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Permanent Exhibition

Patterned: Murmuring among textiles

Between the shuttling threads, patterns become a silent language, unfolding across the fabric in whispers both delicate and profound. Each stitch carries the memory of hands and the trace of hearts, bearing within it the flow of culture and the echoes of emotion. This is a journey of seeing and listening during which we read the stories hidden within textiles—unspoken histories, emotions, and the pulse of life.

Within this stillness, we witness how the worlds woven into textiles unfold. This exhibition features carefully selected textiles from our collection and explores two themes: “Nature and Life” and “Culture and Symbols”. The former focuses on artistic representations of nature and vitality; the latter investigates symbolic language rooted in cultural memory and belief systems, revealing cherished memories, emotional resonance, and cultural transmission embedded within these woven works.

As a symbolic extension, “Wedding Attire” resonates with the Asian Arts Festival’s annual theme, presenting ceremonial wedding garments from Malaysia, Nepal, and beyond. These pieces reflect each region’s distinctive ritual traditions, mirroring the universal human aspiration for happiness and a beautiful life.

* Special thanks to the National Museum of History and the National Taiwan Museum for their generous loan of precious artifacts, leanding greater diversity and depth to this exhibition.

Nature and Life
Cloud contours, flower veins, and animals are woven into cloth as patterns—still, yet vividly alive. The natural world serves not only as inspiration for these designs but also as a profound link between humans and nature. From blooming flowers to running beasts, from vast landscapes to distant stars, the patterns reflect how people observe, imagine, and celebrate life.

Culture and Symbols
The essence of a culture may reside within simple lines and geometric forms. These symbolic patterns, though abstract, bear deep traces of belief, order, and memory. They serve as protective emblems, cultural markers, and sacred language. Each symbol embodies thought; each pattern carries ideas from one generation to the next.

Exhibition Information

Event Date Permanent Exhibition
Location 3F S304

Traffic Info

India/ Late 18th- early 19th century

Palampore with Tree of Life Motif

購織000032

This palampore hanging originates from the Coromandel Coast of southern India. Hand-painted and dyed on cotton, it was exported to Europe between the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries. The design features a symmetrical flowering tree with peacocks and birds at the center, surrounded by continuous floral borders. Developed to appeal to Western tastes, this "Tree of Life" motif particularly reflects the preferences of the British market. Given its dimensions, the textile likely served as a window curtain, bed covering, or wall hanging. Such pieces were among the most prestigious and sought-after textiles circulating in Europe at the time.

Sri Lanka/ Early 19th century

Kalamkari hanging

購織000052

This white cotton hanging showcases kalamkari, a renowned South Indian hand-painting technique. Once used in temple rituals, it portrays Hindu deities, figures, and mythical creatures. At its center, a lance-shaped emblem symbolizes Skanda, son of Shiva, whose peacock mount fans its feathers in a radiant halo. Attendants reverently hold parasol and fly whisk, while guardian beasts fill the corners with poised intensity. Painted mainly in reds and purples, the piece achieves depth through subtle shading and fine brushwork, reflecting the solemn beauty and grandeur of South Indian religious art.

Indonesia/ Early 20th century

Green-ground peacock and floral brocade

南購織000367

Peacocks and flowers alternate in a rhythmic, balanced design. Gold-thread peacock tails fan out with fine, lustrous detail, paired with floral sprigs to create a rich, orderly pattern. In Indonesian culture, the peacock signifies nobility and good fortune, reflecting Hindu-Javanese court traditions. Reserved for weddings and ceremonies, such gold brocades showcase the elegance of Indonesian textile artistry.

China / Early 17th century

Kesi silk tapestry with phoenix and peony design

南購織001417

Kesi, or "cut silk," uses short, discontinuous wefts visible on the surface to create painterly effects. This scroll centers on paired phoenixes in flight, framed by cloud scrolls and layered peonies shaded in delicate color gradations. A blue rocky garden anchors the scene. Phoenix-and-peony imagery appears widely in kesi works and symbolizes wealth and auspicious blessings.

China/ 13th-14th century

Print of a manuscript written in the calligraphical style of Su Shi (1037-1101 ), Zhejiang

故佛000203
Volume 3 of The Lotus Sūtra (Miaofa Lianhua Jing)

This sutra cover features repeating medallions of paired lions playing with a ball, woven in gold and multicolored silk and framed by floral sprigs. Smaller pearl-bordered roundels with six-petaled flowers encircle the main motifs, while tiny floral roundels fill the remaining ground. Together, these patterns convey wishes for advancement and good fortune. The rich yet composed palette creates a vivid decorative impact. The cover's close similarity to Song-style brocades in the Palace Museum in Beijing suggests it was produced in a Qing imperial weaving workshop, and the piece exemplifies the elegance and technical skill of court textiles.

China/ 7th – 8th century

Silk brocade with lions in pearl roundels

南購織001405

This diagonal weft-faced brocade weaves yellow, green, red, and blue silk in a vivid pattern. Winged lions flank a Tree of Life, with paired beasts within circular medallions-motifs derived from Sasanian Persian art. Transmitted along the Silk Road, such designs shaped East Asian textile traditions in a vibrant cultural exchange.

China / 17th century

Rug with geometric pattern

南購織001400

Woven in Ningxia, China, this rug has a cotton foundation and a soft, lustrous pile from the wool of sheep native to that region. Interlacing diamond and square patterns of yellow, deep blue, light blue, and white are given depth through subtle shading. A continuous swastika border frames the design in balanced harmony. Closely related to circular knotted-pile rugs in the Qing imperial collection, the rug was likely produced at the imperial Ningxia workshop. It measures about one meter square and probably served as a seating rug for the floor or as a cushion.

Court illuminated manuscript written in gold ink, 1610 / Ming manuscript

Volume 2 of The Lotus Sūtra (Miaofa Lianhua Jing) / Volume 1 of The Golden Light S ūtra

China/ 17th century / China/ 17th century
故佛000330 / 故佛000401

These two Sutra covers represent the refined, solemn style of imperial textiles for religious use. The Lotus Sūtra is mounted in a red-ground brocade arranged in eight radiating sections, a layout symbolizing universal harmony, with each segment filled with floral motifs. The Golden Light Sūtra is covered in a multicolored swastika-patterned Song-style brocade, its dense rhythm evoking boundless merit. Both exemplify the ordered beauty of geometric all-over patterning and reflect Qing imperial reverence for the presenting of sacred texts.

China / 17th - 18th century

Imperial yellow brocade with geometric motif

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This yellow-ground textile, woven in the Song-style brocade tradition, combines floral and geometric elements. Large floral motifs show clear layers, while ruyi scepters, swastikas, flowing-water forms, and linked coins interlace through the pattern. The intricate structure and auspicious symbols reflect the refined yet solemn aesthetic of the Qing court.

Indonesia/ Early 20th century

Red tokwi (altar frontal) with motif of lion playing with balls

南購織000417

Used before ancestral altars in Chinese Indonesian homes, this batik hanging depicts five lions playing with balls among Buddhist ritual implements, with cranes in the corners for blessing and good fortune. Precious vases appear along the top, while the border features the mythical qilin beasts and paired coins symbolizing peace and prosperity. Derived from southern Chinese embroidered table skirts brought by migrants, such hangings adapt traditional imagery to local batik techniques to express both cultural continuity and creative integration.