Asian Costumes and Textiles: From the Bosphorus to Fujiama [Hardcover]

Mary Hunt Kahlenberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 2001

This extraordinary private collection of traditional costumes, put together with taste and passion by an Italo-Turkish couple, will take us across Asia Minor, Central Asia, India, South-East Asia, and the Far East: five immense territories spanning from west to east, an impressively multi-ethnic and multi-cultural continent. It is impossible not to be fascinated by the incredible variety of animals embroidered on a Zoroastrian shawl; by the dress from Kohistan with four hundred multiple inserts; by the face cover with which young brides of Karakalpak wore when they left home to go and live at their husband's house; by the wonderful, sheer saris (jamdani) of Bengal; by the elegance of the royal couple at the court of Yogjakarta; by the vegetable fibre garment worn by Chinese peasants to protect themselves against the rain; by the Japanese fireman's padded uniform...by their contrasting design, techniques, structures and decorations.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mary Hunt Kahlenberg was assistant curator of Eastern Hemisphere textiles at the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C. and curator of the Textile and Costume Department at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She curated the Neutrogena Corporation's art collection and oversaw its transfer to the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe. She has written extensively on Navajo and Indonesian textiles. Her best known books are Walk in Beauty, The Navajo and their Blankets, Textile Traditions of Indonesia and The Extraordinary in the Ordinary: Textiles and Objects from the Neutrogena Collection. She is president of the Tai Gallery/Textile Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Frieda Sorber, master degree in History of Art and Archaeology at the University of Gent, 1976. Since 1976, first assistant curator: later curator of the Antwerp Provincial Costume and Textile Museum. Regularly involved in fieldwork on the subject of costume and textile tradition in Morocco, Indonesia and the Near and Middle East. She has taken part in several exhibitions and video production in Belgium, the United States and Morocco.

Valérie Berinstain, master degree in History of Art and Indian Studies. Formerly curator of the Asian Textiles Collection of the AEDTA, subsequently lecturer at the Institute of Art and Archaeology and at the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations, Paris. Author of several works, publications and articles, e.g., Phulkary, fleurs brodées du Punjab, AEDTA, Paris 1992.

Claudine Delecourt, graduate in history, history of art and archaeology. She has worked with the "Service Éducatif et Conférencier des Musées Royaux et d'Histoire de Bruxelles." Author of Vie quotidienne au Tibet, Musées Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, 1989, and of the Catalogue of the Musée of Mariemont.

Sandrard spent her childhood in Africa. She has shared her life with a sculptor, who has sharpened her natural sense of space, forms and colours. Sandrard is a creative artist and a passionate stylist of costumes that-- by working with the softness or stiffness of materials-- she effectively harmonizes with sensitivity and originality.

Mauro Magliani is one of the most active Italian photographers in the field of the reproduction of objects and works of art. Along with his wife, Barbara Piovan, he has collaborated since 1986 with the most important Italian and European art publishers, realising photographic reports in Italy and abroad.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Skira (November 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8881189712
• ISBN-13: 978-8881189717
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 1.2 x 12.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #123,083 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful photos of ethnic textiles, January 2, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Asian Costumes and Textiles: From the Bosphorus to Fujiama (Hardcover)

This beautiful, large, coffee table type book is full of gorgeous color photography. There are tunics from Syria, embroidered veils from the Ottoman Empire, incredibly complex gowns from Afganistan, and wedding saris from India. The chapter on the Far East starts with a large color photo of a peasant's palm fiber rain costume while the next pages are full color photos of Manchurian court dress. The juxtaposition of the two is extrordinary. While there is a whole chapter on South East Asia, with some beautiful textiles from the region, I was dissapointed to find nothing in this book from Vietnam. I also wish some of the costumes could have been modeled on mannequins or people. It's hard to tell exactly what you're looking at in some of the photos, and if you're not familiar with the styles of the clothing, it's often difficult to envision how the pieces are worn.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous!, November 20, 2006

By 

A reader (Germantown, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Asian Costumes and Textiles: From the Bosphorus to Fujiama (Hardcover)

This book is a stunner! It contains gorgeous photos of many different items of apparel, including dresses, slippers, purses, coats, sashes, vests, scarves, fans, tunics, hats, robes, saris, trousers, blouses, kimonos, and more. Fabrics include silk, linen, cotton, wool, and even tree bark and palm fiber. Most items are from the 19th century, though a few are from the 18th and early 20th centuries, and all appear to be in excellent condition. The costumes thenselves are very beautiful, with designs ranging from simple to extremely detailed, and colors from pale white to vibrant reds, golds, and blues. The photography is spectacular. Often the item is shown draped artfully over an invisible stand, giving a three-dimensional view. There are many full-page close-ups of intricate designs and embroideries. Items on facing pages are in similar or complementary colors. Backgrounds set off the costumes effectively. All in all, a lovely book. Highly recommended.