.Our study of culture and the preservation of the past has focused on architecture and historical texts thus far. For this project I would like you to explore material culture objects and museums. In addition to this, I would like you to think about how we categorize and maintain such types of sources and what it means to have a museum where objects are displayed (or stored) in a way that is distinct from the intention of the people who produced the objects.
Please visit the University of Washington’s Henry Art Gallery’s website which includes an online, searchable curation of their extensive textile and regional dress collections: https://henryart.org/collections/costume-textiles#page-navigation-regional-dress (Links to an external site.)Some examples include clothing (coats, head dresses), ritual objects (prayer rugs, tomb covers), and everyday items (saddle bags, housewares).
These pieces represent a number of techniques ranging from weaving to embroidery to wood block print as well as methods for dying textiles, especially ikat. The textiles are composed of wool, silk, cotton, and linen and utilized natural dyes.
The collections include textiles from a variety of locations across the Middle East from North Africa to Central Asia, Russia, and East Asia. For this report, please write one page single-spaced, 12pt font with one-inch margins about your visit to the Henry Art Gallery’s online curation. Your discussion should focus on telling the reader about what material culture objects that are relevant to our study of heritage are housed in the Henry Art Gallery’s collections and study center.
Why would these collections be relevant to someone studying the culture and preservation of the past? Select 2-3 items you viewed, and explain where they are from and how they were intended to be used. Describe how the items are categorized within the collection.
Requirements: 1 page single spaced | .doc file
