The Stuff That Matters. Textiles collected by Seth Siegelaub for the CSROT,
Raven Row, London, 2012
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The collection of historic textiles, assembled by conceptual art pioneer Seth Siegelaub, is displayed for the first time in an exhibition at the contemporary art centre Raven Row.
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6a architects designed a series of furniture throughout the galleries to display over 200 items from the collection. Curated by Sara Martinetti, Alice Motard and Alex Sainsbury, the objects range from fifth-century Coptic and Peruvian textiles, Renaissance to eighteenth-century silks and velvets, to Barkcloth and headdresses from Africa and the Pacific region.
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In the eighteenth-century the buildings housing part of Raven Row accommodated two shops selling silk woven in the Spitalfields district. Exhibits here are arranged in shop-like counters displaying a range of European silks that were banned at the time by English trade laws.