Just because our research trip is over...

By Marin Hanson
Curator of Exhibitions 

... does not mean we won't be continuing this blog!

Researching and building a Chinese patchwork and quilt collection is a major focus at the IQSCM, so we intend to keep talking about everything we're doing related to China. In fact, on Monday, June 24, some of our Quilt Studies graduate students will begin blogging about our one-week summer seminar, "Asian Patchwork and Quilting: Folk Art/Religious Art."

In the meantime, you might want to check out my other blog: 100goodwishesquilts.blogspot.com. This is where I (periodically) write about my PhD research, which is focused on quilts being made today for children adopted from China (One Hundred Good Wishes Quilts). There are fascinating connections between what we're doing here on "Pieced in China" with One Hundred Good Wishes Quilts -- so go check it out!

Marin Hanson is the Curator of Exhibitions at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She holds undergraduate degrees from Grinnell College and Northern Illinois University and earned her MA in museum studies and textile history with a quilt studies emphasis from UNL. She is currently pursuing doctoral research on cross-cultural quiltmaking practices, with particular emphasis on China and the United States.

A Budding Alliance

The ancient history exhibition.

By Cindy DeLong
UNL Graduate Student

One of my favorites from the folk art exhibition.

Last Monday, soon after we arrived, Dr. Crews, Marin, Amanda and I met Professor Li, Vice Director of the Xi'an Jiaotong University Art Museum. He introduced us to some of his graduate students and gave us a tour of the museum.

We finished the tour yesterday. We were all quite impressed. The museum building is new and beautifully done. There is lots of exhibition space and a wide variety of different subjects are on display. 

The upper level of the museum has a large exhibit of calligraphy. Huge displays cover the walls. It is elegant! We toured the permanent exhibit of ancient historic objects including urns, figurines and tools. A very exciting and colorful Chinese Folk Art exhibit is also permanent. It was flat out fun! A new opera exhibit displayed exotic costumes, puppets and head pieces among other objects. Still two other galleries exhibited photographs and ceramics by a well known Chinese artist. 

We were given a tour of museum offices, the conservation laboratory, and the photography studio. Then we were treated to a short demonstration of some of the technology they are planning to use for visual presentations. We wore 3D glasses and saw a short movie clip. The basic idea is to take museum visitors to the archeological dig sites through the magic of technology. Although not developed yet, this is an important project to the Jiaotong University Museum.

Aren't we cute in 3D glasses?!?

See why we were impressed? 

After this wonderful tour, Professor Li invited us to a sitting room for an informal meeting. He suggested that his museum and ours form a partnership for research and exhibitions. The idea of trading exhibitions was tossed around and agreed to in general, although many, many details will have to be worked out as well as funding. Supporting and sharing research and possibly hosting scholars was also agreed to in principal, although the details and funding would have to be worked out for that too. 

Professor Li visited our campus in Nebraska in 2007 and toured the International Quilt Study Center then. Now we have visited his museum. Also, Marin has exchanged emails with Jack, Professor Li's assistant for a long time. We've developed a good relationship for many years and now with our visit to Xi'an, it seems everyone is comfortable with each other and would like to build a more formal relationship. It is an exciting and a wonderful outcome from this long-anticipated visit!


Cindy DeLong is working on a master's degree in textile history with an emphasis in quilt studies at UNL. She has a bachelor of sciences in home economics (clothing and textiles) and journalism from the University of Missouri. She has worked at the New England Quilt Museum as a curatorial intern and the International Quilt Study Center & Museum as a collections intern.

A Wonderful Partnership

By Marin Hanson
Curator of Exhibitions

We spent the morning at Xi'an Jiaotong University Art Museum, going on a tour of their beautiful new facility and having a meeting with the staff about possible future collaborations. At the meeting, we gave Vice Director Li a gift for their museum's collections: a nineteenth-century American Log Cabin quilt.

They reciprocated with a quilt for our collections: a thirty-year-old bai jia bei, or "One Hundred Families Quilt."

It was made by a woman in Gansu Province for her son, who was once a student at XJTU and is now an art professor specializing in Chinese calligraphy. This was a really exciting moment for me, because although I had heard about a bai jia bei tradition, and we had seen new ones being made at the village we visited yesterday, I had never seen an old one. This is the confirmation I've been looking for that this is a tradition that has been around a long time.

It is a small, fairly plain quilt, but it is wonderful to me because it was made especially for a child's everyday use. It is evidence of an embedded tradition, proof that patchwork bedcovers are not simply a tourist market craft. Even if we find nothing else in our remaining days, I'm feeling like we've had some true success on this research trip.

It was a really good day, and I am so grateful to our XJTU Art Museum partners -- they've been wonderful collaborators on this project.

Marin Hanson is the Curator of Exhibitions at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She holds undergraduate degrees from Grinnell College and Northern Illinois University and earned her MA in museum studies and textile history with a quilt studies emphasis from UNL. She is currently pursuing doctoral research on cross-cultural quiltmaking practices, with particular emphasis on China and the United States.

Demos

By Marin Hanson

Curator of Exhibitions

Today, we went to a village called Wang Jian, where we met a woman who makes bai jia bei -- "one hundred families quilts," which are based on the old tradition of making a patchwork quilt from pieces of fabric donated by many different families. No longer made from donated fabric, they still evoke the idea of the original. Unfortunately, according to Jack Zhang, our museum colleague, the old versions don't seem to exist anymore, even in the small villages.

The quilts our hostess in Wang Jian makes are based on a block we would call a Pineapple Log Cabin in the U.S. What they call it here is "ba gua," which refers to a set of eight symbols essential to Daoist philosophy. The symbols are often arranged in an octagon shape, much like the eight sides of the blocks the maker has sewn together in this quilt:

We were lucky enough to have our hostess give us a demonstration of how she makes the appliqued and embroidered medallions she often places in the center of her quilts:

It was particularly interesting to learn that she uses recycled cardboard as the base of the medallions, wrapping it with fabric and then apppliqueing and embroidering through both layers. The cardboard seems to usually be old cigarette cartons!

We will be coming back to the U.S. with two new beautiful pieces for the IQSCM collections. Although they are made mainly for the tourist market, we feel they are good representations of how this tradition has evolved and how it is able to live on.

Marin Hanson is the Curator of Exhibitions at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She holds undergraduate degrees from Grinnell College and Northern Illinois University and earned her MA in museum studies and textile history with a quilt studies emphasis from UNL. She is currently pursuing doctoral research on cross-cultural quiltmaking practices, with particular emphasis on China and the United States.

Impulse Buy of the Day…

By Amanda Lensch
UNL Graduate Student

Don’t worry mom, it was only about $10.

Yesterday we traveled outside of Xi’an to a little village about three hours away (we had no idea it was going to be that far...) to visit women who make textile goods for the tourist market. These women didn’t speak English, but were so hospitable and kind that they made the long ride absolutely worth it!

And then we saw the things they had made…

Anyway, in an effort to keep this brief, I’ll tell you about my favorite lady who prompted the impulse buy. She was our last stop of the day.

Her name is Liaijie, and she is about 80 years old. She has been making things to be sold for so long, and is so good at it that she has received recognition and an award for her work from the Shaanxi Province Ministry of Culture. The award was called the Cultural Heritage Award in honor of her beautiful skill. I’ve included a picture of her holding her award with one of the professors from the local university.

So, because this woman was so adorable and famous for her work, I HAD to have something she'd made! A pair of ducks was my choice, and I think I can find a spot for them in my apartment quite easily. Anyway, I’ve included other pictures of us with Liaijie, and her work.

Amanda Lensch is working on a master’s in textile history with an emphasis in quilt studies at UNL. She has a bachelor’s degree in apparel merchandising, design and production with an emphasis in museum studies and a minor in entrepreneurial studies from Iowa State University. She is a graduate assistant working in collections at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum and previously interned at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Ky., and Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

A Cultural Treasure Trove at the Beijing Antique Market

At the Antique Market in Beijing.

By Amanda Lensch
UNL Graduate Student

Overwhelming.

A musical performance in Xi'an.

The only word needed to describe the Antique Market in Beijing. It is open every day of the week, with hundreds of vendors hawking their wares in row after row of stalls filled with paintings, beads, figurines, textiles, calligraphy supplies, and the list goes on… It is so overwhelming it’s hard to know where to begin! (Think extremely large outdoor quilt show and you get the idea of what we are up against!)

As a habitual people watcher, I found this to be an extremely interesting place. The vendors are insistent in showing you their goods the second you show even the slightest bit of interest in their products. They continue to pull piece after piece out hoping to catch your eye with something. Also, you must be prepared to haggle with them! Something I have learned I am absolutely terrible at… which is why I will never purchase anything without a trusty buddy at my side! Maybe this is a skill I can learn while I’m here (like how to use chopsticks!).

The differences between our culture and theirs are certainly apparent. Waiting in lines is not a Chinese strong point, pushing to get onto the subway is a given, and they are fond of riding bikes or walking down the middle of the street. They haggle, yet are extremely welcoming and helpful. They are wonderful people to interact with.

Eventually, we went on a visual overload as there were so many wonderful textiles and other wares. It was a very cool experience.

Monday we traveled to Xi’an (pronounced she-on) where we are a part of Nebraska Week at Xi'an Jiaotong University. That night we had a banquet and reception to kick it off, with more than 50 people from Nebraska in attendance. I had no idea there would be so many Midwesterners half way around the world at the same time! Anyway, there was wonderful music supplied by both universities, once again showcasing our cultural similarities and differences.

Loving this adventure! Stay tuned…



Amanda Lensch is working on a master’s in textile history with an emphasis in quilt studies at UNL. She has a bachelor’s degree in apparel merchandising, design and production with an emphasis in museum studies and a minor in entrepreneurial studies from Iowa State University. She is a graduate assistant working in collections at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum and previously interned at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Ky., and Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

At the Market

By Marin Hanson
IQSCM Curator of Exhibitions 

On Sunday, we went to the Panjiayuan Market. It's the largest "antiques" market in Beijing. Most of the vendors are selling cheap, knock-off souvenirs, but you can find real vintage items as well. The physical layout of the market is huge -- probably 40-50 outdoor rows of stall after stall, plus one large building with two floors of furniture, embroidered screens, early Communist era clothing, etc etc. We decided to skip some whole sections of the market since they were dedicated to books, manuscripts, paintings, and sculptures, and we had ONE single objective: find textiles, preferably patchwork and appliqued pieces.

Initially, it looked as though we weren't going to have much luck. After the first hour or so, we'd only seen one or two stalls with textiles, including some very interesting lotus shoes (tiny embroidered shoes for bound feet). Then, as the saying goes, when it rains, it pours.

In the eastern section of the market we came across a dozen or more stalls with good textiles (not just newly made tourist items), about a half a dozen or so of which had pieces that really interested us. Many of these stalls were run by people of the Miao ethnic minority.

One particularly good stall was run by a man named Lei Hongbin.

He, too, was ethnically Miao and told me that he became interested in selling ethnic minority textiles because he'd seen so many items being sold with improper information or incorrectly identified. (A side note: at ANY market like this, in any country, you need to take everything dealers say with a HUGE grain of salt -- Buyer Beware.) He seemed more credible than other dealers and I chatted with him for quite a while. (Another side note: my rusty Chinese did start to come back to me and although I think I probably only understood about one third of the actual words he spoke, I probably understood about two-thirds of the overall meaning of what he said, if you get the difference).

He told us about what some of the Miao symbolism meant and showed us how Miao skirts would have traditionally been worn. They were usually layered, with up to nine (!) being worn at once, and topped off with jackets (again, layered, with up to six at once) and a decorative apron. He also talked a bit about how a great deal of design and technique crossover occurs between close neighbors, like the Miao and the Buyi people of Guizhou Province.

While the Panjiayuan visit didn't result in any acquisitions, it was a fruitful day in terms of research. We saw several genuine vintage ethnic minority quilt tops and saw just as many recently-made pieces being passed off as the real thing. I can imagine that we might want to return here again some day to purchase a few select pieces for the IQSCM collection (and avoid a whole lot of other ones!)

Marin Hanson is the Curator of Exhibitions at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She holds undergraduate degrees from Grinnell College and Northern Illinois University and earned her MA in museum studies and textile history with a quilt studies emphasis from UNL. She is currently pursuing doctoral research on cross-cultural quiltmaking practices, with particular emphasis on China and the United States.