The Stuff That Matters. Textiles collected by Seth Siegelaub for the CSROT,
Raven Row, London, 2012
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.
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.
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.
