Kevin Allen

Vibrant ikat fabrics show that with (a lot) of hard work, beautiful  pieces such as these can be made.

This Is Bold: Central Asian Beauty at the Textile Museum

Don’t think for a minute that the 19th-century equivalent of a Milan catwalk didn’t exist on the plains of Central Asia. One peek at the new exhibit “Colors of the Oasis: Central Asian Ikats” at the Textile Museum (2320 S St., NW) will dispel any notion that riveting colors and textures were limited to the West and its penchant for boldness.

On the plains of Central Asia 150 years ago, boldness reigned—as did a treasure of patterns and sartorial flash.

Never heard of “ikat” (pronounced “ee-kat”) designs before? You’re not alone. They are textiles woven from pre-dyed thread, as opposed to inserting color after the piece has already been made.

The threads are tied off at certain points to resist color as the fabric is immersed into a dye bath. The process is repeated (certain points being tied and untied to reflect what colors need to penetrate) until all the thread is dyed, and then the threads stay in their specified order for the weaver to actually make the garment. The time-intensive task focuses on a pattern and the need for skilled workers, from designer to dyer to weaver to tailor.

But to the wearers of these fabrics, the time and energy spent making them was well worth it. Sumuru Belger Krody, curator of Eastern Hemisphere Collections at the Textile Musuem, explains that ikats were a sign of social status and of economic standing. The more ikats a person wore (yes, one of top of the other), the more respect he or she demanded. Ikats were given as part of dowries, as ceremonial gifts for milestones and passed down from generation to generation.

To a modern eye, however, the pieces are simply stunning. The vibrant colors that vary from room to room are married within each piece, with distinctive patterns (Krody explains they’re often nature based—think tree branches, leaves, birds or floral patterns).

Ikat designs grace all four galleries of the exhibit. Some line walls, while others dress mannequins (men and women, since ikats were mostly gender neutral) or blanket furniture as lavish decorations. The exhibit explores 100 years of the woven fabric, and the transformation in the craft over that time is apparent—“kaleidescope” patterns dot the walls of the early years, while the more recent works maintain definitive focal points and motifs.

To demonstrate the complicated process, one of museum’s galleries explores the “how” of ikat, with step-by-step representations done by graduate students at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Two slideshows, one showing contemporary ikat designers in central Asia and the other showing the MICA students putting together the final gallery, complement this impressive exhibit.

“Colors of the Oasis: Central Asian Ikats,” at The Textile Museum (2320 S St, NW; textilemuseum.org), through March 13, 2011.

(Photo credit second and third images, Kevin Allen)