Art in Japan>Architecture & Design>Nuno: Southeast Asian Textiles

Original articles on art, artists, architecture, exhibitions, galleries, museums and cultural institutions around Tokyo, Japan.

Nuno: Southeast Asian Textiles

by John McGee

Ofer Shagan's passion started early. As a curious seven-year-old boy wandering around his native Israel, he found an unusual item lying in the dirt. He took it to his father who identified the fragment as Roman pottery. Though a later voyage to Thailand inspired his move into Southeast Asian art, this first discovery was his initiation into a career as art collector and dealer. 

Taoist shaman's coat, 19th century,
Yao tribe (Laos, Thailand), silk 
embroidery on cotton (Photo courtesy
Oriental Antiques Gallery)

Nuno, meaning cloth or textile in Japanese, features over 150 items from Shagan's personal collection of 10,000 textiles from India, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. 

For Shagan, collecting is "a way to study culture through beauty." He sees himself as an educator as much as a connoisseur and dealer. This show, then, is not merely an appreciation of beautiful clothing, pillows, and ceremonial banners, but an effort to teach Southeast Asian culture. It is divided into four sections: tribal art, i.e. designs brought recently to a region by itinerant groups who are not yet culturally assimilated; textiles for household and daily use, emphasizing the variations between homemade goods; religious textiles used by believers, monks and their temples; and royal or aristocratic fabrics. 

Because textiles were rarely traded in Southeast Asia, they had little or no monetary value. But they had deep socio-cultural meaning. For example, clothing designs and patterns designated the wearer's social position, marital status and other vital information. In fact, because her prowess helped determine the social status of the family, the measure of a prospective wife was how beautifully she could weave. 

While everyday fabrics were usually produced at home, royal and aristocratic textiles were mostly imported from India. Indian artisans were particularly adept at weaving with gold and silver threads and at fabric printing, two styles restricted to the nobility. 

Other than the fabrics themselves, a number of associated objects and photos help contextualize the textiles in the show. Ancient ceramic and bronze items trace contemporary designs to 2000-year-old objects (heat and humidity damage silk, so the earliest extant examples of Southeast Asian textiles are only 18th century). Photos show local people making and using the fabrics. And antique wooden and bronze statues showing figures in traditional garb help viewers understand how the textiles are worn. 

Shagan followed his heart to Japan in 1989, fell in love with the country, and never left. Self-taught, he founded Oriental Antiques Gallery in 1993 to deal in Southeast Asian, Indian and Mongolian artifacts. The maverick dealer is sought after not only for his good eye but his extensive knowledge of traditional Southeast Asian art. Shagan has organized many exhibitions and published three books based on his personal collection: Living with Asian Textiles, Mudmee: Ikat of Thailand, and Southeast Asian Art (all in Japanese, but with great photos). 

His dream? To build a museum in Japan for his treasures. For now though, Shagan lives the art lover's dream, spending half the year traveling to exotic locations to buy art. He says he works not to make money but to afford his habit. "I have a disease," he says, "I'm a collector." 

This exhibition was held Aug-Sept 2001 at the Shoto Museum of Art in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan.

©2006 John McGee

©2006-2008 John McGee. All Rights Reserved. No part of this site may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission.