In spring 2017, the Metropolitan Museum of Art hosted a blockbuster exhibition entitled “Age of the Empires.” This exhibition included more than 160 loaned objects from several sites in China. Among these were nine archaeological textiles carefully selected from the Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum, and Hunan Provincial Museum. They date from 206 B.C. to A.D. 220.
As part of planning for the exhibition, I was a part of an inspection trip to the three museums to survey the condition of those nine textiles; they would soon be undergoing 14 hours of international travel between two continents, then further acclimatization. Their condition and existing display methods were documented and promptly reported to the exhibition team. Prior to the survey trip, I designed display method mock-ups that would accommodate the different types of textiles. These would be based on preliminary information collected from the lending institutions. During the survey visit,
I proposed the mock-ups to museum curators and conservators with whom I met, and received positive responses. In addition, the angle of the display deck was confirmed as suitable by conservators of the lending institutions. My trip made it possible for the entire team and myself to brainstorm about how to better accommodate these precious objects. As a result, the registrar, the Met curator for the exhibition, and I agreed that all nine textile loans should be presented in a uniform manner which would coordinate aesthetically with the color of the display cases and the exhibition theme.
Therefore, it was decided to prioritize opening the crates of textiles very soon after their arrival, and to schedule their installation as late as possible, in this way allowing the most time for required prepping work.

When the nine textile objects arrived in New York City three weeks prior to the opening of the exhibition, Met registrars and myself opened the textiles’ packing crates immediately, as we had planned. A week was devoted to fabricating individual display covers in order to mask their original frames made of various materials in different framing formats and styles. The same fabric used to cover the exhibition display case decks was used to wrap all the new display covers, in this way highlighting only the textiles. To keep the originals intact, the new display covers were made to be completely reversible for their return to China. A custom-made brass mount, designed specifically for a three-dimensional textile object to properly provide support during the entire period of its exhibition, was prepared by a conservator. One of the framed textiles from Hunan Provincial Museum had its plastic frame slightly damaged and
warped during the domestic transportation from Hunan Museum to Beijing prior to its leaving China. The Chinese registrar and I confirmed that no harm had been done to the textile inside its frame despite the damage to the exterior frame, and then signed off for the exhibition. However, the triage I did in Beijing for the international travel required a better solution for the duration of the textile's exhibition and its return trip to China. This particular textile needed additional support to keep the frame flat and stable, avoiding any possibility of potential further damage.
Preparation of display masks for the textiles gave me an opportunity to examine them in great detail under a microscope directly through their Plexi front covers. From the time they were excavated, these archaeological textile objects have been well researched/published by the best examination equipment available at that time; however, I was able to take additional extended-depth-of–focus (EDF) images using a state-of-the-art microscope in the 21st century to gain information as yet unpublished. Also, a week-long examination period enabled me to update the label information on
the weave structure at the last minute.
The main focus of my presentation will be to share additional insights and knowledge concerning these nine textiles, as documented in only the very limited time allowed. I will start with brief descriptions of two excavation sites where these nine textiles were unearthed, followed by introduction to the textiles themselves. The nine textile loans can be categorized in seven categories by pattern designs: (1) two textile fragments with floral pattern (one silk plain weave with stencil and hand coloring and another with embroidery); (2) one textile fragment with “Longevity” design (silk embroidery on silk plain weave); (3) a pair of mittens (silk complex gauze and plain weave with braided ribbon); (4) a textile fragment with Lozenges (silk complex weave); (5) a textile fragment with geometric patterns (silk warp-faced compound in plain weave with highly twisted warps for the pattern); (6) two pillows (warp-faced compound plain weave); and (7) a pouch for a bronze mirror (wool tapestry, lined with felt and decorated with silk tassels and silk strap). Next, I will continue with their close-up images, some of which definitely helped to correct weave structure information and determine weaving directions.

Lastly, I will show the original framing method of each flat textile from the Hunan Museum, sharing the process of fabrication of the particular display covers used for previously framed textiles such as these. I also will present some final display images of three-dimensional textile objects from the Xinjiang region.