Replying to @Anna Milena How many hours of audiobooks does it take to preserve this 18th-century silk textile? Meet Minsun Hwang, a conservator in The Met’s Department of Textile Conservation. Preparation for exhibition of this fragile, over-sized textile, required approximately 1,500 hours of steady work from November 2023 to July 2024. This monumental appliqué shows Manjushri with his identifying attributes—a sword and book on adjacent lotuses—riding a blue lion. Manchu rulers, especially Emperor Qianlong, revered this bodhisattva. The Suzhou imperial workshop likely fabricated the piece as a gift to a Tibetan monastery. See “Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Transcendent Wisdom” on view in “Mandalas: Mapping the Buddhist Art of Tibet” through January 12, 2025. 🪡 Artist unknown. Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Transcendent Wisdom, 17th–18th century. China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Silk appliqué with damask, satin, brocade, and leather substrate with silver finish and embroidery with silk cord.
#Conservation #ArtTok #sewing #embroidery