ASIA, AFRICA, AND THE AMERICAS: TREASURES FROM THE DESIGN CENTER AT PHILADELPHIA UNIVERSITY

July 31, 2006 - November 10, 2006 

 

The Design Center at Philadelphia University is solely devoted to design arts-architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, graphic design, textile design, product design, and fashion design. The Design Center is both a gallery that presents design related exhibitions and home to Philadelphia University's significant collection of historical and contemporary textiles.

The collection of over 200,000 items reflects a broad spectrum of techniques, cultures, and historic periods. It is a nationally recognized resource for the study of Western and non-Western textiles because of its extensiveness and diversity. It features rare Egyptian Coptic fragments, Pre-Columbian woven and printed textiles, European silk embroideries, Kashmir and Paisley shawls, 18th and 19th century quilts, handmade and machine made lace, Chinese imperial court robes, Japanese kimonos, designer clothing from the Victorian era to the present, as well as traditional costumes from around the world. The vast collection is a testament to the impact that textiles and textile manufacturing have had historically and continue to have on world cultures today.

This exhibition specifically focuses on three regions-Asia, Africa, and the Americas and is a very small sampling of the uniqueness and breadth of the overall collection.

www.philau.edu/designcenter/collections