Overview

The textile collections of the Fine Arts Museums currently comprise nearly 13,000 objects from a variety of world cultures. They range from rare fragments of early textiles from along the Silk Road to 20th century European couture. Highlights include a particularly fine collection of Central Asian pile carpets, early Anatolian kilims, a renowned collection of medieval tapestries and ecclesiastical vestments, and a group of intriguing textiles from the Iban people of the island of Borneo.

The collections also include headwear from around the world, both ancient and modern, making it possible to display a turban from the Peruvian Paracas culture alongside an exotic monkey’s fur hat from Africa or an eye-catching headdress worn by a married woman from the Himalayan region of Ladakh.

To view selections from the Museums' collections, please click here