The Textile Museum | Collections

Collections

In 1925 George Hewitt Myers founded The Textile Museum with a collection of 275 rugs and 60 related textiles drawn from the traditions of non-Western cultures. With the establishment of The Textile Museum, Myers demonstrated his commitment to championing the appreciation of textiles as works of art.

At the time of his death in 1957, his collection numbered 500 rugs and 3,500 textiles. Since then, the Museum has broadened its' holdings to better represent the full spectrum of non-Western textile arts. Today the Museum's collections number more than 19,000 objects and span 5,000 years, dating from 3,000 B.C.E. to the present.

The vocabulary used to describe textiles is rich, varied and often unfamiliar. Click here to learn some of the terms most commonly used to describe handmade textiles. These terms are a brief introduction to textile terminology and chosen to facilitate your understanding of the concepts you might encounter during your visit to The Textile Museum’s Web site.

Oriental Rugs

The intrinsic beauty of Oriental carpets had a profound influence on George Hewitt Myers' early collecting. As a result, the Museum has one of the most important research collections of Oriental carpets, distinguished by both its range and depth. Our collection of 15th century Mamluk rugs from Egypt, Spanish carpets and classical Indian carpet fragments are matched by no other museum in the world. We have a large collection of Anatolian and Central Asian rugs, and a group of 17th century Caucasian dragon carpets and fragments that is perhaps the best collection in the world outside of Turkey.

Other Textiles

Very early on, the collecting focus of the Museum's founder, George Hewitt Myers, expanded to include textiles other than rugs. This grew from his interest in shared motifs found in different textile traditions. His initial acquisitions and later gifts and purchases now endow the Museum with some of the finest collections in the world in early Islamic textiles, including tiraz, and Coptic textiles. In addition, the Museum has significant holdings of Indian, Southeast Asian, Central Asian, Persian, Turkish and Greek textiles. Although smaller in number, the collection also includes textiles from China, Japan and Africa.

The Museum also has extraordinary holdings of pre-Columbian Peruvian textiles. Styles that are particularly well represented include Ocucaje, Nasca, Huari, Chimu, Chancay and Inca. In addition the collection includes extensive holdings of textiles in the modern traditions that descend from pre-Columbian origins, including those of Guatemala and Mexico, as well as the Andean countries of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. We also have a large collection of molas from Kuna Yala in Panama.

Featured Collection Objects



Eliza van Zuylen, woman's sarong, Indonesia, Java, 1900-1910	Fragment of a hanging or cover, China, mid 19th century	Chief’s Tunic or Cape (kinzembe or zamba kya mfumu), D.R. Congo or Angola, 19th century

Farmer's Coat, Japan Meiji period, late 19th century	Robe, Central Asia, Uzbekistan, Bukhara or Fergana Valley, mid-19th century	Fragments, probably used as a vest, Turkey or Egypt, Ottoman, 18th century

Vest made from a ceremonial mantle, Northwest Coast of North America, ca. 1825-1875	Kimono, Japan, Taisho Period, 1912-1926	Young woman's wrapper, bogolanfini (mud cloth), Late 19th Century, Mali, Africa


Embroidered Panel Caucasus, Possibly Karabagh 18th to 19th century	Rug, Turkey, Kayseri, Late 19th-early 20th century	Naga-juban, Japan Late Taisho period, 1920s


Mola Panel Panama, San Blas Islands, Kuna People 20th century	Carrying Cloth Q'ero, Peru 1960-1976	Sofreh (floor spread),Turkey, Ottoman Empire, late 17th or early 18th century


Saddle Cover Iran, Senneh Late 19th Century	Coupled-column Ottoman parokhet (Torah curtain) Egypt, Cairo Early 17th century	Kashmir Shawl, Mid-19th century, India



Pillow Cover, Greek Islands, Cyclades, Naxos 17th-18th century	Taoist Robe of Descent, China Late 18th to early 19th Century


Asmalyk, Yomut tribe, Central Asia, Turkmenistan 19th Century	Jifu (Dragon Robe), Mid-19th century, China


Charkab (raincloak), 20th Century, Bhutan	Sarong, Indonesia, Java, Pekalongan, 1870-1880


Robe, Iran, Qajar Period Late 18th to early 19th century	Ajar, Tunisia Early 20th century


Mamluk rug Egypt, late 15th century	Bag, Turkey 20th century


Child's dress, India 20th century	Tampan, Indonesia, late 19th century


Hat, Peru, 700-900 AD	Quechquemitl, Mexico, ca. 1946


Jumlo (woman's dress), Pakistan, 1900-1950	Sling, Peru, Late Horizon (1476-1534


Jelek (vest), Albania, late 19th to early 20th century	Skirt, Guatemala, dept. Quiché, San Andrés Sajcabaja 1950-2000


Blanket or seat cover, Bhutan, 20th century	Ceremonial mantle, North America, Tlingit, 19th century


Uçkur (sash), Turkey, Ottoman Empire, early 18th century	Tunic, Peru, Huari style, AD 750-950


Saltillo-style sarape, Northern or central Mexico, late 18th century	Suzani, Nurata, Uzbekistan, 19th century


Iscayo (shawl), Bolivia, late 18th to early 19th century	Buzi (pair of rank badges), China, late 19th century


Ntshak (skirt), Zaire, Kuba people, 20th century	Collar, China, late 19th to early 20th century


Flag, Ghana, 1960	Blouse, Phillipines, 1800-1900


Belt of Bags, Mexico, 1945-1965	Toran, India, 20th century


Tunic, Peru, 750-950	Jacket, China, 20th century


Huipil, Guatemala, 20th century	Raincoat, Japan, 19th century


Hanging, Peru, Late 17th or early 18th century	Ilgitsh, Uzbekistan, late 19th - early 20th century


Navajo chief's-style blanket circa 1870-1880	Indian textile fragment found in Fustat, Egypt, circa 1545 - 1645


19th century takhin (cap) from Kirman, Iran and Kashmir, India	Early 20th century Otomí skirt from Querétaro, Mexico


17th century Ottoman velvet cushion cover	12th century sock possibly found in Fustat, Egypt

Late 19th-century Indonesian Pants from Java north coast	19th century Bhutanese throne cover

Textile Fragment, Egypt, Greco-Roman Style, 5th century	Fragmentary roundel, Egypt, Late Roman Period, 4th century

Showa period kimono