Flowers, Dragons, and Pine Trees: Asian Textiles in the Spencer Museum of Art

By Mary M. Dusenbury.
Published by the Hudson Hills Press in 2004.

A grand book that serves as a catalog for the Asian textile collection at the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas. The richly illustrated volume details and contextualizes the museum's textiles, which range from the 15th to the 20th century. For about 80 years, the museum's Asian textile collection was largely hidden from the public. Dusenbury and her team spent 15 years researching, cleaning, conserving, and rehousing the objects. The core of the collection came from Sallie Casey Thayer's original gift to the university in 1917, which founded the museum. The collection grew primarily through later gifts. 

The 312-page book covers approximately 300 textile objects from across Asia, with the largest group coming from China, followed by Japan, the Indian subcontinent, and Iran. It includes individual essays for each geographical region, providing socio-historical context and discussing the techniques, production, iconography, and function of individual pieces. 

The book features nearly 140 Chinese textiles, including imperial court robes, official costumes, and garments worn by Han and Manchu women. Highlights from Japan include indigo-dyed cotton and bast fiber costumes, Buddhist and Daoist vestments, and other functional items like futon covers. The book showcases Kashmir shawls and embroideries from northwest India and Pakistan, as well as Persian velvets and brocades. 

Hardcover. 8.5"x12", 312 pages, color illustrations, dust jacket.

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