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April 26, 2011

The Law Firm that Started a Textile Collection

Asian Textiles: Newsletter of the Oxford Asian Textile Group (No. 41, October 2008)

Tilleke & Gibbins’ Consulting Curator Dr. Linda S. McIntosh describes how the oldest surviving law firm in Bangkok began a textile collection. The firm acquired textiles to decorate its offices in 1987. David Lyman, the firm’s Chairman & Chief Values Officer, realized how important it was to preserve the textile heritage of Southeast Asia and founded the Tilleke & Gibbins Textile Collection a few years later. Not only does the Collection serve to decorate the law firm’s office and to preserve regional heritage, it aims to broaden the understanding and appreciation of mainland Southeast Asia textiles.

RELATED INSIGHTS​ 

January 10, 2012
The complex traditional belief system of the Tai requires different types of ceremonies for various purposes. Rites of passages, such as weddings and funerals, are elaborate, and textiles play important roles in them. Other rituals, such as those for healing, spirit appeasement, and honoring ancestors, call for woven accoutrements for their success. Although many Tai groups are Buddhist, pre-Buddhist beliefs are still part of the lives of the Tai people, and many Tai subgroups are not Buddhist but animist, or belief in spirits.
December 23, 2011
Dr. Linda S. McIntosh, consulting curator of the Tilleke & Gibbins Textile Collection, will lead a study trip to Ratchaburi Province on January 15, 2012. The excursion will provide participants with an opportunity to learn more about Tai Yuan textiles of Central Thailand by visiting a museum and weaving centers.
October 10, 2011
Dr. Linda S. McIntosh, Consulting Curator of the Tilleke & Gibbins Textile Collection, will present a program devoted to the topic of indigo on October 13, 2011. Natural indigo has historically been an important trade item, and its use has been documented throughout the world. The word indigo is derived from the Greek word indikon and Roman word indicum, referring to India, thought to the oldest center of indigo production.
August 4, 2011
The Tilleke & Gibbins Textile Collection accessioned a large shwe chi doe hanging (h 1.6 m x w 4.7 m) in 2010. Pre-World War II examples are rarely found in the market; thus, the purchase was a rare opportunity to acquire a type of textile absent from the collection. Existing examples are housed in private and major museum collections, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Australian National Gallery, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and the Denison University of Ohio.