Embroidery
Exhibit
The exhibit, Embroidery from
Around the World: Plain and Fancy, opened in the Museum's Gallery
Four on May 23, 1999. It featured 51 objects selected from the
Division's thousands of embroidered artifacts. It intended to
highlight the different embroidery techniques, designs and patterns
developed in many regions of the world. Included in the exhibit
were an 1885 crazy quilt, a 1800 and a 1819 samplers, a 1700s
Casalguidi linen reticule, an 1800 Bergello pocketbook, a Teton
Dakota Indian fully quilled cap, a Kiowa Indian beaded buckskin
cape, a Tunisian wedding tunic, and several late 1800s women's
articles of clothing.
The exhibit was scheduled to
close on November 14, 1999, but information contained in it will
continue to be available to the public. Additional funds allowed
the Museum to print a handsome exhibit catalog that provided
additional information on all the objects in the exhibit. Furthermore,
using the same objects, color images, and information we have
created an on-line exhibit with the same title. Please click
on the On-Line Exhibit section to take a virtual tour of this
exhibit.
Like all projects in the Museum,
this exhibit was an institutional effort with the assistance
from community volunteers and organizations. Pat Grappe, a long-time
volunteer of the Museum 
and
a professional embroiderer, contributed much to the development
of the exhibit. She identified the embroidery techniques of many
objects, and shared her knowledge and expertise on embroidery,
especially the many minute differences discernible only to an
expert in this art. Museum staffDenise Newsome, Jim Stanton,
and Mike Sandersspent many hours designing, manufacturing, and
installing the exhibit. Museum Science studentsAmber Clifford
and Brooke Witcherassisted with the preparation and stabilization
of the selected objects for the exhibition.
The majority of the funds needed
for the publication of the exhibit catalog was provided by the
Museum of Texas Tech University Association and the Historical
Costumes and Textiles Committee of the Women's Council. Mr. Robert
F. Fee, donor of the 1885 crazy quilt, the Bernina Sewing Studio
of Lubbock, and several local organizations (the Quilter's Guild
of Dallas, the West Texas Chapter of the Embroiders' Guild of
America, the South Plains Quilter's Society, and the Chaparral
Quilter's Society) also made significant contributions towards
the printing of the publication.
Similarly,
the exhibit catalog would not have been possible without the
assistance of many individuals. Pat Grappe and Amber Clifford
researched and wrote entries on several objects for the catalog.
Three community volunteersRon McGraw, Ching-ling Lee, and Hung-hui
Luphotographed the objects for collection documentation and later
exhibit publication purposes. Claudia Cory and Gary Edson of
our Museum, and two community volunteers, Dr. Robert G. Campbell
and April MacDowell, read several drafts of the catalog. Their
constructive criticism improved the catalog. Hsiao-wen Li, a
Museum Science graduate, readied the digital images for publication
and was responsible for the design and execution of the on-line
exhibit of the same title.
