hong Kong. Contributing Editors include: Rosemary Crill, Maria Wronska-Friend, Dale Gluckman, Gill Green, Anna Jackson, Sumru Belger Krody and Linda S. Roving Reporters are: John Ang in Kuala Lumpur, Wayne D. Barton in Toronto, Chris Buckley in the UK and Valerie Foley in New York. Promotion by Brooke Jaron, Japanese translation by Momoko Soma Welch, printing by CA Book Publishing.

08/08/2025

The September 2025 Textiles Asia Journal contains:

Enduring Traditions: Celebrating the World of Textiles
by Lee Talbot.

In Search of Samite: a Fieldtrip Amongst Dai Weavers in Yunnan by Christopher Buckley and Sandra Sardjono

Carpets and Collections of the Swiss Alpine Area
by Thomas Murray

Exhibition Review: Textiles from Bengal: a Shared Legacy
by Rosemary Crill

100 Years of the Oey Soe Tjoen Batik Dynasty
by Rudolf Smend

Subscription rates: 1 year: US$60, 2 years: US$110. Payment can be made by US$ personal check, US$ bank check, through Zelle or by credit card through PayPal.
Please visit the website: www.textilesasia.com

07/30/2025

Ikat Kepala (Man’s Headcloth). Garut. Hand-drawn wax resist, vat-dyed on plain-weave cotton. 97.7 x 98 cm. Bureau of the Royal Household, Inv. #13. Photo: QSMT, 2018. Men’s headcloths from West Java are rare in modern collections. This example has a pattern inspired by the restricted Semen designs of the Central Javanese courts, but without the camouflaged meanings essential to that region. Note the tiny sequin-like motifs in the ground—each drawn by hand. The central diamond, however, is reminiscent of those found in some of the old kain simbut. From: “West Javanese Batik in an Important Royal Thai Collection” by Judi Achjadi, May 2019. This article was drawn from the author’s contributions to the exhibition catalogue for “A Royal Treasure: Javanese Batik from the Collection of King Chulalongkorn of Siam,” by Dale Carolyn Gluckman and Sarttarat Muddin, eds, QSMT, Bangkok, 2018.

07/21/2025

This exquisite textile is a piece of men’s clothing. Destined to be worn on very special occasions, on a silk background it combines supplementary warp and supplementary weft patterns all of which have a symbolic meaning. Some of the asymmetrical patterns demand more virtuosity from the weaver and increase the price and value of the textile. (Royal Textile Academy, winner of the 2017 NDAC Competition). From: “Textiles of Bhutan: Artistic Heritage and Vibrant Tradition” by Françoise Pommaret, PhD, September 2018. Photograph courtesy of Françoise Pommaret. weaving

07/13/2025

1920s qipao with Art Deco print. In the 1920s the ever-changing fabric designs and embroidery patterns ranged from traditional Chinese motifs to modern Art Deco designs. This range allowed women to pick the designs and colors of their choice. From: “The Evolution of the Qipao: From Manchu to China Chic” by Sally Yu Leung, September 2010. Courtesy of Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.

07/02/2025

Quy Chau sin bok showing “palm-leaf” design. 107 cm by 67 cm. This style of woven hem is seen in photos from the late 1920’s, and the skirt probably dates from then Courtesy of Russell Howard. From: “Flower Skirts and Associated Textiles of the Tai Muang of Nghe An Province, Vietnam” by Russell Howard, September 2023.

06/15/2025

A richly embroidered qızıl kiymeshek with a bolder version of the qoralı gu’l pattern. The original Khivan adras has been replaced by Bukharan adras. It was acquired in Peshawar, NW Frontier Province, Pakistan. Richardson Collection. From: “The Qaraqalpaq Qızıl Kiymeshek” by David and Sue Richardson, September 2012.
# qızılkiymeshek # qaraqalpaq

05/19/2025

Group of rabbit shoes for children and infants. Various embroidered silk satins and trimmings. Late 19th to early 20th century. From: “Celebrating the Year of the Rabbit” by John E. Vollmer, January 2011. Courtesy of the Judy and Glenn Roberts Collection.

05/09/2025

Detail of an antique silk tie-dye patterned textile. Vessel, pratib, with nak at the prow and the stern, central pavilion. Collection of the National Museum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. From: “Modernity in a Group of Antique Cambodian Textiles” by Gillian Green, September 2009. Photograph courtesy of Gillian Green.

04/23/2025

The May 2025 issue of Textiles Asia contains:

Intrinsic Beauty:
Celebrating the Art of Textiles
by Sumru Belger Krody

Texting Collective Memory Through
Li Brocade Textiles
by YAN Yan

The Evolution of an Art Form
by Roger Yorke

Exhibition Review
Batik Nyonas: Three Generations
of Art and Entrepreneurship
by Maria Wronska-Friend

Symposium Review
9th ASEAN Traditional Textile Symposium
by John Ang

To subscribe please visit the website:
www.textilesasia.com

04/16/2025

Shamanic accessory. NE Laos, 1890-1920. Length 221 x Width 50 cm.
The ngeuak serpent deities appear on this shamanic accessory as the trunks of the mythical hong bird and
elephant-like creatures called sang hong, a hybrid of an elephant and hong. Multi-colored torsos symbolize
pregnancy. Fertility is vital in an agrarian society where its members long for a life without worries of
hunger or famine. From: “Indigo Shamanic Textiles of Northern Laos and Vietnam: Some Examples from the Tilleke & Gibbins Textile Collection” by Dr. Linda S. McIntosh, January 2011. Photo by Pattana Decha,
© Tilleke & Gibbins Textile Collection.

04/09/2025

An indigo dyed wall hanging made with the traditional sewing technique bojagi. Fabric dyed by third-generation indigo master Chung Kwan Chae, Naju, Korea. From: “Preserving the Tradition of Indigo Dyeing in South Korea” by Dorrit Wagner, September 2020. Photograph by Jeon Hyun-Deuk.

04/03/2025

Goddess of the Sun. Batik wall hanging by Ena de Silva. A resplendent winged goddess dressed in a rich olive green gown is set against a golden crackled background. She holds a swirling sun and her vehicle is an enormous prancing Singha, or lion, of Sri Lanka. Inside his body a variety of creatures writhe about to make up his legs and hind quarters. The rich red of her reins and the background of golden cream vie for the viewers’ attention—a mesmerising work of great vigour and joy. From: “Ena de Silva and her Sri Lankan Batik Art” by Julia Gajewska-Pratt, September 2020. Collection of Evangeline and Milinda Ekanayake, Villa Saffron, Sri Lanka. Photograph by J. Gajewska-Pratt.

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