This autumn, the Ashmolean Museum presents the first exhibition devoted to the art of Meiji textiles ever to be held outside Japan. Threads of Silk and Gold: Ornamental Textiles From Meiji Japan will introduce the less well known but equally spectacular ornamental textiles that were made for the Western market during Japan’s Meiji era (1868–1912). It comprises some 40 examples of the highest-quality Meiji textiles from the newly acquired collection of the Kiyomizu-Sannenzaka Museum in Kyoto. Pieced together from around the world, this outstanding collection is one of the finest and most comprehensive of its type in existence. Also on display will be some superb pieces from the Ashmolean’s own collections.

In the mid-1800s, Japan was forced by the Western nations to open its doors to the outside world after more than 200 years of national isolation. This ‘reopening’ of Japan led to a fascination in the West for all things Japanese, known as Japonisme. During this period, known as the Meiji era (1868–1912), Japanese prints, ceramics, metalwork and lacquerware became hugely fashionable in the West. Also enormously popular at the time, but little known today, were non-costume Japanese textiles that were made specifically for the Western market as art objects or for interior decoration.

In Britain, Japanese art was closely associated with the Aesthetic Movement, whose followers aspired to ‘live beautifully’. They created artistic homes that displayed carefully selected artistic furniture and objets d’art. Japanese and Japanese-inspired items took pride of place. Part of the appeal of Japanese art was its affordability. In the wake of the industrial revolution in the late nineteenth century, the growing middle classes expressed their new-found social status through the purchase and display of items for their homes. While fine paintings and sculpture remained too expensive for many, textiles and other decorative arts were relatively accessible. Japanese and Japanese-inspired textiles were stocked in shops all over Europe and the United States at this time.

These exquisite embroideries, resist-dyed silk and velvet panels, tapestries and appliqué works became some of Japan’s best-known export items. No fashionable Victorian home was without its Japanese drapes and hangings. They were also displayed at international exhibitions, and presented as diplomatic gifts from the Japanese imperial household and government.

The textiles in this exhibition are mostly drawn from the newly-acquired collection of the Kiyomizu Sannenzaka Museum in Kyoto. Pieced together from around the world, this collection has never been displayed before. These textiles are enhanced with additional objects from private collections and the Ashmolean’s own holdings.

Threads of Silk and Gold: Ornamental Textiles from Meiji Japan runs from 9 November 2012 to 27 January 2013 at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. For more details, please visit the Ashmolean Museum website: http://www.ashmolean.org/.