The National Palace Museum (NPM) Southern Branch, a museum established to shoulder the responsibility of ensuring a balance in cultural assets between Northern and Southern Taiwan, will officially open on Dec. 28, 2015. Upon its opening, the NPM will introduce the Boldness of Forms and Colors - Asian Textiles in the National Palace Museum Collection permanent exhibition, one of the five opening permanent exhibitions of the NPM Southern Branch, to display Asian textiles and apparel that serve as the symbols of Asian countries. The Asian textiles and apparel demonstrate the unique regional characteristics of the countries and how traditional textile-related crafts are considered a crucial aspect of ethnic identity. This catalogue introduces the rich and colorful customs of the various ethnic groups located in the vast continent of Asia, revealing the close relationship between textiles and people.
This catalogue presents the NPM’s collection of Song dynasty silk tapestry with cut designs, Ming and Qing dynasty embroideries, and other Asian textiles. Written by research assistants Chueh Bi-fen and Tsai Hsu-ching, the catalogue covers the topics of “East Asia: Homeland of Silk,” “Southeast Asia: Grace of Sarong,” “South Asia: Myriad of Colors,” “Central Asia: Colors of Grassland ,” “West Asia: Crossroads of East and West,” and “Weaving and Dyeing-based Painting: Textile Types and Related Crafts ,” which highlight the significance of Asian textiles. The catalogue begins with an introduction of the representative clothing worn by Taiwan’s indigenous people exhibited at the National Museum of Prehistory, followed by a wide selection of other apparel such as Qing dynasty dragon robes worn by the royal family (which have been lent by the Mukden Palace), taking readers on a journey into the colorful world of Asian textiles.
Behind each one of NPM’s artifacts is a beautiful story. Marcel Mia and his wife Zaira, who work in the textile and clothing industry in Turkey and are internationally renowned textile collectors, gave away their life collection to enrich the NPM Southern Branch Asian textile collection. The NPM Southern Branch welcomes everyone to come and see the world of Asian textiles as well as the selfless act of the aforementioned collectors.