The Tilleke & Gibbins Textile Collection was featured in today’s edition of ASTV Newspaper, a local newspaper based in Bangkok. In an interview, Wipawee Tiyawes, Textile Curator, provided some key background information about the collection, including its 20-year history, the different regions that are represented in the collection, and specific details on the weaving methods for various textiles. One particular item highlighted in the article was a textile from the King Rama V period which, at over 100 years old, is the oldest textile in the collection.

On March 29, Dr. Linda S. McIntosh, Consulting Curator of the Tilleke & Gibbins Textile Collection,  will presents a full morning program on natural dyes. Over three thousand recipes for natural dyes exist. The use of natural dyes has declined throughout the world, but much of the knowledge has been forgotten. Some groups continue to apply natural dyes to their textiles while others work to preserve the knowledge. A 1.5-hour video entitled, In Search of Lost Color: The Story of Natural Dyes, will be played in the program, and Dr.

Chula kathin, a Buddhist festival also known as kathin laen, celebrates the end of Buddhist Lent and allows participants to earn merit through the offering of material for monks’ robes to the temple. Celebrated in villages throughout Thailand and neighboring countries in the past, this merit-making tradition used to be held annually, but over the years only a few communities continued to carry out this religious ceremony. In the last few decades, this rite has been revived in some areas.

Dr. Linda S. McIntosh, consulting curator of the Tilleke & Gibbins Textile Collection, has planned a field excursion to broaden participants’ understanding of Tai Yuan textiles. This trip will take textile enthusiasts to the Mae Chaem Tiin Chok Festival of Chiang Mai Province, a festival named after the ceremonial skirt of the Tai Yuan. Textiles that have entered this year’s competition will be on display, along with demonstrations of weaving and other stages of textile production. Other traditional crafts will also be demonstrated, such as writing on palm leaf manuscripts.