Opening Lecture | “Woven Wonders: Indian Textiles from the Parpia Collection”


June 11, 2023

Rosemary Crill, guest co-curator of Woven Wonders: Indian Textiles from the Parpia Collection, explores one of the most significant private collections of Indian textiles outside of India. This exhibition brings the extraordinary Parpia Collection to Houston audiences for the first time. 

The Parpia Collection reflects India’s myriad regional traditions. Singular pieces showcase the extraordinary aesthetic and technical diversity of Indian textiles from the 14th century to early 20th century. The collection illustrates the preeminence of textile arts produced in India throughout history with examples of hand-painted and hand-block-printed cotton, embroidery, ikat, and tie-dye.

Plan Your Visit
This program is included with general admission. The lecture takes place in Brown Auditorium Theater on the lower level of the Law Building, and the exhibition is located in the Beck Building. On Sundays, the Museum is open from 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

About the Speaker
Rosemary Crill was senior curator for South Asia at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London until her retirement in 2016. Her books include Chintz: Indian Textiles for the West, The Fabric of India, Indian Embroidery, Indian Ikat Textiles, and Marwar Painting: A History of the Jodhpur Style.


All Learning and Interpretation programs at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, receive generous support from Macey and Harry Reasoner; the Claire and Theodore Morse Foundation; and the Texas Commission on the Arts. Endowment funds are provided by the Louise Jarrett Moran Bequest; Caroline Wiess Law; Windgate Foundation; the William Randolph Hearst Foundation; Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff; the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Fondren Foundation; BMC Software, Inc.; the Wallace Foundation; the Neal Myers and Ken Black Children’s Art Fund; Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Ballard; Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Tate; the Eleanor and Frank Freed Foundation; Virginia and Ira Jackson; the Favrot Fund; CFP Foundation; Neiman Marcus Youth Arts Education; gifts in memory of John Wynne; gifts in memory of Peter Lotz; and gifts in honor of Beth Schneider.


“Woven Wonders: Indian Textiles from the Parpia Collection“ is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Lead Underwriters:
The Sushila and Dr. Durga D. Agrawal Family

Generous support provided by:
Sesh and Prabha Bala
Milton D. Rosenau, Jr. and Dr. Ellen R. Gritz
Chitra Kumar and Kumar Bashyam
Paul and Manmeet Likhari
Nidhika and Pershant Mehta
Drs. Kumara and Usha Peddamatham

Special exhibition programming is made possible by The Medha and Shashank Karve Endowment Fund.

Location

Caroline Wiess Law Building
1001 Bissonnet Street
Houston, TX 77005
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