Variations

Anonymous French Maklers
Bodice
ca. 1790
block-printed cotton lined with linen
Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

Anonymous Indian Makers
Shawl
ca. 1800-1850
wool embroidered with silk
Art Institute of Chicago

Anonymous English Makers
Cap
ca. 1575-1625
linen embroidered with silk
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Anonymous English Makers
Cape
(refashioned paisley shawl imported from India)
ca. 1860-70
wool with silk lining
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto

Anonymous Indian Makers
Shawl
ca. 1825-50
wool embroidered with silk
Art Institute of Chicago

Mikhail Larionov for Ballets-Russes
Stage Costume for Buffoon's Wife
ca. 1921
silk and cotton
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Léon Bakst for Ballets-Russes
Stage Costume for Nymph
ca. 1912
silk chiffon
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Caroline Reboux
Hat
ca. 1927
wool felt
Philadelphia Museum of Art

Cristóbal Balenciaga
Hat
1962
silk satin, ribbon and ostrich feathers
Philadelphia Museum of Art

Elsa Schiaparelli
Hat
1948
wool felt, feathers and mink
Philadelphia Museum of Art

Anonymous Japanese Makers
Kimono
ca. 1920
tie-dyed silk
Philadelphia Museum of Art

Anonymous Japanese Makers
Kimono
ca. 1930
stencil-printed silk
Philadelphia Museum of Art

Anonymous Japanese Makers
Ainu Robe
19th century
cotton, with appliqué and embroidery
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto

John Tunnard for Ascher (London)
Scarf
1947
printed silk twill
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Anonymous Chinese Makerse
Court Robe
(component piece, uncut)
19th century
embroidered silk
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco

Rachel MacHenry (Toronto)
Man's Vest
ca. 1988-92
wool knit
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto

The Rock

Insignia

of the earth's

terrible recesses, spirit

of darkness, of 

the criminal mind, I feel

certain there is within you

something human, to be

approached in speech. How else

did you approach Eve

with your addictive 

information? I have paid

bitterly for her

lapse, therefore

attend to me. Tell me

how you live in hell,

what is required in hell, 

for I would send

my beloved there. Not

of course forever:

I may want him

back sometime, not

permanently harmed but

severely chastened,

as he has not been, here

on the surface. What

shall I give him for

protection, what

shield that will not

wholly screen him? You must be

his guide and master: help him

shed his skin

as you do, though in this case

we want him

older underneath, maybe

a little mousy. I feel confident

you understand these

subtleties – you seem

so interested, you do not

slide back under your rock! Oh

I am sure we are somehow related

even if you are not

human; perhaps I have

the soul of a reptile after all.

– Louise Glück (1996)