The Secret Life of Textiles: Plant Fibers

June 28 - July 31, 2016 - The exhibition is a comprehensive textile collection, the conservators' expertise, and state-of-the-art analytical instrumentation come together to make possible a detailed examination of fiber characteristics and technology through a series of three installations that will be focused on plant fibers, animal fibers, and synthetic fibers.

This first installation in the series will reveal the technological transformation and beauty of the most important plant fibers—linen, hemp, ramie, and cotton—used by various cultures around the world in North Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas, from the Dynastic period of Egypt to the present day.