Textiles of the Burma Hills

April 23-June 26, 2005

Traditional textiles provide a window into minority cultures of the “hill tribes” of present-day Myanmar. Woven on back-tension looms, often from homespun cotton and vegetable dyes, these textiles served as clothing and also as badges of identity and status symbols. Four ethnic clusters are represented from the collections of Barbara and David Fraser, Yardley, Pennsylvania, and Denison University, which has the largest institutional collection in the United States.

View pictures from the Educational Program

Textiles of the Burma Hills
Dr. David Fraser, Research Associate in the Asian Section, shows how careful analysis of textile making can complement linguistics as a tool for studying a culture of fine weavers.  The cultural importance of weaving among the Chin—an ethnic group living in Myanmar, India and Bangladesh—and the variety of weaving structures used by them are considered.  After the lecture, Dr. Fraser leads a guided tour to the Arthur Ross Gallery’s newest exhibition, Textiles of the Burma Hills, which he curated along with Barbara Fraser and Alexandra Green.