Page 6 - Chiense TExtiles, MET MUSEUM Pub 1934

PREFACE
peror Ch'ien Lung and a nineteenth-century robe said
to have been worn by the Regent T'zi:i Hsi, usually re-
ferred to as the "Empress Dowager," given by Mrs.
William H. Bliss; an imperial court robe embroidered
with seed pearls and coral, the gift of Robert E. T od ; a
needlework valance, several gorgeous Ming embroider-
ies, and a large Cantonese satin hanging of the early
nineteenth century bequeathed by Mrs. H. 0. Have-
meyer; and a pair of superb k' o ssu panels of the Ch'ien
Lung period, the gift of Mrs. John F. Seaman Tile col-
lection is further enhanced by a remarkable group of
court robes assembled in Peking by Dr. John W. Ham-
mond who has generou ly allowed them to r~mairl on
loan in the Museum over a period of years
These, with the eighteenth-century theatrical robes
purchased by the Museum in 1930 and another unusual
theatrical robe which was a loan from Louis V. Ledoux
at the time of the exhibition but which we have since
purchased, make a collection which does justice to the
splendor of the civilization of China and to the art of
fine weaving and needlework in which that country has
for so many centuries excelled.
Unfortunately, there is not at present space in our gal-
leries to show the textile collection, but it is available
to visitors in the Far Eastern Textile Study Room.
ALAN PRIEST
PAULINE SIMMONS

Vl