download - OATG. Oxford Asian Textile Group

2CONTENTSImported Peacocks: Asian Textiles and the National Trust ... 4The University of Leeds International Textile Archive ... 8The Digitisation Project of Stein Textiles in the British Museum ... 11Living and Dying at the British Museum ... 14Art Deco Chinese Carpet for the V. & A.... 18Sutra: A Conference on the Trade Textiles of the Indian Sub-Continent ... 19Reports of 0. A. T.G. Meetings ... 20Good News from the British Museum ... 22Books and Publications ... 23Two Exhibitions in the Ashmolean Museum ... 27Exhibitions Listings --- 29Lectures and Events --- 30EDITORIAL _ _ 1 1My remarks in Last June's newsletter on what Dyfri Williams, in an article in theBritish Museum Magazine which plumped onto my desk soon afterwards, felicitously called"the essential connectedness of people across time and place" has led to a number ofexhilarating encounters and conversations. (Dr Williams' article, incidentally, is concernedmainly with the ancient Mediterranean civilizations, but even these show influences,especially stylistic ones, from much farther east.)My attention has also been drawn to the "green man". The picture, or more often, thecarving, of a human head bursting into foliage, with trees growing out of its mouth, orseemingly embedded in a thicket, is often to be found in Christian churches - surprisingly,since it is undoubtedly a very much older, pagan figure. I have recently learnt, however, that itis more widespread than I had realized, with examples in Buddhist and Hindu sites invarious parts of Asia and in Jain temples in India. I was particularly interested to learn thatwhen the Jain temple of Qutb Minar in Delhi was converted to a Mosque during the Mughalperiod, though all the other sculpture was destroyed, the many green men were leftuntouched. I have yet to find any textile examples, so if any of you are aware of any, Ishould be pleased to hear of them.But to change the subject from green men to one white woman, we have recently hadnews of our former programme secretary, Ann Guild, who passed her mantle on to RosemaryLee and Fiona Sutcliffe when she and her Australian husband returned to New South Wales.She writes that they have moved into a house almost in the centre of Sydney and are beginningto feel settled. Ann has become President of the Sydney Ionian Club, an excellent club forwomen who have come to live in Australia or Sydney from elsewhere. She finds herself one ofthe youngest members and is vigorously trying to attract new, younger ones. She is alsoreturning to volunteer guiding at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and looking forward toactive participation in a textile group.